Serious question for all you Catholics out there…
Why are Catholics always so intent on trying to “convert” Protestants?
Have you noticed that?
I have.
“Conversion” is good — we’re all called to “go and make disciples” — it’s the Great Commission:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
But the point as I’ve always understood it was to bring non-Christians into the Christian family, not to “convert” one branch of Christianity. That’s not even a “conversion”. If it’s ultimately all about Jesus for you, then you’re Christian and you don’t need to be converted into a different form of Christianity.
At least that’s what I always thought…
Until a few years ago, if you asked me whether Catholics and Protestants shared the same faith I would have said yes, of course they do!
There are some differences, of course, but we’re different branches of the same tree.
But now I’m not so sure…
And that’s not because I am pronouncing some judgment against Catholics, I’m actually just taking them at their own word about what THEY say.
The truth is folks, THEY don’t believe we’re different branches on the same tree.
And quite frankly it would be disrespectful to them to not listen to what they are saying and take it at face value.
The bottom line is that Catholics DO NOT think you are saved if you’re a non-Catholic Christian.
The other truth is that Charlie Kirk was NOT planning to “convert” to Catholicism.
Don’t believe me?
The video below proves both points.
And I’ll just say this one last thing before playing the video…
As a non-Catholic Christian, I would never use the word “convert” when talking about a Catholic switching from Catholicism to some other branch of Christianity. Because I never would have thought it applied.
But Catholics use that word all the time and they mean exactly what it says.
They need you to “convert” into their religion because they do not think you are in the same tree as them.
They’re certainly entitled to have that opinion, but they’re not allowed to have their cake and eat it too…
One very common “tell” in life that will always help you be able to spot when someone is lying and when someone is telling the truth is when you ask them a very simple and straightforward question and they look down at their shoes or up to the sky and their answer starts with “Welllllllllllll……”
Dead giveaway every time.
Watch as Charlie Kirk is ROCK SOLID in this clip and Michael Knowles is “wellllllll…..”:
Protestant Charlie Kirk DESTROYS Catholicism while revealing how either insincere or little thought Michael Knowles put into his own faith
Remember when listening to your favorite Catholic conservative influencer, according to the Papacy you're only saved if you're in The Church pic.twitter.com/Htxe8v9ALn
— Nightwatch N8 (@NightwatchN8) September 12, 2025
TRANSCRIPT:
As an evangelical who loves Catholics, I love that you’re doing it. But let me just, let me just edit what you say—here’s the but, here’s the but. Hold on. No, no. It’s a big one. You didn’t catch it, Michael. Yeah.
Is that your goal should be to bring people to Jesus, not Catholicism. Yo, hold on. Amen. No—what’s the difference? What’s the—I don’t think—what’s the d—oh, hold on. Uh, hold on. I’m not saying that they’re contradictory, but your goal should not be to bring people to a specific sect of Christianity, it is to bring people to the cross.
You’re saying to bring people to the fullness of the truth and the universal faith. Yes, but not the maxims of every Catholic dogma. No, I mean, for example, am I Christian if I don’t believe in Mariology? Uh, well, we’re talking about the fullness of the truth, you know? We’re talking about—
But you still have truth. Am I Christian if I don’t believe in transubstantiation? You are a little confused if you don’t believe. But you can—I’m confused? But you can have sincere, sincere faith. No, it’s fine. I just, I think that bringing people to Catholicism is fine, of course, great, terrific, but that is hopefully a means to the ultimate end.
You exist to bring people to—yes. Christ. Of course. And that is the goal. I’m just maybe being semantically, you know—
But think about this question. What happens when you want to bring people to our Lord? And what happens when there are disagreements over important things? I mean, not—
We schism and say, “You guys got it wrong.” Yeah. Or we do a reformation.
But, you know, so we’re at, uh, we’re at Christmas right now. We did that. We’re at Christmastime, we’re talking about St. Nicholas. You know, Santa Claus.
No, I’m talking about Jesus. Well, no, but I’m talking about Santa Claus. There is—before we talk about our Lord.
But, but, you know, there’s this story—all these characters. Like Jesus, just focus on the main thing.
But the serious question is, what happens when someone has a question on something really important, like, is Christ God? You know, the divinity of Christ?
