The First American Pope
Dr. Matthew Bunson

The Church is One: The Call to Ecumenism
Dr. Schreck begins a study of the four marks of the Church, which we profess in the Apostles’ Creed. We begin with our belief that the Church is one—the perfect unity modeled on the Blessed Trinity and for which Christ prayed (Jn. 17:21). In response, the Catholic Church calls all her members to actively engage in ecumenism: “a movement, fostered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for the restoration of unity among all Christians” (Vatican II, “Decree on Ecumenism” art. 1).
Jesus commissioned his Apostles to guide and lead his Church, and they passed on this authority to others. By the beginning of the second century, each local church…...
Dr. Schreck reviews how the Catholic catechesis on the Church follows the order of Vatican II's "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church" (Lumen Gentium). He then describes how the…...
The final 'mark' of the Church is "apostolic." What does that mean? Certainly, it refers to the apostles and their mission and ministry. But who carried on this…...