Note: This article summarizes the introductory talk given at the eighth edition of the Rome Scholars and Leaders Network (Rome, June 15–18, 2026).
Ten years are just the blink of an eye in the normal course of events. We shouldn’t attach too much importance to them. However, for Evangelical initiatives that originated in minority contexts and have an international profile, ten years is no trivial period. It was in 2016 that the first Rome Scholars Network (RSLN) was launched and the Reformanda Initiative (RI) began its work. In 2016 RI also launched “Is the Reformation Over? A Statement of Evangelical Conviction” which was signed by hundreds of Evangelical scholars and leaders. The statement helped Evangelicals see that the Reformation’s problems with Roman Catholicism are still current problems for Evangelicalism. Despite the same words used by Rome and Evangelicals (e.g. faith, grace, sin, salvation), Rome’s gospel is not committed to Scripture alone and to salvation by faith alone, and is therefore flawed.
Aside from the two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, the RSLN has met regularly ever since, with at least two hundred international Evangelical scholars and leaders participating. Over these ten years, there have been dozens of conferences and symposia in Europe and around the world, the publication of books in various languages, the launch of a podcast, and more, all sponsored or led by RI.
I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the state of Evangelical theological engagement with Roman Catholicism and on how the RI has sought to contribute to it. Of course, my reflections are biased, since I have been involved with the RI since its inception, and they are impressionistic, as I will highlight some general points without delving into them in depth or documenting them academically. I believe three areas can be identified in which the RI has done significant work.
1. Call to Action: From a Blind Spot to a Field of Work
Over the past ten years, Evangelical interest in the Roman Catholic Church has grown, and RI has played a small part in this phenomenon. At the time of its launch, no Evangelical initiative worldwide was dedicated to studying Roman Catholicism. In Evangelical circles in general, there was a sort of blind spot. Roman Catholicism was—and is—everywhere, yet the Evangelical radar paid little or no attention to it. With few exceptions, seminaries and Bible schools did not offer specific courses on Roman Catholicism; mission agencies paid scant attention to the need to train their staff on how to engage with Roman Catholicism in an Evangelically responsible manner. Churches did not include any training on Roman Catholicism in their catechesis or discipleship programs. New books on the subject were few; those that did exist—if not outright obsolete—tended to rehash past controversies.
Ten years later, the situation has changed slightly—not solely because of RI, of course—but RI has played a small role in what has happened. It is necessary to briefly mention several factors that have contributed to this change:
- The conversion of former Evangelicals to Roman Catholicism—certainly amplified by social media—has drawn attention to the fact that there are people who not only cross the Tiber in the right direction but also in the wrong one. That said, statistics continue to show that more people are leaving Roman Catholicism to embrace the Evangelical faith than are making the reverse move.
- The growing visibility of Roman Catholic apologists who intentionally reach out to Evangelicals with their sentimentalized and selective view of Rome. Roman Catholicism has suddenly become trendy on social media.
- The resulting reaction from Evangelical apologists (such as Gavin Ortlund and Wes Huff), who offer rebuttals and responses to the growing challenge posed by Catholic apologists. Ten years ago, only a few marginal Evangelical voices spoke about Roman Catholicism. Now it has almost become fashionable.
- The general impression that Roman Catholicism is attracting the attention of younger generations as an alternative to superficial Evangelicalism and secular emptiness. One cannot even begin to understand the “quiet revival”—whatever it means and however it is defined—without having an idea of the appeal exercised by Roman Catholicism.
- The growing popularity, in certain sectors of conservative theological circles, of the “great tradition,” championed by some eminent Roman Catholic theologians. All this excitement surrounding the “great tradition” has drawn attention to Roman Catholicism as the tradition that, more than any other, preserves it and claims it as its own.
Over the past decade, it has become clearer that Roman Catholicism is not merely a regional and local issue for Evangelicals in predominantly Catholic countries, but represents a theological challenge for Evangelical theology as a whole.
2. Epistemic Shift: From Particulars to System
In 2014, Gregg Allison published his seminal book Roman Catholic Theology and Practice. In it, he argued that Roman Catholic theology is a “coherent and all-encompassing system.” Not since Gerrit Berkouwer’s The Conflict with Rome (1948; English edition: 1958) had the category of “system” been used to address Roman Catholic theology in Evangelical books. Furthermore, Allison identified the two axioms of the Roman Catholic system: the interdependence of nature and grace and the interconnectedness of Christ and the Church.
