Appendix C: Catholic Admissions

Primary Catholic testimony showing that Sunday observance rests on church authority, not on a command from Scripture.

The sharpest witness in the Sabbath controversy comes from the Roman Catholic Church itself. Catholic leaders have never hidden that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday by ecclesiastical decree centuries after the apostles. The excerpts below span newspapers, catechisms, devotional guides, and apologetic works. Together they form a direct admission that Sunday sacredness stands on tradition rather than on the Bible.

When I first encountered these admissions, I felt what you may feel now: a mixture of disbelief and unease. These were not obscure documents dug up by Protestant polemicists. They were statements from cardinals, catechisms, and official church publications--sources that Catholics themselves regard as authoritative. I read them with the same skepticism you might bring to this page. But the sources checked out. The admissions were real. What I did with that information took time to process. What you do with it is between you and God.

Two Perspectives

Before presenting the documentary evidence, consider how this material might be received.

From a Catholic's Perspective

My faith doesn't rest on whether every historical document was authentic. The Church has living authority, for Christ gave Peter the keys, and what the Church binds on earth is bound in heaven. Temporal errors don't invalidate spiritual authority. The Donation of Constantine was unnecessary; the Church's authority comes from apostolic succession, not from Constantine's gift. When the Church apologizes for historical wrongs, that shows moral growth, not illegitimacy. Every institution makes mistakes. What matters is the unbroken chain from Peter to today's pope.

As for the Sabbath: the Church has authority to interpret Scripture and establish liturgical practice. We worship on Sunday because the apostles began meeting on the Lord's Day after the Resurrection. The specific day is a matter of discipline, not doctrine. The fourth commandment tells us to keep a day holy; the Church, guided by the Spirit, determined which day.

From a Sunday Church-Goer's Perspective

I keep Sunday because that's when Christians have gathered since the resurrection. Paul collected offerings on the first day of the week. John received his revelation on the Lord's Day. The early church met on Sunday to celebrate the risen Christ. Whether Rome formally changed the day or recognized what Christians were already doing, the result is the same: we worship when the church has worshiped for two thousand years.

These Sabbath arguments feel like the legalism Paul warned against. He told the Colossians not to let anyone judge them regarding sabbath days. He told the Romans that one person esteems one day above another, while another esteems every day alike, and each should be fully convinced in their own mind. The specific day feels less important than the heart of worship. God looks at the heart, not the calendar.

What the Roman Catholic Church States Openly

• The seventh day remains the biblical Sabbath; the change to Sunday was the church's act.
• Sunday keeping is presented as a sign of Catholic authority over Scripture and tradition.
• Protestants who keep Sunday while claiming "Bible only" are challenged to return to the fourth commandment.

Representative Admissions

"The Catholic Church... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."

Catholic Mirror, "The Christian Sabbath," Sept. 2, 1893.¹ Catholic Mirror, "The Christian Sabbath," serialized Sept. 2-23, 1893; reprinted in The Christian Sabbath Explained.

"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday."

James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917), 72.² James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 72nd ed. (Baltimore: Murphy & Co., 1917), 72.

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act... And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters."

H. F. Thomas, chancellor for Cardinal Gibbons, letter dated Nov. 11, 1895.³ H. F. Thomas letter to a Protestant inquirer, Nov. 11, 1895; cited in The Catholic Extension Magazine, Aug. 1906, 213.

"The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Catholic Church."

Monsignor Louis Gaston de Ségur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today (1868), 213.⁴ Monsignor Louis G. de Ségur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today (Boston: Patrick Donahoe, 1868), 213.

"In observing Sunday, [Protestants] are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the Church, the pope."

Our Sunday Visitor, Feb. 5, 1950.⁵ Our Sunday Visitor, Feb. 5, 1950, p. 3.

"Sunday is our mark of authority.... The church is above the Bible, and this transference of sabbath observance is proof of that fact."

The Catholic Record, London, Ontario, Sept. 1, 1923.⁶ The Catholic Record, London, Ontario, Sept. 1, 1923.

"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her--she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."

Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism (1876).⁷ Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, 3rd American ed. (New York: Edward Dunigan & Brother, 1876), 174.

These nineteenth and early twentieth-century sources might seem dated. But the claim persists. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), the official doctrinal summary promulgated by Pope John Paul II, states:

"Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath."

Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2175 (1992)⁸ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), §2175. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7N.HTM.

The word "replaces" is decisive. Rome does not claim Scripture changed the day. Rome claims the Church changed the day. The nineteenth-century admissions were not rhetorical flourishes; they stated official doctrine that the modern catechism confirms.

The Forgery Pattern

The Sabbath admissions above are not the only area where the Roman Catholic Church has acknowledged claims built on questionable foundations. Consider the Donation of Constantine, which served for centuries as the papacy's primary legal basis for temporal power.

