Lesson 12
ON THE ATTRIBUTES AND MARKS OF THE CHURCH

An attribute is any characteristic or quality that a person or thing may
be said to have. All good qualities are good attributes, and all bad
qualities are bad attributes. All perfections or imperfections are
attributes. If I can say of you that you are good, then goodness is one
of your attributes. If I can say you are beautiful, then beauty is one
of your attributes. We have seen already that the Church has four marks;
but besides these it has three attributes, which flow from its marks. It
is easier to see the marks of the Church than its attributes. It is
easier to see, for instance, that the Church is one than that it is
indefectible.

*122 Q. Which are the attributes of the Church?
A. The attributes of the Church are three: authority, infallibility, and
indefectibility.

*123 Q. What do you mean by the authority of the Church?
A. By the authority of the Church I mean the right and power which the
Pope and the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles, have to teach
and govern the faithful.

Authority is the power which one person has over another, so as to be
able to exact obedience. A teacher has authority over his scholars,
because they must obey him; but the teacher need not obey the scholars,
because they have no authority over him. God alone has authority of
Himself and from Himself All others who have authority receive it from
God, either directly or through someone else. The Pope has authority
from God Himself, and the priests get theirs through their bishops.
Therefore, to resist or disobey lawful authority is to resist and
disobey God Himself. If one of you were placed in charge of the class in
my absence, he would have lawful authority, and the rest of you should
obey him--not on account of himself, but on account of the authority he
has. Thus the President of the United States, the governor, the mayor,
etc., are only ordinary citizens before their election; but after they
have been elected and placed in office they exercise lawful authority
over us, and we are bound as good citizens and as good Catholics to
respect and obey them.

*124 Q. What do you mean by the infallibility of the Church?
A. By the infallibility of the Church I mean that the Church cannot err
when it teaches a doctrine of faith or morals.

"Infallibility." When we say Church is infallible, we mean that it
cannot make a mistake or err in what it teaches; that the Pope, the head
of the Church, is infallible when he teaches ex cathedra--that is, as
the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ. Cathedra signifies a
seat, ex stands for "out of"; therefore, ex cathedra means out of the
chair or office of St. Peter, because chair is sometimes used for
office. Thus we say the presidential chair is opposed to this or that,
when we intend to say the president, or the one in that office, is
opposed to it. The cathedral is the church in which the bishop usually
officiates, so called on account of the bishop's cathedra, or throne,
being in it.

*125 Q. When does the Church teach infallibly?
A. The Church teaches infallibly when it speaks through the Pope and
bishops united in general council, or through the Pope alone when he
proclaims to all the faithful a doctrine of faith or morals.

But how will we know when the Pope speaks ex cathedra, when he is
speaking daily to people from all parts of the world? To speak ex
cathedra or infallibly, three things are required:

(1) He must speak as the head of the whole Church, not as a private
person; and in certain forms of words by which we know he is speaking ex
cathedra.

(2) What he says must hold good for the whole Church--that is, for all
the faithful, and not merely for this or that particular person or
country.

(3) He must speak on matters of faith or morals--that is, when the Holy
Father tells all the faithful that they are to believe a certain thing
as a part of their faith; or when he tells them that certain things are
sins, they must believe him and avoid what he declares to be sin. He
could not make a mistake in such things. He could not say that Our Lord
taught us to believe and do such and such, if Our Lord did not so teach,
because Our Lord promised to be with His Church for all time, and to
send the Holy Ghost, who would teach it all truth and abide with it
forever. If then the Church could make mistakes in teaching faith and
morals, the Holy Ghost could not be with it, and Our Lord did not tell
the truth--to say which would be blasphemy. But remember, the Pope is
not infallible unless he is teaching faith or morals; that is, what we
believe or do in order to save our souls. If the Holy Father wrote a
book on astronomy, mathematics, grammar, or even theology, he could make
mistakes as other men do, because the Holy Ghost has not promised to
guide him in such things. Nevertheless, whatever the Pope teaches on
anything you may be pretty sure is right. The Pope is nearly always a
very learned man of many years' experience. He has with him at Rome
learned men from every part of the world, so that we may say he has the
experience of the whole world. Other rulers cannot and need not know as
much as the Holy Father, because they have not to govern the world, but
only their own country. Moreover, there is no government in the whole
world as old as the Church, no nation that can show as many rulers
without change; so we may say the Pope has also the experience of all
the Popes who preceded him, from St. Peter down to our present Holy
Father, Pius XI--two hundred and sixty-one popes. Therefore, considering
all this, we should have the very greatest respect for the opinions and
advice of the Holy Father on any subject. We should not set up our
limited knowledge and experience against his, even if we think that we
know better than he does about certain political events taking place in
our country, for we are not sure that we do. The Holy Father knows the
past history of nations; he knows the nature of mankind; he knows that
what takes place in one nation may, and sometimes does, take place in
another under the same circumstances. Thus the Holy Father has greater
foresight than we have, and we should be thankful when he warns us
against certain dangers in politics or other things. He does not teach
politics; but as everything we do is either good or bad, every statesman
or politician must consider whether what he is about to do be right or
wrong, just or unjust. It is the business and duty of the Holy Father to
declare against the evil or unjust actions of either individuals or
nations, and for that reason he seems at times to interfere in politics
when he is really teaching morals. At times, too, governments try to
deprive the Church or the Holy Father of their rights; and when he
defends himself against such injustice and protests against it, his
enemies cry out that he is interfering with the government.

