Often one sees Adventists quoting Catholic sources to show that the Catholic Church changed the Sabbath to Sunday.
Usually these quotes are either from sources that are not real sources of Catholic teaching (e.g. newspapers) while others are taken out of context.
When the Catholic Church says that it instituted Sunday observance, they mean that the Apostles did so. We believe that the Apostles were the first leaders of our Church, and therefore saying “the Catholic Church began Sunday observance” and “the Apostles began Sunday observance” is exactly the same thing – to us.
While Adventists might not agree that the Apostles did this, they should try to see it from our perspective. We believe the Apostles did so, we believe the Apostles were the first leaders of the Catholic Church, and so logically, we can attribute Sunday observance to the Catholic Church. The dropping of circumcision (Acts 15) and the writing of the New Testament would fall into the same category, to give examples of things you DO believe the Apostles did.
One way they quote out of context is by conveniently ignoring those parts that would not benefit their position.
An example of a quote often provided on such lists:
It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to the ‘the Lord’s day.’ – Catechism of the Council of Trent
In the translation I quote below, it reads “But the Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday.”
They leave out the following part, so that their argument that the later Catholic Church changed the Sabbath to Sunday remains credible:
The Jewish Sabbath Changed To Sunday By The Apostles
The Apostles therefore resolved to consecrate the first day of the week to the divine worship, and called it the Lord’s day. St. John in the Apocalypse makes mention of the Lord’s day; and the Apostle commands collections to be made on the first day of the week, that is, according to the interpretation of St. Chrysostom, on the Lord’s day. From all this we learn that even then the Lord’s day was kept holy in the Church.
That says it all. The Catholic Church believes that the Apostles instituted Sunday observance, not some Pope, not Constantine, not some pagan.