The document purported to be a fourth-century decree from Emperor Constantine, granting Pope Sylvester I "all provinces, palaces and districts of the city of Rome and Italy and of the regions of the West" along with supreme spiritual authority over the entire church. For over a thousand years, popes cited this document to justify territorial claims, political interventions, and authority over kings.

In 1440, Lorenzo Valla (a Catholic priest and Renaissance humanist) published a devastating philological analysis proving the document was fabricated. The Latin contained medieval vocabulary that did not exist in Constantine's era. The historical details contradicted fourth-century records. The Church's response was to place Valla's work on the Index of Prohibited Books, where it remained for centuries.⁹ Valla's De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione (1440) remained on the Index until its abolition in 1966.

Today, the Catholic Encyclopedia openly admits:

"This document is without doubt a forgery, fabricated somewhere between the years 750 and 850."

Catholic Encyclopedia, "Donation of Constantine"¹⁰ "Donation of Constantine," The Catholic Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05118a.htm.

The document was used for over eleven hundred years before exposure and acknowledgment. The pattern is instructive: a foundational authority claim, centuries of enforcement, eventual admission that the foundation was false. Yet the authority continues.

The Persecution Pattern

Daniel 7:25 prophesied that the little horn power would "wear out the saints of the most High." The historical record confirms this in the Church's own archives.

In 1252, Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorized the use of torture against accused heretics. The bull specified torture should be applied "citra membri diminutionem et mortis periculum" (without permanent mutilation or risk of death), but this limitation proved largely theoretical in practice.¹¹ Piotr Sadowski, "Torture in Light of the Bull Ad extirpanda (1252) of Pope Innocent IV," Miscellanea Historico-Iuridica 22, no. 1 (2023): 435-454.

Ad Extirpanda remained the governing law of the Church for 564 years, from 1252 until Pope Pius VII suppressed the Inquisition in 1816. The Archdiocese of New York, in an official statement addressing this history, acknowledges:

"The most prominent approval was given by Pope Innocent IV in his Bull, Ad Extirpanda."

Archdiocese of New York, "A Challenging Lesson in Mercy"¹² Archdiocese of New York, "A Challenging Lesson in Mercy." Available at: https://archny.org/a-challenging-lesson-in-mercy/.

This was not a regional aberration but papal policy enforced across Europe for over five centuries. Those who held to the seventh-day Sabbath during this period (Waldenses in the Alps, Sabbatarian Anabaptists in Central Europe) faced the full weight of this apparatus.

The Apology Pattern

In 2000, Pope John Paul II led the Church in an unprecedented public confession. On March 12 (which he designated the "Day of Pardon"), the Pope presided over a liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica in which the Church formally confessed sins in six categories:

1. Sins committed in the service of truth (the Inquisition, religious coercion)
2. Sins that have harmed the unity of the Body of Christ (divisions among Christians)
3. Sins against the people of Israel
4. Sins committed against love, peace, the rights of peoples, and respect for cultures and religions
5. Sins against the dignity of women and the unity of the human race
6. Sins in relation to fundamental rights of the person

The Vatican's own record preserves this confession:¹³ Pope John Paul II, Homily for the Day of Pardon, March 12, 2000. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20000312_pardon.html.

Five years earlier, in May 1995, Pope John Paul II made an even more direct statement while visiting the Czech Republic:

"Today, I the Pope of the Church of Rome, in the name of all Catholics, ask forgiveness for the wrongs inflicted on non-Catholics during the turbulent history of these peoples."

Pope John Paul II, Olomouc, Czech Republic, May 21, 1995¹⁴ "Pope calls for Christian unity," United Press International, May 21, 1995. Available at: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/21/Pope-calls-for-Christian-unity/7463801028800/.

These apologies constitute modern admissions of historical wrongdoing from the highest levels of the institution. They do not revoke papal infallibility claims; the Church distinguishes between doctrinal authority and sinful actions by Church members. But they establish a documented pattern: assertions of supreme authority, centuries of enforcement, eventual acknowledgment that the methods were wrong. The authority claims remain.

Why These Admissions Matter

Return to the two perspectives we opened with. The Catholic reader might say: These historical errors don't invalidate the Church's spiritual authority. The Donation was unnecessary; our authority comes from apostolic succession. The Inquisition was wrong; we've apologized and grown. What matters is the unbroken chain from Peter.

The Sunday church-goer might say: Even if Rome formalized the change, Christians were already gathering on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. The specific day is less important than the heart. Paul said not to let anyone judge you regarding sabbath days.

These responses deserve serious engagement.