You understand now what the infallibility of the Pope implies, and that
it does not mean, as the enemies of the Church say, that the Pope cannot
sin, cannot be mistaken in anything. The Pope can sin just the same as
anyone else; he could be a very bad man if he wanted to be so, and take
the punishment God would inflict for his sins. Could he not be very
angry, entirely neglect prayer, or pray with willful distraction; could
he not be proud, covetous, etc.? And these are sins. Therefore he could
sin; and hence he has to go to confession and seek forgiveness just as
we do. Therefore remember this: whether the Pope be a bad man or a good
man in his private life, he must always tell the truth when he speaks ex
cathedra, because the Holy Ghost is guiding him and will not permit him
to err or teach falsehood in faith or morals.

We have examples in the Bible (Numbers 22, 23) where God sometimes makes
even bad men foretell the truth. Once He gave an ass the power to speak,
that it might protest against the wrongdoing of its wicked and cruel
rider.

We have seen how governments interfere with the rights of the Holy
Father, and thus he has need of his temporal power that he may be
altogether independent of any government. Now let me explain to you what
is meant by the Temporal Power of the Pope. Well, then, the Holy Father
should have some city or states, not belonging to any government, in
which he would be the chief and only ruler. Up to the year 1870 the Holy
Father did have such states: they were called the Papal States, and the
power he had over them--just like that of any other ruler--was called
the temporal power. Now how did he get those states and how did he lose
them? He got them in the most just manner, and held possession of them
for about a thousand years.

Hundreds of years ago the people of Rome and the surrounding countries
elected the Pope their sole ruler. He was already their spiritual ruler,
and they made him also their temporal ruler. Then the Pope protected and
governed them as other rulers do. Later, kings and princes added other
lands, and thus by degrees the possessions of the Pope became quite
extended.

How did he lose these possessions? The Italian government took them from
him in the most unjust manner. Besides the lands, they deprived the
Church of other property donated to it by its faithful children. No
ruler in the world had a more just claim or better right to his
possessions than the Holy Father, and a government robbed him of them as
a thief might take forcibly from you whatever had been justly given to
you, when he found you were unable to defend yourself against him.

But has the Holy Father need of his temporal power? Yes, the Holy Father
has need of some temporal power. He must be free and independent in
governing the Church. He must be free to say what he wishes to all
Catholics throughout the world, and free to hear whatever they have to
say to him. But if the Pope is under another ruler he cannot be free.
That ruler may cast him into prison, and not allow him to communicate
with the bishops of the world. At least, he can say nothing about the
injustice of the ruler who is over him. Therefore the Pope must have
some possessions of his own, that he may not be afraid of the injustice
of any ruler, and may speak out the truth boldly to the whole world,
denouncing bad rulers and praising good ones as they deserve.

Mind, I do not say what possessions the Holy Father should have but
simply that he should have some, in which he would be altogether
independent. In justice he should have all that was taken from him. We
have a good example here in the United States to illustrate the need of
the independence of the Pope. You know every State in the United States
is a little government in itself, with its own governor, legislature,
laws, etc. Now over all these little governments or States we have the
government of the United States, with the President at its head. In the
beginning the members of the United States Government assembled to
transact the business of the nation sometimes in one State and sometimes
in another--sometimes in New York and sometimes in Pennsylvania, etc.
But they soon found that in order to be independent of every State and
just to all, they must have some territory or possessions of their own
not under the power of any State. So some of the States granted them
Washington and the country about it for ten miles square--now called the
District of Columbia--which the United States government could freely
perform its duties. In a similar manner the Holy Father is over all the
governments of the world in matters of religion--in matters of justice
and right; and just as the United States government has to decide
between the rights of one State and the rights of another, so the Holy
Father has sometimes to decide between the rights of one government and
the rights of another, and must, in order to be just with all, be free
and independent of all.

