Chapter 1

Unmasking Catholicism

Mary Ann Collins, a former Catholic nun

Chapter 1
A Surprising Discovery

Many years ago, I left the Roman Catholic Church to join a Scripturally-based, Protestant church. Since then, I have wrestled with various issues relating to Catholicism. Some papers emerged from that struggle.

Then one morning I woke up thinking: "I need to look up 'Anathema' in The Catholic Encyclopedia." It was like this idea had been downloaded in my head while I was sleeping.

I looked it up. That was the beginning of many months of intense research and writing, which resulted in this book. You may be surprised at what I discovered. I certainly was.

I discovered that there is something behind Catholicism that is not obvious at first, something that is quite different from the modern, public image.

How can we see what this is? By looking at how the Catholic Church has behaved when it was in a position of power, and therefore it was able to do what it really wanted to do.

We can also look at some official Catholic documents. The new Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) and the new Code of Canon Law (1983) show a surprising side of the Catholic Church. So do other official Catholic documents.

We will travel through history, go to different countries, and meet some fascinating people (both good and bad). And we will discover that there is more to the Catholic Church than what we see on the surface.

I want you to be able to check out what I have said for yourself. You probably don't have the books I studied.1 Therefore, I have sought out Internet articles that give much of the same information. If you are unable to get to one of these articles, then please read the information at the very beginning of the Notes.

I have done my best to reach fair and accurate conclusions, based on reliable sources of information. But I'm only human. I sometimes make mistakes. We all do. So I encourage you to look up the information and check it out for yourself. Please pray about it. Ask God to show you the truth. He is the only one who really understands what is going on.

In the final analysis, it's between you and God. It doesn't depend on me at all. My role is just to introduce you to some information. You and God can take it from there.

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