This is the official X account for Capturing Christianity/Capturing Catholicism, a crowd-funded Christian apologetics ministry.
Joined August 2017
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Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Well, another Cardinal has come out with a, shall we say, puzzling take on evangelization.
A few years ago, Cardinal Américo Aguiar, at the time auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, said that he and the other organizers of World Youth Day in his hometown had no interest in converting anyone to Christ.
Now Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algeria has opined that “the Church is not there to convert” and “Christians should approach other religions through fraternity rather than seeking conversions.”
Excuse me, but…what?
Last time I checked, the Founder said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sure sounds like conversion to me.
When St. Paul came to Corinth or Athens or Thessalonica, his purpose was not to listen or to form a discussion group but rather to declare an unnerving message: the euangelion (glad tidings) that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
So impassioned is he for this work that he says, “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:22); and “If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16)!
Moreover, the entire thrust of the Second Vatican Council was toward bringing the Light of Christ to the peoples of the world (Lumen Gentium). And this missionary élan has given rise in the last few decades to the idea of a “new evangelization,” which is to say, a fresh declaration of the Lordship of Christ.
Quite obviously, no one thinks that this work of evangelization should be done in a brow-beating, overbearing, or disrespectful manner (proselytization), but for God’s sake, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
If I really thought that the Church does not exist to bring people to Christ, then I would resign and get an honest job.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
We’ve defined the Assumption. Y’all have not. We’ve also defined the canon. Y’all have not, which is why you still have inconsistent canons. Not surprising, since Trullo accepted inconsistent canons. We’ve done exactly what you’d expect the universal church to do; what we see in your sect is what we’d expect of disunited regional churches the largest of which is run by Vladimir Putin.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Wait, how do you know Jesus said that? Oh, it’s in the Gospel of John. So why do you cherry pick that line out and ignore John 1:1; 5:19-24 8:58; 20:28-29?
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Dear friends, during some recent medical examinations, the doctors found a small, localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well-localized. The doctors believe that it is best to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled to take place in the coming days. I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Easily addressed. youtu.be/zYNg4e43S5A?is=u5nz…
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Six children with Down syndrome have been invited to serve Pope Leo XIV at the altar during Mass during his visit to France.
In the Catholic Church, everyone has a place, and every person is valued and loved.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
You have clear answers in the catechism.
I’m not sure what you believe given what your prophets have said and what I hear your apologists now say. Can you help me? Is there a catechism of the Mormon church that answers the following questions authoritatively?
1. Was Adam “our Father and our God”? (Brigham Young)
2. Was God the Father once as we are, a mortal man who became a god? (Joseph Smith)
3. Are human spirits eternal, pre-existing even God the Father when he was merely a mortal man? (Joseph Smith)
4. Were there gods before God the Father?
5. How did God the Father become a god? Who or what gave him the requisite powers?
6. Does the Father god-man have a wife, heavenly mother? Have they sired any children?
7. Can mortal human beings like you become a god?
8. Is the so-called Book of Abraham a “translation” of “papyrus” on which Abraham, “by his own hand,” wrote the book and that had “fallen into” the church’s hands?
9. If an Egyptologist translated the facsimiles, would what he writes match the “translation” in the Book of Abraham?
10. When did the catalyst theory develop? Who was the first to defend it? Was it after the findings of the Egyptologists about the book?
There are many more questions I’d have, but I think that’s a good start—I’ve heard different answers from @ThoughtfulSaint , the prophets, and more conservative Mormons who are willing to defend them (versus changing them with philosophy).
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Why do you intentionally downplay the evidence? There are many witnesses, including a German Protestant prince who saw Joseph fly and converted to Catholicism. It was controversial enough for Leibniz to mention.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Anti-Trinitarian tries to use AI to refute the Trinity. It doesn’t go well.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
He knew Polycarp and John, the beloved disciple. I'm going with him over Americans 2000 years later.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
The Bishop of Rome’s authority over foreign churches is evidenced very early on in church history.
Clement, the third Bishop of Rome after Peter, commands the Corinthian church by the authority of God, twice: He warns the Corinthians who ‘should disobey what has been said by him [i.e., God] through us,’ and commends those who would ‘obey what we have written through the Holy Spirit.’ 1 Clem. 59, 63.
The authoritative tone of the letter is all the more striking when one realizes that St. John the Apostle was still alive and closer to Corinth. Still the Corinthians appealed to the Church of Rome, and received Clement’s response.
In a letter to Pope Soter, Dionysius, the later Bishop of Corinth, confirmed that the Corinthian Church obeyed. The Church so highly regarded Clement’s letter that they read it in church alongside Scripture.
Pope Calistus followed in that very early tradition. He promulgated a decree that sins like fornication could be remitted, and grounded that authority in Matthew 16. After Tertullian became a Montanist heretic he mocked the Pope for asserting authority as ‘the Supreme Pontiff, the bishop of bishops’ and ‘blessed Pope.’
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
No response to the challenge: Reception would make non-ecumenical some councils your Church says are ecumenical.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
Since you won't answer my question, the "Holy Fire" is a known fraud.
youtu.be/Q1LZun4WpkA
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
God wants unity among Christians. The way forward, at least for Eastern Orthodox, is to accept that the Council of Florence was ecumenical and binding. The schism ended.
Cameron Bertuzzi retweeted
I think you’re missing his point. Catholics think Mary is a saint, so your alleged miracle doesn’t vindicate EO specifically. What might vindicate EO specifically is a miracle on an icon of a saint Catholics don’t recognize, like Mark of Ephesus. Cam is asking if you’ve got an example like that.
