8. [1]Now, this Church which Almighty God has founded on miracles, nay, which is 'herself a continual miracle; this Church which incessantly pours out the greatest benefits over the universe, can be no other but the Roman Catholic Church. History clearly proves that it is she, and no other, that forms that community of the faithful which Christ has established for the salvation of the world, in which the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles, under the supreme authority of the Pope, the Successor of Saint Peter, exercise their Teaching and Pastoral Offices in an uninterrupted succession (22, 30, 31). It is impossible that any Sect, whatever may be its name, should be the Church founded by Christ; for it is well known that every one of them began to exist long after Christ, and that even then they owed their origin to their defection and separation from the Church of Christ (36, 42, 43). We see, therefore, that in all these Sects the words of Jesus are sooner or later fulfilled: ' Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up' (Matt. xv. 13). Their existence is not lasting; they spring up, make some noise, and disappear again (36 at the end; 47 at the beginning) . It is not so with the Catholic Church. Thousands of years pass away; neither does she vanish, nor does she grow old; for to her was made the promise of our Lord: ' Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her' (Matt, xvi. 18).
- ↑ How do you prove from history that the Church established by God can be no other than the Roman Catholic? What has Christ foretold of all Sects? What promise has He given to the Catholic Church?
