Why I Am Not Roman Catholic: I Am a Hopeless Sinner, Not Just a Wounded Person

“I am Italian, but I am not Roman Catholic.” This statement often surprises people who think being Italian is associated with being Roman Catholic. Leonardo was raised in a Roman Catholic environment, but he is not a Roman Catholic and for some good reasons. There might be people who, in majority Roman Catholic contexts, ask the same question to evangelicals: “Why aren’t you Roman Catholic?” What would you say in response? Furthermore, there might be people who may be tempted to become Roman Catholic and ask the question themselves: “Why shouldn’t I be Roman Catholic?” In this 5-part series, Leonardo De Chirico gives five reasons why he is not Roman Catholic.

The Roman Catholic view of the human condition says people are wounded, weakened, and impoverished by sin. The Bible tells us that we are sinners, in a broken relationship with God, and spiritually dead. The latter portrait is more realistic. I am indeed a hopeless sinner. Roman Catholicism underestimates our problem and, in so doing, does not help to find the solution.

This is part 1 of a 5-part series on "Why I Am Not a Roman Catholic."