Yes. There has to be an interpretive hermeneutic to figure it out. Of course, yeah.
And look, to be very clear, like 9 out of 10 of Catholic dogmas, evangelicals hold. Yeah. 9 out of 10, right?
Yeah, yeah. And that is why I believe Catholics are Christian, even though you don’t give me that same sort of charity.
No, I would. I would, I would. But, um, no, I’m giving you a hard time. And I, I mean that. It’s, uh, it—again, if you are a Catholic who loves Jesus, therefore.
And I know that, it’s just, I believe that there are personally some fundamental issues with, like I say, Mariology, transubstantiation, which we’re not going to get into. But the biggest one is the papacy.
I can’t get over—that’s right—the idea of this Marxist, who calls himself the head of your church, being a representation of Christ, our Lord. I just—
And I mean that as someone who loves the Catholic impact on the world, that says it openly and—but what—by the fruit you will know it. And you have very Marxist fruit.
But what—I guess my sort of last question on, uh—Is it your last question, Michael? Evangelization is—
No, evangelism or evangelization? Both.
Okay. What happens when we get the next pope? There is a question to be asked of, why is that specific process, that mechanism given more merit than, let’s just say, the local church and/or the word of God?
And you would say, “Okay, interpretation, you know, it’s the final resolution to difficult questions.”
No, that’s fine. I just, I ask the question, if you are all in on the papacy and the Vatican, no practicing Catholic can look and say, “This is the best that my religion has to offer.”
No. Charlie, you’re thinking too much about it. You gotta have the Italian spirit.
Now, the Italian spirit is, when someone asks, “Hey, in this newspaper, the Pope said something.” Well, you say, “Ah, well. Maybe the Papa was misinterpreted, you know? It’s no big deal. Forget about it.”
You’re too Anglo to understand that. I’m too Anglo?
Attitude. So I have to just, I have to just hope, you know, “Oh, no, it doesn’t mean that, you know, homosexuality’s bad, you know, okay? We should just—”
“No, he said God can’t bless sin.” “Eh, he—yes, but he—”
But I know, sometimes it’s confusing. Now, hold on. No, no, no, no, no, no. It is confusing. I’m not gonna give you that one. He’s been way more open on that topic, or the climate change thing.
And all this sort of stuff. You just have to kind of hope that he’s saying what we want him to say. You just kind of—it’s like my grandmother sometimes.
When one of her grandchildren says something that she doesn’t like, she kind of turns down the hearing aid a little bit. And so sometimes, you know, if you turn down the hearing aid on certain issues—
But it all—And I mean this, like non-sarcastically, but, like, why should I care at all what that guy from Argentina has to say?
Well, because you care what your pastor has to say.
Yes, but if my pastor starts saying crazy things, I find a new pastor.
That’s right. So, if your pope starts saying crazy things, maybe he’s not the pope. And maybe that’s a bad representation.
Well, I guess if your pastor says crazy things, you go to a new pastor, then you have division in the church. It used to be, in the old days it used to be, if the pastors disagreed, they’d go to an elder or a bishop or someone, right?
You go to someone higher up. Yeah, unless the bishop is corrupted and—
Then you take it up higher, yeah. And then maybe the pope is corrupted and we write 95 points of complaints and hammer them through a door and get back to the word.
But you know—my—I want a better Catholic church, and I personally would not be able to be part of an institution with the figurehead with a worldview that is so corrupted and opposite of what I think the Bible teaches.
And I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt. I’d be like, “No, I’m actually not part of this. I’m leaving.”
But today you’re part of the United States, but the head of the United States is one of the worst presidents we ever had.
Yeah, but I don’t—I, again, I don’t think—
But you don’t leave the country. It’s your country.
I don’t take religious orders from Joe Biden.
No, but you take political orders, or you at least follow the law.
Not really. I mean, I follow the law—yeah. But certainly not political orders from Joe Biden.
No, like—we all rebel against corrupt institutions we don’t like.
But an unjust law is no law at all. It’s a species of violence rather than law.
Okay, an unjust pope is not a pope.
Yeah, but what’s—there’s nothing unjust about the pope talking about climate change.
No, no—you just don’t pay attention to it, you know?
Okay. So you just pick and choose what it’s like, a buffet line?
