The vital question of whether or not any given Catholic is truly born-again and heaven-bound — or not! There is no distinction between the Church and the “outside world” because Jesus Christ is King of all. CUFL’s most recent tax filing, from 2021, shows that the organization is headquartered in New Hope, Kentucky, a small town about an hour south of Louisville and 20 minutes south of Bardstown. More recently, groups like the Knights of Columbus had some secret initiatory rites (they are no longer secret as of this writing), but they were not confusing, bizarre, or offensive.

The most crucial problem with the Roman Catholic Church is its belief that faith alone in Christ is not sufficient for salvation. Some may question if its practices, beliefs and rituals conform with what has come to be known as cult characteristics.Catholicism affirms most of what the cults deny and possesses an orthodox foundation which all cult groups lack. It affirms teaching which is both extraneous and inconsistent with its historical affirmation of orthodoxy. Prod that perception of legitimacy, however, and you find value judgments based on age, tradition or ‘respectability’ (that nice middle-class couple down the street, say, as opposed to Tom Cruise jumping up and down on a couch). The meaning of this promise is that the whole of creation, bound up together and perfected in Christ as its Head, shall be led back in the most perfect manner to God, from whom sin had partly led it away.

People who are familiar with how various Christian-Like cults (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons) operate will see that the Catholic Church operates in a similar fashion.As an open religious institution with significant global cultural, historical, and political impact — no secretive group could match its size and influence — Catholicism does not meet any criteria of being classified as a cult in terms of size and influence. Some discretion and privacy is needed within any Church community or movement, but secrecy should never be absolute outside of the seal of confession. The noun cultus originates from the past participle of the verb colo, colere, colui, cultus, "to tend, take care of, cultivate", originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate land (ager); to practice agriculture", an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized.

Elitism, of any kind, is the result of sin, not the instruction or organization of the Catholic Church. In the Church, the word “cult” is also employed to mean the veneration (not worship) of a person who has died. That being said, I agree with you that there are sincere believers existing within certain cults who do have the right Jesus and the right doctrine despite what that cult teaches and stands for.The prosecution spun a fear-stoking narrative around outlandish claims, including bloody animal mutilations. We should not be paranoid about the fallen world but must understand that worldly desires will lead us away from true human flourishing.

I realize Nazism is different than communism, which is different than Islam, which is different from conservatism.Marie-Paul Giguere, the foundress of this organization, acted upon what she claimed was special revelation. The founder will always enjoy a special role in a new movement, but he should be bound to the common customs, disciplines, and constitutions of the community.