I am Catholic. I believe in and trust the magisterium of the church. Nothing distinguishes me from Protestants more profoundly than that concept: the magisterium, or the teaching authority, of the church. For me, the church is like Locke and Jefferson and Madison. They were learned men who read Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Cato, Epictetus, Epicurus, and other Greek and Roman philosophers, often in the original languages.