Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 90
! ! 90 a. Roman Catholics: Catholics believe that Peter was a disciple and successor of Ha z rat Jesus as. History indicates that Peter lived in Rome. Catholics say that when in Rome, Peter was ordained as the successor of Ha z rat Jesus as , thu s making him the c aliph of Ha z rat Jesus as. According to them , the Pope, who is the head of the Catholic clergy, is the successor and caliph of Peter. They hold that the clergy must obey the Pope, for if they do not , they do not obey Ha z rat Jesus as. Thus , they assert that the caliphate of Haz rat Jesus as will be continuous. Now , I will not argue whether these beliefs are correct, rather I simply w ish to summarize the study of Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholics also attribute some divine qualities to Ha z rat Mar y. When a righteous person passes away , they believe that one can pray at his or her grave. With the advancement of science, they have been able to preserve the bodies of saintly elders , and they either visit those sites or the places where the saints themselves pra yed. In terms of bureaucracy , they follow the Pope. In terms of religion, they believe that their prayers will be accepted if they pray at the graves of Ha z rat Mary, Ha z rat Jesus as , and the saints. They have a tradition called the Last Supper. They say that before Ha z rat Jesus as was arrested, he had a drink of wine or g rape juice and a piece of bread, which he also served to his disciples. Ha z rat Jesus as interpreted th ese [items] to be his flesh and blo od. Roman Catholics mimic this [analogy] and believe that bread is his flesh and wine is his blo od. Roman Catholics govern a large area and follow the Christianity of the olden days. b. Greek Church (Greek Orthodox): This church separated in the fifth century A. D. Idol worship was common among the Greek s. They do not agree with the Roman Catholic’s belief that the Pope is the successor to Ha z rat Jesus as , so they broke away from the Pope. The head of the clergy is called the Patriarch and h e lives in Constantinople. They view him i n the same way they view the Pope. He is not regarded a successor of Ha z rat Jesus as. c. Protestants: Protestant means to oppose and express hatre d or a willingness for separation. They dissented with the