4 Common Misconceptions About The Roman Catholic Church

While the Roman Catholic Church is the oldest and largest within Christianity, and it also might be the least understood Church of any religion.  Led by the Pope, the Roman Catholic Church reports more than a billion members.  Perhaps the most distinctive doctrine of Catholicism is transubstantiation, which teaches the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  However, there are other teachings of the Church that people seem to misunderstand...

Misconception: Catholics worship Mary, and therefore, commit idoltry.
The Catholic Church identifies three types of worship- latria, hyperdulia, and dulia.  Latria, the highest form of worship, can only be given to God, and if it is offered to anyone or anything else, it is considered to be a sin.  Hyperdulia is considered a different degree of reverence, and therefore, it can be given to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In English, hyperdulia roughly translates into veneration.  Dulia is a special type of veneration given to saints and angels.  

Misconception: The Pope is infallible (incapable of making mistakes).
In fact, the Pope is only infallible under very specific circumstances. 
-The Pope must be making a decree on matters on faith or morals
-The declaration must be binding on the whole Church
-The Pope must be speaking with the full authority of Papacy, and not in a personal capacity.

Here’s an example from Pope Saint Pius V in the 16th Century at the Council of Trent:

“If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist are contained truly, really and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ, but says He is in it only as a sign, or figure, or force, let him be anathema.”

“Let him be anathema” is a standard phrase that generally appears at the end of an infallible teaching.  It means, “Let him be cursed.”  A more recent example is when Pope John Paul II declared that women can not become priests.

Misconception: The Catholic Church is anti-science, anti-reason, and rejects evolution.

On the contrary, the Catholic Church has contributed a great deal to science and education.  Belgian priest Monsignor Georges Lemaitre was the first to propose the Big Bang Theory.  Unlike many of the Protestant and evangelical denominations of Christianity, the Catholic Church does not outright reject the theory of evolution.  In 2004, a Theological Commission supervised by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) issued the following statement--

“According to the widely accepted scientific account, the universe erupted 15 billion years ago in an explosion called the Big Bang and has been expanding and cooling ever since...Converging evidence from many studies in the physical and biological sciences furnishes mounting support for some theory of evolution to account for the development and diversification of life on earth, while controversy continues over the pace and mechanisms of evolution.”

Misconception: No Catholic priest can get married

While it is usually true that an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church can not be married, the Eastern Catholic Church does allow priests to marry, but a married priest cannot become a Bishop in the ladder case.  Not to be confused with the Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic Church still recognizes the Pope as the leader of the Church.  There are plenty of differences between the Roman Catholics and Eastern Catholics, but they believe nearly the same teachings.

Also, priests who convert from other religions are sometimes allowed to remain married.  The father of a high school friend of mine went through this process, and is now a married Roman Catholic priest.