No. The papal authority is that he speaks infallibly when speaking ex cathedra on faith and morals. Doesn’t talk about climate change at all.
So, the Pope can say things that are crazy.
Yeah.
So this is perfect then. Then why have one? If what he says is not—
In order to speak infallibly ex cathedra on faith and morals.
Okay. So that has not happened since what? Vatican II?
No. It’s a little bit before.
When was the last time the Pope spoke ex cathedra?
Well, Vatican II is part of the Magisterium, yeah.
When was the last time? Like, 50, 60 years?
The last probably ex cathedra infallible teachings from a pope were probably Pope Pius IX, you know, like 150 years ago.
Okay. So then, therefore, there really is no functional use for a pope for 150 years?
No, no. He’s the leader of the church, you know? He’s the—
Exactly. He’s the first—your figurehead, your top leader, is not good.
Well, none is good but God, I guess, you know?
Well, of course, yeah, we all fall short of the glory of God.
So there you are. But I think that there is a—I mean, Catholic moral teaching will tell you that there are gradations of sin.
Yeah.
I’m using your own morality and I agree with it, right?
Yeah.
Like, Pope John Paul II is totally different than, you know, Ted Kaczynski.
Yeah.
But I don’t know. What sin are you accusing Pope Francis—I can’t believe I’m defending Pope Francis, an Inquisitor. What sin—
No. But I can’t believe it.
How about the sin of heresy of the word of God?
What heresy?
Okay. Without getting into the specific things that he said, but like, in the Latin, he was—the climate change stuff is insane. Way too relaxed.
But that’s not heresy. He’s just—
Way too relaxed on the homosexuality stuff.
He says, “God can’t bless sin.”
Well—
He says that it’s—he called gay marriage, “A machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to deceive and confuse the children of God.”
Again, if I had the full body of work in front of me—
What?
His teachings on communism are insane. He comes from liberation theology.
He said he’s not a communist.
No, no. He—you know—
He said it. He said he’s not a communist.
Okay. So, wait. I’ll say that—
So does Obama, so let’s, uh—I wanna—
So, Michael, let me say this. If I had every quote here, which of course I don’t—
Yeah.
You would be able to defend them, that he said?
I would at least be able to make the point that he’s not speaking infallibly, I think. But I wouldn’t defend every—
All right.
Okay. Every report. We’ll get to the next question.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Backup here if needed:
Charlie Kirk was NOT interested in becoming Catholic! pic.twitter.com/O9IDTDReid
— Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) September 18, 2025
Charlie is so solid!
Absolutely incredible the way he was always so far ahead of everyone else but at the same time came off calm and respectful.
Here’s an extended clip of Charlie listing his Top 3 objections to Catholicism (I agree):
On July, 22nd of 2025… less than two months before his assassination… Charlie Kirk shared his thoughts on Catholicism.
I shared this in hopes of setting the record straight as to whether he was planning to convert to Catholicism…
And again point everyone’s attention back… pic.twitter.com/4WtiWPh9B1
— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) September 18, 2025
I’ve actually written about this topic before and if you want great in-depth coverage, I go deep in this one:
Happy Sunday folks!
Catholics believe you are not saved....
....at least, that is, if you're a non-Catholic Christian.
To put that into context, there are an estimated 2.3 billion Christians on Earth right now, and 55-60% are estimated to be Catholic, with 40-45% being non-Catholic (Protestant, etc.).
So call it roughy 1 billion people who are Christians but not Catholic.
And the Catholic Church believes and teaches you are not saved.
That's not my opinion, that's something I'm learning from the Catholics! Crazy stuff, I had no idea this is what they believed or taught, but it seems to be the case.
Perhaps I should back up and explain a little bit.....
And I'll start with a disclaimer: I have nothing against the Catholics. They don't seem to like me very much, but I have always considered them to be brothers and sisters in Christ, branches on the same Christian tree. But I'm now finding out that may not have been reciprocal. So I print this more to show you what I am learning about their beliefs based on what they explicitly tell me and on what I then research and verify. None of this is printed to be mean-spirited or divisive. Certainly there is no disrespect intended. It's just the truth of what I have been told from the Catholics themselves. And that's our mission here, to shine light on truth, and today's light is being shined on what the Catholics believe about non-Catholic Christians. Not my opinion, we're simply investigating what they actually teach and believe.
