Did you know the Roman Catholics changed worship from the Sabbath to Sunday?

Answer:

I see that you did not do your own research, but chose to merely copy the writing of someone else, and yet, you did not give that person credit. Your text came from "Tract 22h - Catholicism Speaks about the Bible Sabbath and Sunday - Supplement to Lesson 22" It is published by a site that is associated with the Seventh-Day Adventists (see Fundamental Beliefs).

"Sunday is our mark of authority...The church is above the Bible, and this observance is proof of that fact." Catholic Record, September 1, 1923.

The Catholic Record is published in London, Ontario.  In Volume XLV, [No.] 2342 (September 1, 1923), on page 4, is an article regarding a controversy regarding the opening of a swimming pool on Sundays. A Baptist preacher objected, essentially saying that Sundays are the Christian's Sabbath and that the Sabbath laws should be followed. Others are cited saying that the Lord's day is not the Jewish Sabbath, so the laws do not apply. The writer of the article then put in his thoughts as a Catholic: "For Catholics there is not the slightest difficulty. 'All power is given Me in heaven and on earth: as the Father sent Me so I also send you,' said our Divine Lord in giving His tremendous commission to His Apostles. 'He that heareth you heareth Me.' We have in the authoritative voice of the Church the voice of Christ Himself. The Church is above the Bible: and this transference of Sabbath observance from Saturday to Sunday is proof positive of that fact. Deny the authority of the church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third -- Protestant Fourth -- Commandment of God. As Rev. Mr. Smith rightly points out: 'The Jewish Sabbath is not Sunday, the Lord's Day. Christians are wrong in speaking of the Sabbath as Sunday.' ..."

Roman Catholics find worshipping on Saturday or Sunday equally acceptable. The article does not claim that the Catholic Church made Sunday the day of worship for Christians. What the writer here claims is that the Catholic Church applied the Jewish Sabbath Laws to Sunday. He further says they did so because of their belief that the Church's authority supersedes the authority of the Bible. He states that those who follow Sabbath rules on Sunday are not doing so by the authority of the Bible but by the authority of the Catholic Church and are thereby supporting the Catholic Church.

By the way, I scanned the entire article and the first part of the quote does not appear in it. Perhaps it is on another page in dealing with another subject, but the given quote is misleading and inaccurately presented.

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act, and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power." Faith of Our Fathers, Cardinal Gibbons.

I searched the book, "The Faith of Our Fathers" by James Cardinal Gibbons, 1917, and the quote does not appear in it. It only mentions the Sabbath day twice and in neither mention of the Sabbath is there any argument that worship should be conducted on the Sabbath.

"Sunday is a Catholic institution, and it's claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles...From the beginning to the end of scripture there is not a single passage which warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." Catholic Press (Sydney) August 25, 1900.

The Catholic Press, August 25, 1900, has a letter to the editor titled "Rampant Sabbatarianism." The writer is complaining about some wanting to impose Sabbath rules and not allow sports to be played on Sundays. "I maintain, then, that to cut off boys from these wholesome amusements is to run counter to common sense and religion." He later says, "But there is something still wanting to a full statement of the untenable position taken up by those sticklers for 'Sabbath' observance. What right, anyhow, have these gentlemen as Protestants to lay down the law as to what is to be done or not done of Sunday? Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. If the 'Bible and the Bible only is the religion of the Protestants,' if 'whatever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby' has no claim on their faith or observance, what scrap of title can they show for all their dogmatic insistence as to the requirements of the Lord's Day? From the beginning to the end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first. Thus Sunday observance is an incongruous adjunct of the Protestant faith, utterly out of keeping with its fundamental principle, and strongly suggest a religion that suffered sadly from too much hurry in the making."

So once again, the problem was a prevalent belief that Sunday was the Christian's Sabbath. The writer thinks his church is in charge of the rules and argues that the Sabbath laws do not apply on Sundays. He does not think that the Sabbath worship was moved to Sunday.

"The Bible says remember that thou keep the Sabbath day. The Catholic Church says, 'NO!'. By my divine power, I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And, lo, the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church." Father Enright, American Sentinal, June 1893.

In an article titled, "An Adventist Minister on Sunday Laws" in the American Sentinal, June 1893, the Adventist minister objects to the laws forbidding work on Sunday. He attempts to prove his point by citing sources that claim that Sunday worship originated in Catholicism.

"The position of the judge that " working on Sunday is not a matter of creed or practice of any religious denomination; there certainly can not be a rule or practice making it obligatory to work on Sunday," is faulty. Seventh-day observers claim that Sunday, as a religious day is of heathen origin introduced into Christendom by the Roman Catholic Church as a mark of its authority.

In a Catholic work entitled " Plain Talk about Protestantism of Today," on page 213, that church says:—

The observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay in spite of themselves to the au-thority of the [Catholic] Church. In a letter to the writer, Cardinal Gib-bons, through his secretary, said The Catholic Church changed the day of rest from the last to the first day of the week, because the most memorable of Christ's works were accomplished on Sunday. It is needless for me to enter into any elaborate proof of the matter. They can not prove their point from Scripture; therefore, if sincere, they must acknowledge that they draw their observance of the Sunday from tradition, and are therefore weekly contradicting themselves,

Yours very sincerely,

W. A. REARDON.

Father Enright, of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a letter to the writer, says :— Jan. 11, 1892.

DEAR FRIEND:—I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to any one who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." The Catholic Church says: " No ! By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day, and command you to keep holy the first day of the week." And, lo! the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.

Yours respectfully,

T. ENRIGHT, CSS. R.
Lock Box 75, Kansas City, Mo.

Resting is an act of worship; in 2. Chron. 36: 21, we read, "As long as she [the land] lay desolate [or idle] she kept Sabbath."

These quotes merely prove that followers of Catholicism believe that worship on Sunday was due to the Roman Catholic Church's decision. That does not prove that such actually occurred. As far as credibility goes, you have a Seventh-Day Adventist tract quoting a Seventh-Day Adventist preacher about what he believes the Roman Catholic Church did.

I could continue, but I suspect that each will turn out to be similar:

• Inaccurate quotes
• Made-up quotes
• Quotes about what Roman Catholics believe about their religion

In regards to Sunday being the Christian's Sabbath, see What is the Christian's Sabbath? However, there is no historical proof shown in the above quotes or in the entire list. Every citation is from the late 1800s to the 1900s. They do not show what you originally claimed to be a historical fact.

We have many historical documents from the early years of the church that show the church met on the first day of the week for worship.

Ignatius (c. 110 A.D.):

"If therefore those who lived according to the old practices came to the new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath but living according to the Lord's Day, in which also our life arose through him and his death (which some deny), through which mystery we received faith..." (Magnesians 9).

Justin Martyr (c. 150 A. D.):

"We are always together with one another. And for all the things with which we are supplied we bless the Maker of all through his Son Jesus Christ and through his Holy Spirit. And on the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in the same place of all who live in a city or a rural district...We all make our assembly in common on the day of the Sun, since it is the first day, on which God changed the darkness and matter and made the world and Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead on the same day" (Apology I, 67:1-3, 7).

Tertullian (c. 200 A.D.):

"Others... suppose that the sun is the god of Christians, because it is well-known that...we regard Sunday as a day of joy" (To the Nations I:13).

"To us Sabbaths are foreign" (On Idolatry 13:6).

These all occurred before there were any Catholic popes. The first pope was Boniface III who took on the title of Pope in A.D. 607.

Nor did you prove from the Scriptures that Christians worshiped on the Sabbath. The articles I first cited give the references.

I'm really sorry that you swallowed an old lie, but I will stick with the truth.