really children of the Church, no
matter what religion their parents may profess. Indeed, all persons who
are baptized are children of the Church; but those among them who deny
its teaching, reject its Sacraments, and refuse to submit to its lawful
pastors, are rebellious children known as heretics.

I said I gave you an example that can scarcely be found, namely, of a
person not a Catholic, who really never doubted the truth of his
religion, and who, moreover, never committed during his whole life a
mortal sin. There are so few such persons that we can practically say
for all those who are not visibly members of the Catholic Church,
believing its doctrines, receiving its Sacraments, and being governed by
its visible head, our Holy Father, the Pope, salvation is an extremely
difficult matter.

I do not speak here of pagans who have never heard of Our Lord or His
holy religion, but of those outside the Church who claim to be good
Christians without being members of the Catholic Church.

Lesson 12
ON THE ATTRIBUTES AND MARKS OF THE CHURCH

An attribute is any characteristic or quality that a person or thing may
be said to have. All good qualities are good attributes, and all bad
qualities are bad attributes. All perfections or imperfections are
attributes. If I can say of you that you are good, then goodness is one
of your attributes. If I can say you are beautiful, then beauty is one
of your attributes. We have seen already that the Church has four marks;
but besides these it has three attributes, which flow from its marks. It
is easier to see the marks of the Church than its attributes. It is
easier to see, for instance, that the Church is one than that it is
indefectible.

*122 Q. Which are the attributes of the Church?
A. The attributes of the Church are three: authority, infallibility, and
indefectibility.

*123 Q. What do you mean by the authority of the Church?
A. By the authority of the Church I mean the right and power which the
Pope and the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles, have to teach
and govern the faithful.

Authority is the power which one person has over another, so as to be
able to exact obedience. A teacher has authority over his scholars,
because they must obey him; but the teacher need not obey the scholars,
because they have no authority over him. God alone has authority of
Himself and from Himself All others who have authority receive it from
God, either directly or throug