It all started when I saw a video of a Priest online saying it was perfectly fine and normal to pray to Mary because.....and I'm quoting him....."sometimes Jesus just gets too busy, so you have to dial up his mom!"
I covered that fully in this article if you want more on that topic:
But that article led to 275 comments and dozens of emails from Catholics telling me I was wrong.
They told me it's good and right to pray to Mary.
In fact, they also think it's good and right to pray to Angels.
From what I understand about their comments they also believe it's good and right to pray to "Saints" or to "all the Saints" in Heaven. As best I can tell, those are two different groups of people, the first being people who the Catholic Church has literally given "Saint" status here on Earth, and the second group essentially being all the Believers who are now in Heaven.
I covered many of the 275 comments and emails in this post here:
Today I don't want to rehash the Pray to Mary/Saints/Angels topic, because we've already covered that.
But I want to discuss something else that arose during that debate...
I started to pick up on something that was kind of subtly boiling right under the surface, and it was basically this idea that Catholics do not believe that non-Catholic Christians are saved. You know, that group of 1 billion Christians I talked about earlier today.
I asked one (very nice and sweet) reader who was emailing with me if I was picking up on that correctly, is that truly what you believe?
I've redacted her personal information for privacy purposes, but here was her response, see #1 below:
I've had 30-some years on the face of this Earth and I had never known this before!
I knew Protestants and other non-Catholic Christians had some differences with the Catholics, but I always thought they were minor and that we all considered ourselves Christians!
The Protestants believe that, but now I have come to learn the Catholics don't.
Wow!
And I'm not trying to put words in their mouth, this is what they all kept telling me in the Comments and emails.
But then I decided to dig a little deeper and I had a chat with ChatGPT about this to see if I was off-base in what I was hearing.
This is where it really gets fascinating....
I asked ChatGPT straight up: "Do Catholics believe non-catholic Christians go to heaven?"
Simple and direct question, right?
Here's what it told me:
The Catholic Church does not teach that only Catholics can go to heaven. Instead, it acknowledges that non-Catholic Christians can be saved, though it sees the fullness of truth and means of salvation as being within the Catholic Church.
1. Official Catholic Teaching on Salvation
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches:
Salvation Comes Through Christ Alone
- CCC 846: “Outside the Church there is no salvation.”
- However, this does not mean that only formal Catholics are saved—it means that all salvation comes through Jesus Christ and the Church He established.
Non-Catholic Christians Can Be Saved
- CCC 847: “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation.”
Baptism Unites All Christians
- CCC 1271: The Catholic Church recognizes that baptized non-Catholic Christians are part of the Body of Christ and share a real, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.
2. Vatican II: Recognizing Other Christians
The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) clarified that non-Catholic Christians:
- Are truly Christians if they have a valid baptism (Trinitarian baptism: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”).
- Can be saved because they are connected to Christ, even if they are not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
- Have elements of truth and sanctification in their churches (though the Catholic Church sees itself as the fullest expression of Christianity).
3. What About Protestant Christians?
- The Church recognizes Protestant Christians as separated brethren who have real faith in Christ.
- Many Protestant denominations have valid baptisms, and the Church believes God’s grace works in them.
- However, Protestants lack full communion with the Catholic Church, meaning they do not receive the Eucharist in the Catholic way and do not accept Catholic teachings on authority, sacraments, etc.
- The Church hopes for unity with all Christians under one faith.
4. Can Non-Christians Go to Heaven?
- The Catholic Church does not teach universalism (the idea that everyone is automatically saved).
- However, it acknowledges that God’s mercy is greater than human understanding.
- CCC 1260: Those who seek truth and goodness, even if they don’t explicitly know Christ, may be saved through God's grace.
- This applies to people who never heard the Gospel but lived according to their conscience.
5. Summary: Do Non-Catholic Christians Go to Heaven?
✔ Yes, they can, because salvation is through Christ, not Catholic membership alone.
✔ Baptized Christians are part of Christ’s Body, even if not Catholic.
✔ God’s mercy extends to those who genuinely seek Him.
✔ The Catholic Church still sees fullness of truth in Catholicism and encourages all to be united under one Church.
