BASIC BELIEFS OF CATHOLICISM

Catholics are, first and foremost, Christianswho believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Catholicism shares some beliefs with other Christian practices, but essential Catholic beliefs include the following:

• The Bible is the inspired, error-free, and revealed word of God.
• Baptism,the rite of becoming a Christian, is necessary for salvation — whether the Baptism occurs by water, blood, or desire.
• God’s Ten Commandments provide a moral compass — an ethical standard to live by.
• The existence of the Holy Trinity — one God in three persons. Catholics embrace the belief that God, the one Supreme Being, is made up of three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Catholics also believe that since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, all humans are born with original sin, which only Baptism removes. A happier belief is in grace, a totally free, unmerited gift from God. Grace is a sharing in the divine; the inspiration to do God’s will