The second difference is the centrality of Christ compared with the veneration of Mary within the Catholic church. Although the New Testament calls her blessed among women for having been the mother of our Lord, Luke 2 says that even she needed a savior and she was dependent upon the grace of God.
That takes us to the third difference, which is the means of salvation. When you ask most Roman Catholics how a person is justified they would say that faith is infused at Baptism and confirmed at Confirmation. Whereas the whole argument of the Protestant Reformation was that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Crosswalk: What are some of the changes taking place in the modern Catholic church?
Bailey: In 1965, papers that came from Vatican II opened the door a little bit to the idea that salvation is not restricted to the Catholic church, that the Spirit can blow with a mighty wind beyond the Catholic church. But even with Vatican II, there has never been a repudiation or backing off the Council of Trent that would call all Evangelicals “devils” and really deny that Evangelicals and Protestants can have a place in eternity. There’s a bit of contradiction between Vatican II and the Council of Trent prior that still has to be wrestled with.
Crosswalk: Given some of the differences, how should non-Catholics view this Pope? Can we revere his achievements without revering the papal office?
Bailey: Sure. We have shared values in the common grace that God has given to all men; there’s a conscience, a morality within everyone. Although sometimes that is seared and sometimes it is outright rejected. We share certain moral principles that this Pope espoused – the sanctity of human life, the Biblical view of marriage, a desire for justice and peace and caring for the downtrodden. We would all share, hopefully, those values. They are rooted in Scripture and in the character of God. There is a shared agenda, at times, with regard to moral issues and social issues.
He was noteworthy in his boldness in the area of abortion, going against the wave of popularity, even within the Catholic church at large. He refused to budge on those kids of issues and probably could be viewed as a very conservative pope in the community of the Roman Catholics.
