CCC 811-870

According to the CCC, the Catholic Church is one because of her source, founder, and soul. The catechism points out that although the people and congregations of the Catholic church are all different and diverse, they are all one because they are bound by their profession of faith, common celebration of divine worship, and the apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Despite these similarities, there are some barriers that prevent the church from being completely unified. Even from the beginning of Christianity, there were rifts and disagreements between groups of Christians. Additionally, the catechism says that human sin can “wound the unity of Christ’s body”. Despite this, the church strives to increase its unity “until the end of time”. Even though Christ gave the church the gift of unity, “the church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her”.  I find this convincing because despite the differences that people in a Christian denomination have, they are connected by similar beliefs, traditions, and practices. I was a little confused by the discussion of how heresy, apostasy, and schism are caused by sin and lead to further divisions in the church.