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The Catholic Church stands with Confucian China as two organizations that have persisted for 2,000 years. Both were created by a ruling class based on moral principles and have lasted due to their adherence to these principles and sacred texts.

Catholicism emphasizes the embodiedness of human beings, countering modern strains of thought that separate the mind and body.

The Catholic Church played a pivotal role during the Dark Ages by preserving knowledge. As the Roman Empire fell, the Church acted like Asimov's 'Foundation,' maintaining and reintroducing civilization through social engineering and the preservation of classical Greco-Roman lore.

The Catholic and Protestant churches were powerful in pre-modern Europe due to the weak state, providing social organization and fostering ideals of personal responsibility and individualism.

The Catholic Church's continuity is remarkable, especially considering the logistical challenges it faced in maintaining tradition and civilization through fragile communication networks in the past.

Modernism poses a threat to Catholicism by trying to make the church conform to the world, while there is also a danger of overreacting to abuses within the church.

In the High Middle Ages, the Catholic Church's influence was so pervasive in Western Europe that it shaped the very identity of its people. They identified first as Christians rather than Europeans, and this religious framework influenced everything from science to ethics.