Is the Pope a Catholic?
So the cat is out of the bag: the Pope really is a Catholic, and so is his Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. They really do believe Roman Catholic doctrine that their Church is the only ‘true’ church, because it alone ‘enjoys apostolic succession’.
If you want to read the official document reiterating the Church's position, it can be found here.
Seems like a good time to remind you, dear reader, of our forthcoming book by Ray Galea: Nothing in My Hand I Bring: Understanding the differences between Roman Catholic and Protestant beliefs, due out in just a few weeks time.
Here's a quote from the book that seems pertinent to this issue:
... Needless to say, the Roman Catholic Church has a very high view of its own role in determining what Christians should believe and do. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church sees itself as the literal body of Christ; as an extension or continuation of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, a kind of ‘permanent incarnation’. Cardinal Bellarmine spoke of Christ as sustaining and living in the Church in such a way “that she may be said to be ‘another Christ’”.
It is on this basis that the Roman Catholic Church claims infallibility and that its teachings are without error ...
... As a result of this infallible teaching office, the Catholic Church claims to be doctrinally and structurally unreformable ...
... The Catholic Church has so emphasized the unity between Christ and the Church that they have failed to understand the profound differences—the most significant one being that the body submits to the head (see Ephesians 5:23-24, for example). If the body is unreformable—if whatever it pronounces is infallibly true—then it cannot be led and taught by its head. It effectively closes its ears to the possibility of being rebuked, corrected or taught by Christ himself.