To the Catholic perspective: The question is not whether individual errors invalidate spiritual authority. The question is whether the pattern of errors matches what Scripture predicted. Fabricated documents to establish temporal power. Torture to enforce compliance. Admissions and apologies after the damage is done. Daniel 7:25 prophesied that a power would arise that would "think to change times and laws" and "wear out the saints of the most High." The admissions above document both: the claimed authority to change God's Sabbath to Sunday, and 564 years of sanctioned violence against dissenters. The pattern is not incidental to the prophecy; it is the prophecy fulfilled.

To the Sunday church-goer: Paul's words in Colossians 2:16 about "sabbath days" address the ceremonial sabbaths of the Levitical system, the annual festivals tied to the sanctuary services that pointed forward to Christ. These were shadows that found their substance in Christ (Colossians 2:17). The weekly Sabbath is different. It predates the ceremonial law by millennia, established at Creation (Genesis 2:2-3) and codified in the moral law written by God's own finger (Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus kept it. The apostles kept it. And the Catholic Church openly admits it was changed not by Scripture but by ecclesiastical decree.

Rome concedes that Scripture never authorizes Sunday sacredness; the rationale is tradition backed by ecclesiastical power. The fourth commandment, by contrast, rests on God's own voice and handwriting. The issue therefore becomes allegiance. Keeping the Sabbath affirms God's authority and His sign of sanctification (Ezekiel 20:12, 20). Accepting Sunday because "the church changed it" affirms human authority above the Word. The Catholic admissions remove any pretense that both days rest on equal biblical footing.

This authority claim has deep historical roots. Pope Boniface VIII's Unam Sanctam (1302) declared that "it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff."¹⁵ Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, Papal Bull, November 18, 1302. Available at: https://www.papalencyclicals.net/bon08/b8unam.htm. The bull claimed both spiritual and temporal swords belong to the Church, and that all earthly power must submit to papal authority. The nineteenth-century admissions above rest on seven centuries of consistent theological foundation.

Where This Leaves You

If you are a Catholic reader: Your love for Christ is not in question. Your devotion to the saints, your participation in the sacraments, your reverence for Scripture--none of this is diminished by encountering difficult evidence. The question before you is not whether your faith is real. It is whether the day you observe as holy rests on Scripture's authority or on institutional tradition that admits it changed what Scripture commanded. Francis of Assisi wrestled with hard truths about the church of his day. Teresa of Ávila reformed what needed reforming. Honest Catholics have always asked honest questions.

If you are a Protestant reader: The admissions above raise a different question for you. If Rome claims it changed the Sabbath--and you reject Rome's authority--why keep Rome's day? Protestants declared sola scriptura (Scripture alone) as a founding principle. Yet the fourth commandment says "seventh day," and Protestant churches observe the first. The Catholic admissions remove the middle ground. Either Scripture authorizes Sunday (it does not, by Rome's own admission), or tradition does. Every Protestant who keeps Sunday is, as Monsignor de Ségur wrote, paying "homage to the authority of the Catholic Church."

The Same Pattern: Marian Doctrine

The Sabbath change was not the Roman Catholic Church's only exercise of claimed authority over Scripture. In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception of Mary as binding dogma in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.¹⁶ Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854. Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_pi09id.htm. The Catholic Encyclopedia, a secondary source reflecting Catholic scholarship, later acknowledged the doctrine lacks direct biblical proof:

"No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture."

Catholic Encyclopedia, "Immaculate Conception"¹⁷ Catholic Encyclopedia, "Immaculate Conception." Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm.

"It is therefore in divine tradition, the unwritten word of God, that we must seek the basic and unquestionable source of the dogma."

Catholic Culture, "Historical Development of the Dogma"¹⁸ Catholic Culture, "Historical Development of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception." Available at: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9070.

Even the Catholic Church's greatest theologian recognized the scriptural tension. In his Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas (the "Angelic Doctor" whose work remains foundational to Catholic philosophy) acknowledged this objection to Mary's Immaculate Conception:

"If the soul of the Blessed Virgin had never been stained with the contagion of original sin, this would have detracted from Christ's dignity as the savior of all men."

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part III, Q. 27, Art. 2, Obj. 2.¹⁹ Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part, Question 27, Article 2, Objection 2. Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/summa/4027.htm.

When the Church's own Angelic Doctor raised scriptural objections, and when the doctrine's advocates admitted they lacked scriptural proof, the 1854 definition becomes a clear exercise of claimed authority over Scripture. Sixteen years later, Vatican I (1870) formally defined papal infallibility, retroactively legitimizing such declarations. The pattern is consistent: tradition and papal authority override what Scripture alone supports. If the Roman Catholic Church can define Mary's sinlessness as binding doctrine without scriptural proof, they can define Sunday sacredness the same way.