The Four Marks of the Church that Jesus established (One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic) are defining characteristics listed in the Nicene Creed that is recited by the Catholic faithful at every Sunday and Holy Day Mass. The last of these is especially meaningful to us who are associated with the Diocese of Lincoln, as it recently welcomed its new apostolic leader, Bishop James Conley.
The ceremonial handing-on of the position generically referred to as The Catholic Bishop of Lincoln was really rather simple. At the Mass of Installation held recently, the Apostolic Nuncio (the pope’s representative) and Archbishop George Lucas (the Archbishop of Omaha) led Bishop Conley to his new seat in the cathedra, the special chair in the cathedral church that represents the bishop’s authority in the local Church. This apostolic authority and leadership is something that is passed on from one generation to the next, a venerable tradition in use in the Catholic Church since the time of the original 12 apostles.
Much of the authority of the Catholic Church’s teachings comes from the fact that its teachings are in line with the doctrines first proclaimed by Jesus to his apostles. They have been preserved, intact and unchanged, through apostolic succession—that is, the passing on of what Jesus taught, without alteration from one bishop to another. This tradition, along with Scriptural and theological support, gives many of the Church’s teachings the quality of infallibility, which means by definition that they cannot ever be changed.
Unfortunately, the many thousands of other Christian religions do not adhere to this necessary component of the one true Church, which is what accounts for the fact that they have a wide variety of beliefs that do not align with Jesus’ teachings—those found in Sacred Scripture or those passed down as a part Sacred Tradition from the time of the apostles. While some may claim to be "apostolic," that adjective simply does not ring true unless present-day teachings are in accord with the teachings of the apostles, as they are without fail in the Catholic Church.
This argument proves the authenticity of the Catholic Church as the one true Church that Jesus established and is one that can and should be used often to help non-Catholics understand and appreciate the simple logic that supports Catholic beliefs. While the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church is unappealing to some, it should be for Catholics the very quality that gives us confidence in defending and proclaiming what we believe. The apostolic leadership provided by the Church’s bishops confirms that what we teach and believe to be true is in line with what Jesus’ own apostles taught and believed. Can it be any other way? Those who join congregations invented by mere humans simply cannot claim the divine authority passed on by Jesus to His apostles, and in turn by their successors to the leaders of our day, the bishops. But Catholics can.
What a gift it is to be members of the one true Church that alone can make an authentic claim to being apostolic. May this gift we have been given be shared generously with others.
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