Again, the temporal power of the Pope is very useful to the Church; for
with the money and goods received from his possessions the Holy Father
can educate priests and teachers, print books, etc., for the foreign
missions. He can also support churches, school, and institutions in poor
countries, and especially where the missionaries are laboring for the
conversion of the native heathens.

When the Holy Father had his own possessions he could do much that he
cannot now do for the conversion of pagan nations. At present he must
depend entirely upon the charitable offerings of the faithful for all
good works, even for his own support. The offering we make once a year
for the support of the Holy Father is called "Peter's pence," because it
began by everyone sending yearly a penny to the Pope, the successor of
St. Peter.

*126 Q. What do you mean by the indefectibility of the Church?
A. By the indefectibility of the Church I mean that the Church, as
Christ founded it, will last till the end of time.

Therefore indefectibility means that the Church can never change any of
the doctrines that Our Lord taught, nor ever cease to exist. When we say
it is infallible, we mean that it cannot teach error while it lasts; but
when we say it is indefectible, we mean that it will last forever and be
infallible forever, and also that it will always remain the same as Our
Lord founded it. There are two things that you must clearly understand
and not confound, namely, the two kinds of laws in the Church--those
which Our Lord gave it and those which it made itself. The laws that Our
Lord gave it can never change. For example, the Church could not abolish
one of the Sacraments, leaving only six; neither could it add a new one,
making eight. But when, for example, the Church declares that on a
certain day we cannot eat flesh meat, it makes the law itself, and can
change it when it wishes. Our Lord left His Church free to make certain
laws, just as they would be needed. It has always exercised this power,
and made laws to suit the circumstances of the place or times. Even now
it does away with some of its old laws that are no longer useful, and
makes new ones that are more necessary. But the doctrines, the truths of
faith or morals, the things we must believe and do to save our souls, it
never changes and never can change: it may regulate some things in the
application of the divine laws, but the laws themselves can never change
in substance.

*127 Q. In whom are these attributes found in their fullness?
A. These attributes are found in their fullness in the Pope, the visible
head of the Church, whose infallible authority to teach bishops,
priests, and people in matters of faith or morals will last to the end
of the world.

128 Q. Has the Church any marks by which it may be known?
A. The Church has four marks by which it may be known: it is one; it is
holy; it is catholic; it is apostolic.

*129 Q. How is the Church one?
A. The Church is one because all its members agree in one faith, are all
in one communion, and are all under one head.

The Catholic Church is "one," first in government and second in
doctrine. In government every pastor has a certain parish or territory
in which all the people belong to his congregation--they form his flock.
He has to take care only of these, to teach them, give them the
Sacraments, etc. He has not to be responsible for those outside his
parish. Then over the pastor we have the bishop, who looks after a
certain number of pastors; then comes the archbishop over a certain
number of bishops; next comes the primate, who is head of all the
archbishops in the country; and over all the primates of the world we
have the Holy Father. Thus, when the Holy Father speaks to the bishops,
the bishops speak to the priests, and the priests to the people. The
Church is therefore one in government, like a great army spread over the
world. We can go up step by step from the lowest member of the Church to
the highest--the Holy Father; and from him to Our Lord Himself, who is
the invisible head of all. This regular body of priests, bishops,
archbishops, etc., so arranged, one superior to the other, is called the
hierarchy of the Church.

The Church is one also in doctrine--that is, every one of the three
hundred million of Catholics in the world believes exactly the same
truths. If any Catholic denies only one article of faith, though he
believes all the rest, he ceases to be a Catholic, and is cut off from
the Church. If, for example, you would not believe Matrimony or Holy
Orders a Sacrament, or that Our Lord is present in the Holy Eucharist,
you would not be a Catholic, though you believed all the other teachings
of the Church.

