The Marks of the Church §123
The Marks of the Church Founded by Corollaries §132
• Any one of the four marks suffices to identify the
Christ true Church, provided it is applied in its full
Which of the Christian societies is Christ's own? In
searching, we presuppose that: §124
• Christ was truly a messenger from God
• Christ founded a numerically visible society
• The Church Christ founded still exists
§125 Mark - a quality which distinguishes a thing from
all other things
• Positive - Proves unmistakably that the thing
possessing it is the genuine article sought for
• Negative - Shows that nothing prevents a particular
object from being the article we are looking for
Requisites for a thing to serve as a mark
• Essential to the thing - Will never be missing from
the thing
• Easier to recognize - The mark should be known
before the marked article
• Visible/obvious - All marks need not have the same
perspicacity; as long as some are easily recognizable
Marks of the Church acc. to non-Catholics §126
• Schismatics - One mark: the unchanging preser-
vation of the doctrine of the 1st 7 ecu. councils. But:
Rules out organic exposition of doctrine; Does not
prove that Church of 8th c. was Church of Christ
• Early Protestants - Marks: the gospel preached in
its purity & rightful use of the sacraments. But:
Completely arbitrary, not proper to the thing we are
searching for; also, impossible to recognize them
unless you first know the true Church of Christ
Marks acc. to Catholics §127
1. Unity §128 - Visible & easier to recognize than the
true Church itself; Miraculous if a.) perpetually
present; b.) spread over the world; c.) Arose
spontaneously & connaturally
2. Holiness §129 - Heroic holiness/charisms readily
perceived, not found outside the true Church, can be
seen before finding the true Church, & requires an
abundance of grace not granted to heretics
3. Catholicity §130 - Refers to morally universal diff-
usion; its preservation thru the centuries amounts to
a moral miracle; does not mean it has more
members than all others, but is always diffused
throughout the world, which can never be true for
any other religious society for a long time
4. Apostolicity §131 - Apostolicity of membership &
government; knowledge of history required; the
sustaining of the Church for 2000 years is also a
moral miracle
meaning
• Each of the marks involves something miraculous;
merely human marks can always be counterfeited.
Thus, they are sufficient to demonstrate the divine
origin of the Catholic religion over all others
Which Christian Society Verifies the
Marks of Christ's Church?
The Reformation Churches §135
Beliefs of Lutherans
1. Justification by faith alone
2. Intrinsic corruption of human nature by original sin
3. The Bible is the only norm of faith
4. The existence of only 2 sacraments (Baptism & HE)
5. Rejection of a sacramental priesthood for the
common priesthood of all believers
6. Supreme power over churches conferred on secular
rulers
Beliefs of Calvinists
1. SS obscure & intricate => HG enlightens reader
2. OL dynamically present in the Eucharist
3. Absolute predestination
4. Secular rulers excluded from church government
5. Zealous in promoting good behavior & social works
Beliefs of Anglicans
• High - Episcopacy is of divine origin
• Low - ~Calvinist, not so conc. w/episcopal rank
• Broad - Rationalistic; all dogmas debatable
Notes on ecumenism: good for Prots, not for RCC
• At best, dialogue is a pretended neutrality to Truth
• At worst, ecumenism is a true evolutionary thought
• Middle ground, position of pretended neutrality,
leads to religious indifferentism
Prop 1. The mark of unity & catholicity cannot be
verified in the Eastern or Refor. churches. §137
• Collectively - They lack unity, being composed of
many churches completely independent
• Singly - They lack catholicity, being often confined
to the boundaries of a single country
• Doctrine - Not even individual protestant churches
agree; Photian churches do not evangelize & show
some wavering in doctrine; fundamental principle of
protestantism militates against unity
Prop 2.The RCC possesses the mark of unity. §138
• Doctrine - All Catholics profess the doctrine
proposed to them by the bishops & are ready to
accept whatever decisions the Church makes
• Social - All worship God with the same sacrifice,
sacraments, & universal laws
• Government - Both laity & clergy obey the bishops
& all are under the rule of the Roman pontiff
Prop 3. The RC possesses the mark of catholicity.
§139
• It is called "Catholic" by the entire world
• It surpasses the combined membership of all the
other "Christian" churches
• It is geographically diffused over the whole world
• It keeps spreading constantly ever wider
Prop 1. The Photian & Prot. churches lack the mark
of apostolicity. §140
• No ap. of membership - One started in 1054, the
other in 1517.
• No ap. of government - Caerularius lost apostolic
power when he broke w/Rome, as did all other
schismatic patriarchs. Lay synods, political rulers,
etc. cannot be legitimate successors of the apostles
Prop 2. The RCC possesses the mark of apostolicity.
§141
• Membership - All others came into being by sep-
arating from the CC; she is older than all others; no
one can prove that she started after the apostolic era
• Government - The CC is united to the Bishop of
Rome, who goes back to St. Peter
Prop 1. The mark of holiness cannot be verified in
the Photian or Protestant churches. §142
• No heroic holiness - May have ppl of ordinary
holiness, but no saints. Prot. founders not holy &
results of "Ref." disaster, not improvement
• No miracles or charisms
• Means of holiness - Orthodox have them, but not
jurisdiction & apostolicity, which are nec. for saints;
Prots: Doctrine unholy, institutions & laws do not
promote holiness, banishment of religious rites
Prop 2. The RCC possesses the mark of holiness.
Preliminary Suasions §144
• OL prophesied that His Church would be hated by
the world; none experience hatred so much as the
CC
• Ppl convert to the CC to become holier; they leave
b/c of worldly motives
Proof §145
• Many means to holiness
• Doctrine - Embraces gospel ideals in their
entirety
• Disciplinary laws - Constantly & earnestly
instructs men in the keeping of divine laws
• Institutions - 7 sacraments, devotions,
confraternities, societies, religious orders
• Abundant harvest of holiness §146
• Vast number consecrated to the state of
perfection
• Vast number of genuine saints the Church
continually produces
• Unceasing charisms throughout history §147
Corollary - CC not to be blamed for those Catholics
who do not follow her principles, laws, & way of life
Should the Church promote temporal prosperity?
§148
• The real source of earthly happiness does not
depend on material goods or secular culture
• Temporal prosperity does not directly or necessarily
depend on religion