I confess I have not read through all the pages and pages of responses to the original post, so I’ll just comment on the topic, itself.
Like some of the responders to this topic, however, I will say that I was aware of no particular “struggle” between Catholics and Mormons. I think we generally tend not to give each other much thought, to be honest.
As a Roman Catholic, I do not believe in the authenticity of the Mormon religion, of course. I think Joseph Smith’s alleged revelations are all a wild story made up by a disturbed man, to be frank. Obviously, not one iota of the story of people sailing from Jerusalem to America is true; neither the rest about Christ coming to America. Sheer nonsense, of course
Nevertheless, I have no animosity toward Mormons. In fact earlier this Summer I went to the LDS’s annual pageant in Palmyra, New York, where the LDS Church has its roots. I was invited, in fact, by a friend who happens to be a Catholic priest. We both went out of curiosity, just to see what it was all about.
The very first thing that struck me, upon arrival, was all the Evangelical “Christians” who had showed up to protest the event in the loudest, most obnoxious way. They handed out pamphlets against Mormonism to all attending (most of whom would have been Mormons, of course), and two of them stood there at the entrance of this place revered by Mormons shouting at everyone through bullhorns! And the things they were shouting could not possibly have been more insulting, incidentally; there was no finesse in their approach, at all. There was certainly no charity in any of it, that’s for sure…or class.
I don’t know what they might have been thinking, showing up like that, and shouting insults over bullhorns at Mormons on the Mormons’ own turf! It was so unpardonably rude and ill-mannered, for one thing, and so appalling a thing to witness. I felt so badly for these poor people, having their religion mercilessly mocked by a bunch of self-righteous jerks on their own sacred space. The Mormons, however, handled it with grace, serenity, and dignity. Each LDS person I encountered in fact, to a man, was the model of hospitality, warmth, and friendliness. Not one tried to shove his religion at me, either.
The Evangelicals, by contrast, could not have been more shockingly rude, boistrous, insulting, and altogether un-Christian in their demeanor. I was, as I say, utterly appalled by their disgraceful behaviour. It was absolutely disgusting.
I can just imagine how these Evangelicals would react if a group of Mormons showed up at their sacred space and protested the Evangelical Protestant religion, handing out tracts and shouting insults at them with bullhorns. It’s clear from their behaviour at this event that they would not react with the same grace and dignity that the Mormons did. I imagine the response would be rather violent.
So, after witnessing what I did that day at the birthplace of Joseph Smith in Palmyra, I don’t know what on earth the OP is talking about when he cites “angst” between Catholics and Mormons. There were no Catholics shouting at the Mormons that day. Just Evangelicals.
it remains appropriate for both RCC and LDS because both follow Christ’s Gospel teachings, to the best of each faith’s interpretation. The current RCC use of ‘Christian’ severly distorts the common definition by adding adherence to select Catholic interpretation of Gospel, per their Holy Tradition.
