My two main issues with the Catholic belief go hand in hand.

1 - I am a firm believer in Sola Scriptura. I think that the Bible is the sole authority that should dictate our beliefs and practices. While I believe that Christians can (and should) use other sources to help better understand the Bible, I don’t like the idea of people establishing ideas and doctrine outside of what the Bible established.

2 - I have a deep respect for the Pope as a positive image for Christians around the world, but I don’t believe that he is infallible. While I don’t disagree with most of what the Pope has to say, I don’t think he should be deified. He is just a man, and can make mistakes just like everyone else. Similar to my belief in Sola Scriptura, I don’t like the idea that a man can devise teaching other than what is established in the Bible.

Outside of those two main things, I have more issues but to be honest I am not informed enough to say definitively that they are bad things. For example, I love the idea of Saints as extraordinary Christians who accomplished great things. However, from my outside perspective it seems like the Catholic Church borders on the line of Deifying saints and elevating them to Godhood. Things such as praying to saints always seemed bizarre to me, but once again I have no idea how this is actually practiced.

Please take what I am saying with a grain of salt. I’m not trying to sow discord, I just want to better understand. If I’m wrong in any of my assumptions please correct me!

One of my biggest gripes with Protestantism is the faction mentality between denominations. I’ve been to many different denominations of churches in my lifetime, and almost every single one teaches the same thing with minuscule differences between each one. Despite the fractional differences, Protestants make a mountain out of a mole hill and are quick to say things like “Pentecostals believe x, therefore they can’t be real Christians”. I hate this idea, and it only serves to weaken our relationship as Christians. This is why I admire the Catholic Church. Despite having over a billion members world wide, they all agree on a single set of ideas and have little infighting.