There is hope for the unity of the Church

By Msgr. John Wynand Katende

Posted on: Sunday 1st February 2026

On October 22-23rd, 2025 King Charles II and Queen Camilla made an historic state visit to the Vatican. The meeting between Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church and King Charles III, Supreme Governor of the Church of England has been appreciated as bearing a lot of significance for Christian unity.

In England, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in the 1530s, challenging (“protesting”) against the universal papal authority and leading to the establishment of the Church of England. So, the visit marked the first public joint prayer service between a Pope and a British monarch in over 500 years. The Catholic Church and the Church of England have, however, been improving their ties, especially in the last decades, through many local and national ecumenical efforts.

We must appreciate the many uniting factors between the Catholic and Protestant Churches. Both consider Jesus Christ and the Word of God as the basis of their doctrine. Both profess the Nicene Creed defined at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Both believe in the Trinity; one God in three equal and distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

However, the differences between the two Churches are also many and significant, ranging from the interpretation of Scriptures to the authority of the Pope. Protestants profess the sufficiency and authority of Scripture, as the only reliable source of God’s revelation to humanity and the only key to salvation.

Catholics recognize the indispensable importance of the Bible, but also that of Sacred Tradition. Sacred Tradition implies all those doctrines and dogmas established within the Church throughout its history, both orally and in written form, recognized as which Jesus communicated to His Apostles and which have been transmitted to the faithful over the centuries (“deposit of faith”).

Another fundamental difference between Protestantism and Catholicism concerns the authority of the Pope. Catholics consider the Pope to be the head of the Church, the successor of Saint Peter; to whom Jesus entrusted the guidance of His followers. His authority is based on Sacred Scripture and the sacred Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

Protestants, on the other hand, recognize only Christ as the head of the Church of all times. They do not believe in apostolic succession, upon which Catholics base the authority and infallibility of the Pope. They do not recognize in the Apostles or Peter a greater enlightenment than that which the Holy Spirit sent by God gives to any man.

Protestants believe that all men are equal, and all have the faculty to understand the Sacred Scriptures. Although their pastors occupy a role in the Church, they do not have exclusivity over the Sacraments and do not enjoy privileges over other men.

Protestants do not recognize the existence of Purgatory, as a place designated to expiate the sins of the deceased who did not have time to repent. For them, there are only Hell and Heaven, and Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient payment to atone for all the sins of men, without the need for momentary punishments.

While Catholic Christians see the path to Salvation in faith, in “meritorious works,” and in the Sacraments, Protestants see in Christ on the cross the only true expiation possible for the sins of men. They recognize only two Sacraments: Baptism and the Eucharist. However, in the Eucharist, they reject the concept of “transubstantiation”. Christ is not truly present in the bread and wine, as Catholics believe, but His presence is symbolic; they regard the rite of consecration is merely a way to remember the Last Supper and His sacrifice.

Protestants disregard the sacrament of Confession/reconciliation as of any particular value. They believe that every man must have his own direct dialogue with God, to whom to acknowledge his own sins and limitations. Therefore, no member of the clergy has the right to welcome and listen to the sins of others.

Although Catholic Christians also pay close attention to keeping the concept of devotion separate from that of idolatry, Protestants recognize only devotion to the Triune God. They consider any form of devotion, whether to the Virgin Mary or to the Saints, a form of idolatry. Protestants recognize only God to whom we can pray, and the mediation of Jesus Christ.

In a world that is being so divided on all fronts, the historic visit and joint prayer in the Sistine Chapel, served as a springboard of hope in the realization of the unity of Christ’s Church, as per His priestly prayer in John 17. Unity refers to the followers of Jesus Christ being joined together and united in their belief in one God through Christ. It provides the most compelling evidence that Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 17:21).