I was a protestant for many years who converted to Catholicism. These are the major differences as I see them:

Re: Hi Every One...

I think there are some language and grammar issues here, but I feel the need to
chime in if I'm understanding this question and response correctly. To suggest
that Catholics have the Pope while protestants have the Bible is really
inaccurate.

The Catholic Church is the original Christian church that Jesus Christ founded.
Nearly all the beliefs of the Catholic Church, including the Pope, the
Sacraments, veneration of Mary, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist,
Confession (Reconciliation), etc. were accepted by Christians for the first 1500
years after Christ's time on earth. You can read the writings of early
Christians like St. Justin Martyr (2nd Century) to verify this. See this link
for more: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm.

The protestant reformation in the 16th century raised some serious issues in the
church - not in terms of belief but in administration and corruption. After many
years, this led to a split in Christianity which required changes in belief
(such as denying the authority of the Pope since protestants would no longer
obey that authority).

Once that first split was complete (the Lutheran church), many other protestant
churches split from that, and the beliefs became more and more varied. At last
count there are some 30,000 different protestant faiths, all with slightly
different beliefs (although in some cases the specifics of their beliefs are
unclear).

As Christians we all believe that the books of the Bible were divinely inspired.
Practically speaking, the early Catholic Church debated and discussed which
books would be admitted for about 400 years. Finally, around 410 we have the
first recorded official list of the New Testament appearing in a letter from
Pope Innocent I, and there is no evidence that the books were debated from that
point on.

So while God provided the Bible for us, the authority of the Catholic Church in
the early centuries helped affirm those books for all of us and end any debate
as to which books should be included. Ironic, then, that protestants would
attack the Catholic Church over the Bible which the Church played an important
role in developing.

Bottom line: the Bible is very important to Catholics, as it is to all
Christians.

I was a protestant for many years who converted to Catholicism. These are the
major differences as I see them:

REAL PRESENCE: Catholic believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
(communion). This belief is supported strongly in scripture and was the belief
of all Christians prior to 1500. Most protestant faiths today believe communion
is a symbolic memorial, nothing more. (Some notable exceptions such at Lutherans
believe in a Real Presence although some details vary.)

AUTHORITY OF THE POPE & CHURCH: The split away from the Catholic Church required
that protestants deny the authority of the Pope in order that they have the
freedom to develop their own church and beliefs.

VENERATION OF MARY: The Mother of Christ was held in very high regard by early
Christians and remains so in the Catholic Church. Most protestant faiths have
lost this tradition.

SCRIPTURE VS TRADITION. Having denied the authority of the Catholic Church, many
protestant faiths put 100% authority to scripture as a foundation of their
faith. The Catholic Church has always maintained the importance of Holy
Scripture but also recognizes Holy Tradition - basically the teachings of Christ
and records of Christian history which were passed down orally from one
generation to the next. In fact, it is from these Traditions that many of the
Scriptures were written (in many cases, years after Christ walked the earth). An
example of this would be the Assumption of Mary - early Christians believed that
Mary was taken up to heaven body and soul to recognize her important role in
Christ's mission. This was never written down in Holy Scripture, perhaps because
it is not really relevant to our salvation, perhaps because it was never debated
among Christians. Still, it is interesting. Many things like that exist to form
a deeper, more meaningful faith than what you'd get from Holy Scripture alone.
Keep in mind - Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition cannot conflict with each other
since they both come from the same source - Jesus Christ.

Other traditions of the Catholic Church. I put this as a small "t" - these are
traditions like prayers and practices that in many cases have been practiced by
Christians for thousands of years but have been lost in many protestant faiths.
This includes prayers like the Rosary, appreciation of the saints, recognition
of Lent and Advent (still recognized in some protestant faiths), sign of the
cross, etc. Again, these things help create a deeper faith and connect us to the
universal Church around the Earth and throughout history.

There you go... I haven't posted in months but just unloaded lots of info. That
should give us something to talk about!

God bless!

Jon