Therefore the Church is one both in government and teaching or doctrine.
Now, has any other Church claiming to be Christ's Church that mark? No.
The Protestant religions are not one either in government or belief. The
Protestants of England have no authority over the Protestants of
America, and those of America have nothing to say over those of Germany
or France. So every country is independent, and they have no chief head.
Neither are they one in belief. In the same country there are many kinds
of Protestants--Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc., who do
not believe the same thing. Even those who attend the same church and
profess the same religion do not all believe the same. Everyone, they
say, has a right to interpret the Holy Scriptures according to his own
views, so they take many different meanings out of the very same words.
There must be some chief person to tell the true meaning of the Holy
Scriptures when there is a dispute about it; but they have no such
chief, and the result is they are never done disputing.

The United States has a constitution and laws. Now, suppose every
citizen was allowed to construe the laws to suit himself, without any
regard for the rights of others, what a fine state of affairs we should
soon have. But the wise makers of the constitution and laws of the
United States did not leave us in such danger. They appointed judges to
interpret or explain the laws and give the correct meaning when disputes
arise. Then in Washington there is a chief judge for the whole United
States; and when he says the words of the law mean this or that, every
citizen must abide by his decision, and there is no appeal from it. Just
in the same way Our Lord made laws for all men, and while He was upon
earth He explained them Himself. He never left all men free to take
their own meaning out of them. He appointed judges--the bishops; and a
chief judge for the whole world--the Pope. The Holy Ghost guides him, as
we have seen above, so that he cannot make mistakes in the meaning of
Christ's laws; and when he says, this is what the words of Our Lord in
His law signify, no one who is a true Christian can refuse to believe,
or can appeal from his decision.

*130 Q. How is the Church holy?
A. The Church is holy because its founder, Jesus Christ, is holy;
because it teaches a holy doctrine, invites all to a holy life, and
because of the eminent holiness of so many thousands of its children.

Protestant religions have not holy doctrines if we examine them closely.
They teach, for example, that faith without good works will save us, and
thus take away the motives for doing good; that marriage is not binding
for life--the husband and wife may for some causes separate, or get a
divorce, and marry again. This would leave the children without the care
of their proper parents, sometimes without a home, and nearly always
without religious instruction. The same persons might separate again and
marry another time, and thus there would be nothing but confusion and
immorality in society. Again, some of their doctrines teach that we
cannot help sinning; so everyone could excuse himself for his sins by
saying he could not help them, which you can easily see would lead to
the worst of consequences. Lastly, their doctrines have never made one
saint--acknowledged as such from miracles performed. Protestants are so
called because, when their ancestors rebelled against the Church about
three hundred years ago, the Church made certain laws and they protested
against them, separated from the Church, and formed a new religion of
their own.

*131 Q. How is the Church catholic or universal?
A. The Church is catholic or universal because it subsists in all ages,
teaches all nations, and maintains all truth.

"Subsists" means to have existence.

"Catholic." The word catholic signifies universal. The Church is
universal in three ways, viz.: in time, in place, and in doctrine. It is
universal in time; for from the day Our Lord commissioned His Apostles
to preach to the whole world down to the present, it has existed,
taught, and labored in every age. It is universal in place; that is, it
is not confined to one part of the world, but teaches throughout the
entire world. It is universal in doctrine, for it teaches the same
doctrines and administers the same Sacraments everywhere; and its
doctrines are suited to all classes of men--to the ignorant as well as
the learned, to the poor as well as the rich. It teaches by the voice of
its priests and bishops, and all, civilized or uncivilized, to whom its
voice reaches, can learn its doctrines, receive its Sacraments, and
practice its devotions.

It has converted all the pagan nations that have ever been converted,
and the title catholic belongs to the Roman Catholic Church alone. All
Protestant churches that claim this title do so unjustly. They are not
universal in time, and cannot be called the Church of all ages, because
they were established only three hundred or four hundred or less years
ago. They are not catholic in place, because they are mostly confined to
particular countries. They are not universal in doctrine, because what
they teach in one country they reject in another; and even in the same
country, what they teach at one time they reject at another. Wherever it
is possible for civilized people to go, there you will find a priest
saying Mass in just the same way you see him saying it here. It is a
great consolation for one in a strange country to enter a church and
hear Mass, perceiving no difference in the vestments, ceremonies, or
language of the priest. A little altar boy from the United States could
serve Mass in any part of the world. See, therefore, the great advantage
the Church has in using the Latin language instead of the vernacular or
ordinary language of the people. If the Church used the usual language
of the people, the Mass would seem different in every country; while
natives would understand the words of the priest, strangers would not.