Regarding the first, here is how Allison explains it: “Nature, while wounded by sin, retains a capacity for grace, and grace elevates or perfects nature. The two continue to operate interdependently” (p. 47). As for the interconnection between Christ and the Church, here is the summary: “Nature, being open to grace, is capable of receiving the grace mediated to it by the Church… This mediation also depends on the principle or law of incarnation” (p. 56)—that is, Christ sacramentally present in the Church. In his book, Allison addresses specific Roman Catholic doctrines as presented in the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, but from the perspective of their systemic interrelationship and their derivation from the two axioms. This approach stood—and stands—in sharp contrast to Evangelical treatments of Roman Catholic doctrine, which are based largely on the analysis of individual doctrines alone.
Throughout its ten-year history, RI has served as a laboratory where this systemic approach has been tested and explored in depth. Rather than viewing doctrines and practices as independent units or elements, we seek to develop a systemic vision of the Roman Catholic Church. We recognize that everything Rome believes and does has a theological “DNA” consisting of commitments that operate across all areas of Roman Catholic doctrine and life. Although their impact may vary—from doctrinal aspects to devotional practices—with differing emphases and intensities, these commitments are omnipresent within the system, as they constitute the Roman Catholic Church’s epistemic infrastructure and operational perspective.
From a theological perspective, the Roman Catholic system is “flawed” and needs reformation in accordance with the Gospel. Such a reformation should address not only certain doctrines and practices, but Rome’s theological core, which lies at the intersection of the interdependence of nature and grace and the interconnectedness of Christ and the Church.
To borrow the title of Vittorio Subilia’s book (1962; English edition: The Problem of Catholicism, 1964), the problem with Catholicism does not lie in additions or subtractions that can be easily removed or reinserted. The problem with Catholicism is its system as a whole. Additions or subtractions are not Lego bricks that, once added, can be removed. They are elements that have become integral to the system. Roman Catholicism is no longer biblical Christianity with a few additions. It is not half Gospel and half additions. It is an integrated whole in which non-biblical additions define its fundamental vision and not merely its secondary and tertiary aspects.
Christ warns us: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16:6). Paul adds: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9). Rather than the result of various additions, the metaphor of leaven is appropriate for describing the problem with Roman Catholicism: a core of theologically and even dogmatically defined commitments that shape the whole. Considering the Roman Catholic Church as a system, RI has served as a laboratory where we have sought to observe the impact of the leaven of Roman Catholicism on the whole dough.
3. Theological Approach: From the Outcomes to the Heart of the Matter
A recurring theme, even in Evangelical analyses of Roman Catholicism, is that all historical Christian traditions (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, various streams of Protestantism) differ in how they understand salvation (e.g., justification, renewal, deification) and the nature/role of the Church and the sacraments, but agree on the principles of the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and Christology. An example of this approach can be found in N. Geisler and R. MacKenzie, Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences (1995).
Although this is formally true on some level, a closer look reveals some cracks. The contrast between the traditions becomes most evident in the areas of salvation and the Church, yet both are organically and inextricably linked to Trinitarian doctrine as the core of Christian theology. As Gerald Bray states, “The great issues of Reformation theology—justification by faith, election, assurance of salvation—can be properly understood only against the background of a trinitarian theology which gave these matters their peculiar importance.”[1] In this context, the supposed consensus on the Trinitarian framework of the Christian faith turns out to be more limited than is often assumed.
All attempts to point to “Nicene Christianity” (i.e., unity based on the Nicene Creed) as common ground between Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism are historically simplistic and theologically superficial. The way in which the Trinitarian framework is received, believed, and applied highlights a significant distance between the two traditions, despite formal points of agreement. The words used are the same, but the theological worlds they open up are different.
At RI, we have just begun to analyze the shift from approaching Roman Catholicism as theologically situated within soteriology and/or ecclesiology to addressing it at the level of Trinitarian foundations. In other words, the question is: Does the true, central, and essential problem of Catholicism lie in one or two doctrines, in one or two theological clusters, in one or two distinctive practices, or does it lie in its ultimate doctrinal presuppositions—that is, in the fundamental commitments concerning the confession of God as Trinity and what follows from it?
Concluding Remarks
Ten years have passed since the launch of RI. We are grateful for the small contribution it has made in reviving Evangelical interest in Roman Catholicism and in suggesting and advocating that the theologically most responsible way to engage with it is through a systemic approach.
We pray that RI will continue to serve the purpose of “uniting, equipping, and resourcing Evangelical leaders” to understand Roman Catholic theology and communicate the Gospel.
[1] G. Bray, The Doctrine of God (Leicester: IVP, 1993), pp. 197–198. On this crucial point see also M. Reeves, “The Holy Trinity” in M. Barrett (ed.), Reformation Theology. A Systematic Summary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), pp. 189–216.
