Why I Am Not Roman Catholic: I Am a Hopeless Sinner, Not Just a Wounded Person - Leonardo De Chirico

“I am Italian, but I am not Roman Catholic.” This statement often surprises people who think being Italian is associated with being Roman Catholic. I was raised in a Roman Catholic environment, but I am not a Roman Catholic and for some good reasons. There might be people who, in majority Roman Catholic contexts, ask the same question to evangelicals: “Why aren’t you Roman Catholic?” What would you say in response? Furthermore, there might be people who may be tempted to become Roman Catholic and ask the question themselves: “Why shouldn’t I be Roman Catholic?” In this Master Class, I will give five reasons why I am not Roman Catholic.
The Roman Catholic view of the human condition says people are wounded, weakened, and impoverished by sin. The Bible tells us that we are sinners, in a broken relationship with God, and spiritually dead. The latter portrait is more realistic. I am indeed a hopeless sinner. Roman Catholicism underestimates our problem and, in so doing, does not help to find the solution.
This is part 1 of a 5-part series on "Why I Am Not a Roman Catholic."
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Leonardo De Chirico is the pastor of Breccia di Roma, a church that he helped plant in Rome in 2009, and Chair of the Theological Commission of the Italian Evangelical Alliance. Previously, Leonardo planted and pastored an evangelical church in Ferrara, Italy from 1997 to 2009. He earned degrees in history (University of Bologna), theology (ETCW, Bridgend, Wales) and bioethics (University of Padova). His PhD is from King's College (London); it was published as Evangelical Theological Perspectives on Post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism. His recent books are A Christian Pocket Guide to Papacy (Christian Focus, 2015); A Christian Pocket Guide to Mary (Christian Focus, 2017), Same Words, Different Worlds. Do Roman Catholics and evangelicals believe the same gospel? (IVP, 2021) and Engaging with Thomas Aquinas. An evangelical approach (IVP, 2024). He is a lecturer of historical theology at Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione in Padova, Italy. Additionally, Leonardo is the director of the Reformanda Initiative, which aims to equip evangelical leaders to understand better and engage with Roman Catholicism, and the leader of the Rome Scholars and Leaders Network (RSLN).
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