| IANAT (... i am not a theologian... but i've been surrounded by them for almost all my life) > "there is no Catholic God, there is just one God" I've been told that this is one of the main changes that resulted from Vatican II: there is only one God and it's shared by the whole world population. On the other side, the Catholics pretend to have the "right" way to praise that common God. (but that's not what you were saying) Francis seems to be in line with the official doctrine. (and from the article this seems to be a constant in his actions) > One of the most sacred Christian texts, the Athanasian Creed Never heard of that text. And a quick visit to Wikipedia tells me: "Today, the Athanasian Creed is rarely used even in the Western Church." After those two remarks, I don't think your statements are in way representative for a common way to understand the Catholic religion nor for the official Vatican position. |
To be honest I think you are misunderstanding Vatican II, but that would open a much longer discussion, so I'll go for a simpler, more direct argument.
A Catholic must believe in the Holy Trinity, i.e. that God is one in three Persons. This is in the latest edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and in more than two millennia of doctrine.
In other words: other religions adore different Gods, that don't come in three Persons. According to the Christian doctrine, this is wrong, that is not the true God, and without believing in the Holy Trinity you are not going to Heaven (this is clearly spelled in the Athanasian Creed and in many others documents, has been said many times during the history of the Church, being also confirmed by Vatican II, see also below).
So, it's not a matter of just believing in some vague, universal God. The teaching of the Catholic Church is: either you believe in the Catholic God (one God, three Person, the Son become man, died, resurrected, etc...) or your soul won't be saved.
That's why speaking of only one God may lead to confusion: you may say that the Christian, Islamic and Hindu God are the same, but only one can grant you salvation, so they are not the same!
Other religions have a different concept of God. You may stretch the concept a bit, and consider it as the same God in disguise, however it won't save you soul. That's quite a difference!
(An exception is made for people who didn't get to know the message of Christ in their lifetime, see below.)
> "Today, the Athanasian Creed is rarely used even in the Western Church."
That's right, it is not used in day-to-day celebrations, except once per year.
However it is an authoritative text when it comes to the Catholic doctrine.
Its author, Saint Athanasius, is a Doctor of the Church, i.e. a saint of particular importance when it comes to contributions to theology or doctrine. Actually the main reason he's a Doctor of the Church is because of his Creed.
The main message I was quoting from the Creed, the concept that there cannot be salvation outside the Church, has been repeated over and over during the history of the Church.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra_Ecclesiam_nulla_salus
Vatican II has established an exceptions in case of people who never got to know the Gospel during their lifetimes. The main point, that embracing the Christian faith is needed for salvation in case it has been announced to you, is although unmodified.