The Latin language is now what we call a dead language; that is, it is
not the common language of any country; and because it is a dead
language does not change: another reason why the Church uses it, that
nothing may change in its divine service. The prayers used in the Church
are exactly the same today as they were when they were written many
centuries ago. The living languages--that is, those in use, such as
English, French, German, etc., are always changing a little--new words
are being added, and the meaning of old ones changed. The Church uses
the same language all over the world to show that it is not the Church
of any particular country, but the true Church of all men everywhere.

Again, using only one language, the Church can hold its great councils,
call together all the bishops of the world, that they may condemn errors
or make wise laws. When the Holy Father addresses them in Latin they can
all understand and answer him. If, therefore, the Church did not use the
same language everywhere how could this be done, unless everyone present
understood all the languages of the world--which is a thing nearly
impossible. But someone might say, if the Mass was said in English we
could follow it better. You can follow just as well in Latin, for in
nearly all prayerbooks you have besides the Latin said by the priest the
meaning of it in English on the same page, or you have the English
alone.

*132 Q. How is the Church apostolic?
A. The Church is apostolic because it was founded by Christ on His
Apostles and is governed by their lawful successors, and because it has
never ceased, and never will cease, to teach their doctrine.

"Apostolic," which means that the Church was founded at the time of the
Apostles, and has been the same ever since. Since the time of St. Peter,
the first Pope, there have been 261 Popes. You can go back from our
present Holy Father, Pius XI, to Benedict XV, who was before him, to
Pius X, who was before him, to Leo XIII, before him, and so on one by
one till you come to St. Peter himself, who lived at the time of Our
Lord. Thus the Church is apostolic in its origin or beginning.

It is also apostolic in its teaching; for all the doctrines it teaches
now were taught by the Apostles. The Church does not make new doctrines,
but it teaches its truths more clearly and distinctly when someone
denies them. For example it would not be necessary for you to prove
yourself good and honest till somebody said you were bad and dishonest.
You prove your honesty when it is denied, but both you and your friends
believed it always, though you did not declare it till it was denied. In
just the same way the Church always believed that Our Lord is the Son of
God; that there are seven Sacraments; that the Pope is infallible, etc.
These truths and all the others were believed by the Apostles, and the
Church proclaimed them in a special manner when they were denied. Then
it called together in council all its bishops, and they, with the Holy
Father, proclaimed these truths--not as new doctrines, but as truths
always believed by the Church, and now defined because denied.

Protestants have not for their churches the mark apostolic. How could
their churches be founded by the Apostles, when the Apostles were dead
more than fourteen hundred years before there were any Protestant
churches? What is more, they have changed the teachings of the Apostles;
and so they have not the mark apostolic either in their origin or
teaching.

But they say the Catholic Church fell into error and made mistakes, and
that God wished reformers to correct these errors. How could the Church
fall into error when Our Lord promised to remain always with it, and to
send the Holy Ghost to guide and teach it forever? And, secondly, if God
sent the Protestants to correct the mistakes of the Catholic Church,
what proof do they give us that they have such power from God? When, as
we have seen, God sends anyone to do a special work, He always gives him
power to prove his mission. When He sent Moses, He gave him signs--the
plagues of Egypt. When He sent His prophets, they called down fire and
rain from Heaven. (3 Kings 18). But Protestants have shown us no signs
and performed no miracles; therefore we cannot believe their assertion
that God sent them to correct the Catholic Church. Neither can we
believe that Our Lord broke His promise to stay with the Church. We
shall see the whole truth of the matter if we go back to the
establishment of the Protestant religion and consider the life of Luther
and the others who founded it.

Luther, then a young man, while out one day saw his friend killed at his
side by a stroke of lightning. Much affected by that sad event, Luther
became a priest in the order of the Augustinians. He was a learned man
and a great preacher, but very proud. The Holy Father was completing St.
Peter's Church in Rome, and about that time granted an indulgence to
those giving alms for the purpose, just as pastors now offer Masses for
those who contribute means to build a new church, or hospital, asylum,
etc.

