The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. 

The New Testament recorded Jesus’ activities and teachings, His appointment of the twelve Apostles, and His instructions to them to continue His work. The Catholic Church teaches that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as Pentecost, signalled the beginning of the public ministry of the Church. 

Catholics hold that Saint Peter was Rome’s first Bishop, followed by subsequent Bishops, thus starting the unbroken line which includes the current Pontiff, Pope Francis. That is, the Catholic Church maintains the apostolic succession of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope – the Successor to Saint Peter. 

The number of Roman Catholics in the world is greater than that of nearly all other religious traditions. There are more Roman Catholics than all other Christians combined and more Roman Catholics than all Buddhists or Hindus.

Although there are more Muslims than Roman Catholics, the number of Roman Catholics is greater than that of the individual traditions of Shiʿi and Sunni Islam.

Roman Catholic Church has maintained an unbroken continuity since the days of the Apostles, while all other denominations are deviations from it. Like any intricate and ancient phenomenon, Roman Catholicism can be described and interpreted from a variety of perspectives and by several methodologies.

Thus, the Roman Catholic Church itself is a complex institution, for which the usual diagram of a pyramid, extending from the Pope at the apex to the believers in the pew, is vastly over-simplified. 

Within that institution, moreover, sacred congregations, archdioceses and dioceses, provinces, religious orders and societies, seminaries and colleges, parishes and confraternities, and countless other organizations all invite the social scientist to the consideration of power relations, leadership roles, social dynamics, and other sociological phenomena that they uniquely represent.

As a world religion among world religions, Roman Catholicism encompasses, within the range of its multi-coloured life, features of many other world faiths; thus only the methodology of comparative religion can address them all. 

Furthermore, Roman Catholic doctrine must be studied philosophically even to understand its theological vocabulary. Nevertheless, a historical approach is especially appropriate to this task, not only because two millennia of history are represented in the Roman Catholic Church but also because the hypothesis of its continuity with the past, and the divine truth embodied in that continuity, are central to the Church’s understanding of itself and essential to the justification of its authority.

According to the tradition of the Catholic Church, it started from the day of Pentecost at the Upper room of Jerusalem, the Catholic tradition considers that the Church is a continuation of the early Christian community established by the Disciples of Jesus.

Jesus Christ gave the keys of the Church to Peter and said: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18–19). 

According to Roman Catholic teaching, this is the charter of the Roman Catholic Church. This is the sacrament of penance. This is the Lord’s promise to Peter and the other Apostles that the “gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” realizing that the Church shouldn’t be on the defensive but rather on the offensive against those “gates” wherever they be found. 

We have the promise of God that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church. That’s us! 

The organization of the Church consists of the Pope in Rome, the Bishop/Archbishop in the Diocese/Archdiocese, the Priest in the Parish but most of all the faithful Catholic in the pew. It’s us who will storm gates that the Clergy will never see. It’s up to us to carry the banner of Christ and His Church into the world every day. Onward, Catholic Soldier!! The very first gate that we must storm is the stronghold of our hearts and minds. Outside of Christ we are slaves to sin and its mastery over us. 

Thus, it’s absolutely vital that before going off to “fight the good fight of faith” our own stronghold must be conquered and converted to a stronghold of the Holy Spirit. No army has ever marched out to war without each soldier being trained and skilled at using every weapon in their arsenal.

Exactly what the Priesthood is all about. Catholic Priests are being trained and equipped with different skills and experiences that make them to be the strong tower of the Church. In the flesh this requires discipline, at first external (we call them “Drill Instructors” or “Training Instructors”) and eventually internal. It is the same in the Spirit as well. 

Catholic Priests submit themselves to the discipline of the teachings of the Scripture and to the rules of the Church. At first, they go to war against their own will and desires. But the more they submit the more they control those and bring them into line with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is against this background that an aspirant or candidate who wishes to become a Catholic Priest must undergo rigorous training that will last for at least 10 years before such a person can be ordained. It is the office of the Priesthood that makes the Catholic Church to be strong and unequivocally powerful and formidable.  

In fact, no gate of hell can prevail against the Church. Being Celibate just like Jesus Christ and John the Baptist is a standard for being a priest in the Catholic Church. People are not forced into it. You have to be fully convinced by the Spirit before you go into the priesthood. You have to be prepared before you plunge into it. Do not mis-interpret the Bible to suit your personal ego.

The Catholic Church is not disobeying the Bible. As a Priest it is good but if and only if you know you can do it and what I think can bring curse is when you are claiming to be a Rev. Father and having secret affairs with women. Even as a married man or woman, you are not free to having illicit or secret affairs with women. So, getting married is not a must but it is better to get married than falling into the sin of fornication or adultery.

For there are different reasons why men cannot marry. Some do not marry because they were born that way; others, because men made them that; and others do not marry for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so. 

The stronghold of the Catholic Church lies with the Priests and that is why other Churches or denominations or religions see this as a point of attack on the Church. But the gate of hell cannot prevail against it says Jesus Christ. Christians of other denominations and non-Christians have tried and are still trying to break the stronghold of the Catholic Church but it has not been possible because you cannot defeat God in His authority. 

God Bless the Catholic Church!!!

God Bless Nigeria!!!