The truth behind the founder of Catholicism... it's not St. Peter!!!, page 1

Originally posted by TheRandom1
No, it's not, the Catholic Church teaches many things that are blasphemous, like the idea that if you give the Pope enough money then he can sign this little paper that says you and your whole family can go to heaven, Martha Stewart has some of those, so they still do it. They call the Pope the "Holy Father", Yeshua knocks this down and says in Mat 23:9 "Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven". Also the Pope is supposed to be infallible, what does the Bible say about this? Read John 3:16. Also they teach that Mary can give salvation and forgive sins, common, do I really need to show you verses that say contrary? These are not fringe beliefs of the Catholic Church

Prior to the late 1500's, there were some deplorable practices that had been exercised by some popes, such as the sale of indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved.
The sale of indulgences was outlawed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563).
Martin Luther had rightly objected to the sale of indulgences, and the Council of Trent was called to try to reconcile with the Protestant Church.

Indulgences are still "granted", but they are not to "Buy" your way into heaven. Instead, indulgences are a way of emphasizing that confession of sins are not sufficient, but true sorrow for sins is a requirement, and works of charity are stressed. If you are really interested in learning what the Church teaches regarding indulgences, here is an excerpt from Wiki that does a pretty good job of explaining them:

An indulgence may be plenary or partial, according as it remits all or only part of the temporal punishment that at that moment is due for sin.[9] To gain a plenary indulgence, a person must exclude all attachment to sin of any kind, even venial sin, must perform the work or say the prayer for which the indulgence is granted, and must also fulfil the three conditions of sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and praying for the intentions of the Pope.[10] The minimum condition for gaining a partial indulgence is to be contrite in heart: on this condition, a Catholic who performs the work or recites the prayer in question is granted, through the Church, remission of temporal punishment of the same worth as is obtained by the person's own action.[11]

In response to suggestions made at the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI substantially revised the practical application of the traditional doctrine, making it clear that the Church's aim was not merely to help the faithful make due satisfaction for their sins, but chiefly to bring them to greater fervour of charity; it was for this purpose that he decreed that partial indulgences simply supplement, and to the same degree, the remission that the person performing the indulgenced action has already gained by the charity and contrition with which he does it.[3] Previously, partial indulgences were granted as the equivalent of a certain number of days, months, "quarantines"[12] (Lent-like forty-day periods) or years of canonical penance. Those who did not understand these terms sometimes misinterpreted them as meaning a reduction of that length of stay in Purgatory.

The abolition of this classification by years and days made it clearer than before that repentance and faith are required not only for remission of eternal punishment for mortal sin but also for remission of temporal punishment for sin. Pope Paul VI wrote: "Indulgences cannot be gained without a sincere conversion of outlook and unity with God".[13]

AS for forgiving sins, nowhere does the Church say that Mary can forgive sins. Nowhere. On the other hand, Jesus did give priests the power to forgive sins IN HIS NAME in John20:23

John 20:19–23. "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

The last verse (23) clearly proclaims that Jesus gave them that power.

As for infallibility of the POPE, it ONLY relates de fide, that is, in matters of faith or dogma. It does NOT apply to earthly matters:

again, from Wiki:

Examples of infallible extraordinary papal definitions (and, hence, of teachings of the sacred magisterium) are Pope Pius IX's definition of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and Pope Pius XII's definition of the Assumption of Mary. Examples of infallible extraordinary Conciliar decrees include the Council of Trent's decree on justification, and Vatican I's definition of papal infallibility. Examples of infallible teachings of the ordinary and universal Magisterium are harder to point to, since these are not contained in any one specific document, but are the common teachings found among the Bishops dispersed through the world yet united with the Pope. Pope John Paul II specifically clarified that the reservation of ordination to males is infallible under the infallibility of the ordinary and universal magisterium of the Church, without issuing a corresponding extraordinary papal definition. It has been suggested that he did this to remind everyone that the ordinary and universal magisterium is also infallible, and that an extraordinary definition is not necessary to make a teaching irrevocably binding and demanding of supernatural faith. In fact, the ordinary and universal magisterium is the ordinary manifestation of infallibility, the decrees of popes and councils being the only the extraordinary expression.
The Ordinary Magisterium includes the potentially fallible teachings of the Pope and ecumenical Councils (ie, not given ex cathedra) and, more commonly, of individual Bishops or groups of Bishops as taken separately from the whole College. Such teachings are fallible and could possibly contain errors; they are subject to revisions or even, rarely, revocation. In the case of the teachings of individual bishops to their diocese, there can of course even be disagreement among the individual bishops on such issues. However, these potentially fallible teachings are necessary to contribute to the development of doctrine. Eventually, many fallible teachings progress to the point where they can be infallibly defined (such as when they become not only Ordinary, but Ordinary AND Universal). Thus, some teachings move from the Ordinary Magisterium to the Sacred Magisterium.

Example of Ordinary Magisterium includes the so-called Social Teachings of recent popes or theological opinions that the popes or bishops make public.

Those ARE the teachings of the church. You can choose to believe that or not, but in the spirit of ATS to deny ignorance, I have taken the time to try to educate you.

There are quite a few people that spread hatred against many religions. In today's society, as in the past, there is too much hatred in the world.
I see people on ATS that despise war, and that is good. Unfortunately, I see some of those people that then spout hatred against Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Christians, you name it. Well, that hatred is the CAUSE of most wars. We hate the Russians, the Russians hate us, etc.

If people want to eliminate war, and what sane individual wouldn't, then eliminate HATRED, and PEACE will follow. It's such a simple equation.

Peace, my friend.