The Holy Father sent Dominican priests to preach about this indulgence
and collect this money. Then Luther, when he found that he, a great
preacher, was not appointed, was probably jealous. He first began to
preach against the abuses of indulgences: but pride made him go further,
and soon he began to preach against the doctrine of indulgences, and
thus became a heretic. Then he was condemned by the Pope, and cut off
from the Church. Being proud, he would not submit, but began to form a
new religion, now called Protestant. But how did he get the people to
follow him? Oh, very easily. Then, as now, there were plenty of bad and
indifferent Catholics. At that time the Church was rich and had much
property and lands; because when rich Catholics died they often left to
the Church property for its own support and the support of its
institutions. Even during their lifetime kings and princes sometimes
gave the Church large donations of lands and money. The Church then was
supported by these gifts and the income or rents of the lands, and did
not need to look for collections from the people, as it has to do now.
Here, then, is how Luther got many to follow him. He told greedy princes
that if they came with him they could become rich by seizing the
property of all the churches, and the greedy princes, glad of an excuse,
went with him. Then he told the people--the bad Catholics--that fasting
was too severe; going to confession too hard; hearing Mass every Sunday
too difficult; and if they renounced their faith and embraced his new
religion he would do away with all these things: so they also followed
him. He himself broke his solemn vows made to God, and the people easily
followed his example.

Those attending the Protestant churches in our times are generally rich
and refined people, but you must not think that the first Protestants of
three hundred years ago were just like them. No. Many of them were from
the lowest and worst--I do not say poorest--classes in society; and when
they got an excuse, they went about destroying churches and
institutions, burning beautiful statues, paintings, music, books, and
works of art that the Church had collected and preserved for centuries.
This you may read in any of the histories of the Church and times. The
Protestants of the present day praise all these works of art now; but if
their ancestors had had their way every beautiful work of art would have
been destroyed.

Some persons say they would not be members of the Catholic Church
because so many poor people attend it. Then they do not want to belong
to the Church of Our Lord, because His Church is the Church of both poor
and rich. When St. John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Our Lord
if He were really the Messias, Our Lord did not say yes or no, but told
them to relate to John what they had heard and seen (Matt. 11:5),
namely, that He (Christ) cured the blind, the lame, and the deaf, and
preached to the poor. Therefore Our Lord gave preaching to the poor as a
proof that He is the true Redeemer; and since Our Lord Himself had the
poor in His congregation, the Church everywhere must have the poor among
its members, for it must do what Our Lord did. So if you see a church to
which the poor people never go, in which they are not welcome, you have
good reason to suspect it is not the Church of Our Lord--not the true
Church. Again, poverty and riches belong only to this world and make a
distinction only here. The one who is poorest in this world's goods may
be richest in God's grace. Indeed, if most Protestants studied the early
history of their religion they would not be proud, but ashamed of it.
How little they would think of their ancestors who gave up God for some
worldly gain, while the Catholic martyrs gave up everything, even their
lives, rather than forsake God and the true religion.

133 Q. In which church are these attributes and marks found?
A. These attributes and marks are found in the Holy Roman Catholic
Church alone.

We have seen that some religions may seem to have one or two of the
marks; but the Catholic Church alone has them all, and is consequently
the only true Church of Christ. The other religions are not one--that
is, united over the world; they give no proof of holiness, never having
had any great saints whom God acknowledged as such by performing
miracles for them. They are not catholic, because they have not taught
in all ages and nations. They are not apostolic, because established
hundreds of years after the Apostles. They are not infallible, for they
have now declared things to be false which they formerly declared to be
true; they are not indefectible--they are not as Our Lord founded them,
for He never founded them; and they are constantly making changes in
their beliefs and practices.

The marks of the Church are necessary also because the Church must be a
visible Church, that all men may be able to see and know it; for Our
Lord said, "He that will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the
heathen and the publican." (Matt. 18:17). Heathens were those who
worshipped false gods. Publicans were men who gathered the taxes from
the Jews for the Romans; they were generally very cruel to the people,
and were much hated and despised by them. Therefore Our Lord meant: if
anyone will not obey the Church, you should avoid him as you avoid the
heathens and the publicans, whom you despise. Now no one can be blamed
for not obeying a church that is invisible and unknown. Therefore the
true Church must be a visible body and easily known to all who earnestly
seek it as the Church of Christ. But if some shut their eyes and refuse
to look at the light of truth, ignorance will not excuse them; they must
be blamed and fall under the sentence of Our Lord.

*134 Q. From whom does the Church derive its undying life and infallible
authority?
A. The Church derives its undying life and infallible authority from the
Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth, who abides with it forever.

*135 Q. By whom is the Church made and kept One, Holy, and Catholic?
A. The Church is made and kept One, Holy, and Catholic by the Holy
Ghost, the spirit of love and holiness, who unites and sanctifies its
members throughout the world.