Philip Schaff, the great nineteenth century historian, on the error of identifying Rome with the Church Catholic:

[Rome’s] hierarchy is an absolute spiritual monarchy culminating in the Bishop of Rome, who pretends to be nothing less than the infallible Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. It proudly identifies itself with the whole Church of Christ, and treats all other Christians as schismatics and heretics, who are outside of the pale of ordinary salvation.

But this unproved assumption is the fundamental error of the system. There is a vast difference between Catholicism and Romanism. The former embraces all Christians, whether Roman, Greek, or Protestant; the latter is in its very name local, sectarian, and exclusive. The holy Catholic Church is an article of faith; the Roman Church is not even named in the ancient creeds. Catholicism extends through all Christian centuries; Romanism proper dates from the Council of Trent.

The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 1, pp83f

Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus “casting out a demon.” What are demons? The Epistle of Jude describes them as “angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode.” In other words, they are spirits who were part of God’s “host,” or military, but left their posts. Elsewhere God’s Word describes the demons particularly operating by telling lies, with the aim of destroying mankind. Some are very adept at damaging people through sickness and maladies. So Scripture gives us labels for different types of demons, such as spirits of error, spirits of weakness, and unclean spirits. The preeminent demon is sometimes called διάβολος, which means “the slanderer.” He is also called σατάν, “the adversary” or simply, “the enemy.” Every day bless yourself with the sign of the holy cross and ask for God’s protection against the demons….

Romanism and Catholicism

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