"Man Made Religion"

"Heretical teachers pervert Scripture and try to get into Heaven with a false key, for they have formed their human assemblies later than the Catholic Church. From this previously-existing and most true Church, it is very clear that these later heresies, and others which have come into being since then, are counterfeit and novel inventions. "
 (Pope St. Clement I 80 AD)  (this is incorrect, see below)

When I read this quote, I immediately assumed it must have been written after the reformation in response to the novel doctrines brought in by the reformers. Examples of these early false teachings was the heresy that the Eucharist was not the true body and blood of Christ, or that Jesus was not equal, con-substantial with God (of the same substance)

The reality is that this was written by the fourth pope who was responding to heretical teachings that were already arising in "human assemblies" that claim a "false key" as early the end of the first century.

Note the language Pope St Clement uses to describe the non-Catholic churches: "human assemblies." Implicit in this statement is that the early Christians who remained in succession from the original apostles truly believed that Church was "God-made", not "man-made."  By definition, the Church was the assembly of  Christian believers that could trace their spiritual patrimony to the gentleman named Peter who received the "true Key" from the hands of no one less than Christ Jesus himself.

Isn't it sad and ironic that one of the most frequent claims made against the Catholic faith passed on to us directly from the apostles is that it is a "man-made religion?"

NOTE: Correction of the Above. The author of this quote was from Clement of Alexandria in his Stromata

(125-200 AD)