If I was to ask give me a summary of what the catholic church is about and why I should choose it over any other religion what would you say?

First I'd say that since entire volumes have been written on the subject, one cannot come close to a complete answer in a brief post... so here goes :) :

1. Christianity (also known as the catholic - with a small "c" church) is the most logical answer to the question "Where has God revealed special revelation to mankind?"

2. Further, the Catholic (with a capital "C") Church is the most accurate representation of Christianity as it is described in the New Testament and worked out by the following generations of Christian leaders. That is, it best represents the historic Christian faith.

That is my opinion with the full intent of not degrading or demeaning any other faith.

As for a brief summary, The Apostles Creed:

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

10. The forgiveness of sins:

1l. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

Complicated question. I would say the Church is about the continuity of the embodiment of Christ on earth. In addition to the believing that all of the Church's members together comprise the Body of Christ, we believe that when Christ changed bread and wine into His body and blood, that it was a literal rather than symbolic act. We believe that each time the priest performs this act during Mass, that we are literally in the physical presence of Christ and that we receive him through the Holy Eucharist (communion). We also believe that the Pope is the direct linear descendant of St Peter whom Christ charged with building the Church (know in the early days as "The Way").

So in summary, we believe that we are the true Church of Christ as our faith and beliefs are based directly on the works of St Peter and his successors right up to the current Pope, and because when Christ said "take and eat, this is my body" we believe that this is what he meant, rather than "take and eat, this symbolizes my body", as some other Christian denominations who receive communion may believe.

As to why you should choose Catholicism I cannot say other than to say that I believe the Catholic Church to be the true Church of Christ based mostly on the belief in Papal decendency and our literal interpretation of the four Gospels of the New Testament.

You have to decide for yourself what you believe God to be and choose a church or religion accordingly. If What I have said above intrigues you at all, I would encourage you to look into it further. Read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which are four versions of the Life of Christ, and see what you think. If you wish to take it a step further, contact a Catholic priest and inquire about enrolling in an RCIA program. At a minimum, attend Catholic Masses for a while and listen carefully to the readings and the prayers at the time of concecration.

Hope this helps. Maybe Fr. Chuck will have a better answer for you, but it's a start.

Inhisservice
Catholic comes from a word that meant universal, full, or total in greek. Because of this, catholic with a little c usually refers to the whole of the Christian church Orthodoc, Catholic, and Prodestant.

jck4,
RickJ gave you and excellent answer.
The word catholic means univesal.
When used as a name with an upper case c "C" Catholic is part of the name given to the first Christian Church wich before that was just called The Church.
Therefore Catholicism is the word used to indicated the practice and teachings of The Catholic Churches of which there are several all very similar.
Peace and kindness,
Fred