Catholic Church

===Nature of the church===
{{Main|Catholic ecclesiology}}
The Catholic Church teaches that it is the "[[one true church]]",<ref name="Catholic News Service"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html|title=Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church|location=Rome|publisher=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|date=29 June 2007|author=William Cardinal Levada|access-date=26 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813100622/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html|archive-date=13 August 2013}}</ref> "the universal sacrament of salvation for the human race",<ref name="GAUDIUM">{{cite web|title=Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World ''GAUDIUM ET SPES'' § 45|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html|publisher=Vatican.va|date=7 December 1965|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017073250/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html|archive-date=17 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|title=Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ''Lumen Gentium''|editor-first=Pericle|editor-last=Felici|date=21 November 1964|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|archive-date=6 September 2014}}</ref> and "the one true religion".<ref>Paragraph 2, second sentence: {{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html|title=Dignitatis humanae|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211202206/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html|archive-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> According to the ''Catechism'', the Catholic Church is further described in the Nicene Creed as the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church".<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|811}}</ref> These are collectively known as the [[Four Marks of the Church]]. The church teaches that its founder is Jesus Christ.<ref name="Kreeft98">Kreeft, p. 98, quote "The fundamental reason for being a Catholic is the historical fact that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ, was God's invention, not man's;... As the Father gave authority to Christ (Jn 5:22; Mt 28:18–20), Christ passed it on to his apostles (Lk 10:16), and they passed it on to the successors they appointed as bishops." (see also Kreeft, p. 980)</ref>{{sfn|Bokenkotter|2004|p=30}} The [[New Testament]] records several events considered integral to the establishment of the Catholic Church, including Jesus' activities and teaching and his appointment of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] as witnesses to his ministry, suffering, and resurrection. The [[Great Commission]], after his resurrection, instructed the apostles to continue his work. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as [[Pentecost]], is seen as the beginning of the public ministry of the Catholic Church.<ref name="Barry48">Barry, p. 46.</ref> The church teaches that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the apostles of Christ, known as [[apostolic succession]].<ref name="OneFaith46">Barry, p. 46</ref> In particular, the Bishop of Rome (the pope) is considered the successor to the apostle [[Simon Peter]], a position from which he derives his [[papal supremacy|supremacy]] over the church.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|880}}</ref>

Catholic belief holds that the church "is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth"<ref name="Schreck131">Schreck, p. 131</ref> and that it alone possesses the full means of [[Salvation (Christianity)|salvation]].<ref name="CCC_816">{{Cite CCC|2.1|816|quote=The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains: 'For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God.' [''[[Unitatis redintegratio]]'' 3 §&nbsp;5.]}}</ref> Through the [[Passion (Christianity)|passion]] (suffering) of Christ leading to his [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] as described in the Gospels, it is said Christ made himself an oblation to God the Father to [[Atonement in Christianity|reconcile]] humanity to God;<ref name="608_">{{Cite CCC|2.1|608}}</ref> the [[Resurrection of Jesus]] makes him the firstborn from the dead, the first among many brethren.<ref>Colossians 1.18</ref> By reconciling with God and following Christ's words and deeds, an individual can enter the [[Kingdom of God (Christianity)|Kingdom of God]].<ref name="OneFaith26">Barry, p. 26</ref> The church sees its liturgy and sacraments as perpetuating the graces achieved through Christ's sacrifice to strengthen a person's relationship with Christ and aid in overcoming sin.<ref name="CoCCC_Paschal">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#God%20Comes%20to%20Meet%20Man|title=The paschal mystery in the sacraments of the church|date=2005|access-date=14 December 2014|website=Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church|publisher=Vatican.va|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122221130/http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#God%20Comes%20to%20Meet%20Man|url-status=live}}</ref>