Wow, that was a lot to take in!
In general, I have always found the more mental gymnastics you have to go through to defend your position, the more likely you are to be further away from the truth.
It's like in business, they say if you can't explain your pitch in 30 seconds (an Elevator Pitch) it's not good enough and not simple enough.
The truth can run very deep, but it's also usually also easy to understand on the surface too.
Anyway, I was a bit confused because ChatGPT seemed to be talking out of both sides of it's mouth.
So I followed up with this question: "It sounds to me like CCC1260 applies more to people who have never heard the gospel at all, and not really to Protestants."
The response here was also fascinating:
Yes, you're absolutely right—CCC 1260 primarily refers to those who have never heard the Gospel at all, such as people in remote parts of the world who have not had the opportunity to learn about Christ. It does not specifically apply to Protestants, who have heard the Gospel but understand and interpret it differently from Catholics.
For Protestants, the Church takes a different approach, recognizing that they are already Christian and that they have a real but imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. This is based on teachings from Vatican II, particularly in the document Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church).
How the Catholic Church Views Protestant Salvation
Baptized Protestants Are Part of Christ’s Body
- The Church recognizes Protestant baptisms as valid if they are done with water and in the Trinitarian formula ("in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit").
- CCC 1271: Baptized Protestants share in Christ’s grace and are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Protestants Can Be Saved, But Their Faith Lacks Fullness
- Lumen Gentium 15: Protestants have elements of truth and sanctification but lack the full means of salvation, particularly the Eucharist, apostolic succession, and full unity with the Church.
- While Protestants can be saved, the Church sees them as missing out on the full sacramental life that Christ intended.
Protestants Are Not in the Same Category as Non-Christians
- Non-Christians (who have never heard the Gospel) fall under God’s mercy in a different way (CCC 1260).
- Protestants have heard the Gospel and profess faith in Christ, so their situation is different from those who have no exposure to Christianity.
Rejection of the Catholic Church Matters
- Lumen Gentium 14: If someone knows the Catholic Church is the true Church but refuses to enter it, they are at risk because they are rejecting what they believe to be God’s will.
- However, if someone rejects Catholicism based on misunderstandings or was raised Protestant and sincerely follows Christ, the Church does not condemn them, since they are seeking God in good faith.
Bottom Line: Can Protestants Go to Heaven?
✔ Yes, the Catholic Church acknowledges that Protestants can be saved because they have faith in Christ and valid baptism.
✔ However, their communion with the Church is imperfect, meaning they lack the full sacramental life (especially the Eucharist).
✔ Those who reject the Catholic Church out of ignorance are not automatically condemned, but those who knowingly reject the Church’s truth place their salvation at risk (Lumen Gentium 14).
At this point, it seemed like we were doing even more mental gymnastics to avoid coming right out and admitting Catholics don't believe non-Catholics are saved.
So I pushed again for more answers: "Seems like you are splitting hairs. It seems to me like Catholics believe non Catholic Christians are not saved but you just don’t want to come right out and say it, so you tap dance around it."
Here's what it told me -- ChatGPT got a little spicy on this one:
I see where you're coming from, and I appreciate the directness. Let me be equally direct:
The Catholic Church does not teach that non-Catholic Christians are automatically damned. However, it does teach that the fullness of salvation is found only in the Catholic Church and that rejecting the Church knowingly and deliberately puts one's salvation at risk.
So, while the Church recognizes that Protestants can be saved, it does not guarantee their salvation outside of full communion with the Catholic Church.
Breaking It Down Without Tap Dancing:
Can Protestants Be Saved?
- Yes, they can be saved if they are baptized and sincerely follow Christ (CCC 1271, Lumen Gentium 15).
- The Catholic Church considers them separated brethren, meaning they are real Christians but lack the fullness of truth and grace that comes from Catholicism.
Are Protestants at a Disadvantage?
- Yes, according to Catholic teaching, because they lack full access to the sacraments, apostolic authority, and the Eucharist, which Catholics believe are necessary for the fullness of grace.
- The Church believes the Eucharist (John 6:53-56) is necessary for eternal life, and Protestants generally do not have a valid Eucharist.
What Happens if a Protestant Rejects the Catholic Church?
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