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vince2paul
Guest
Are catholics obliged to find out the teaching of the catholic church? I know that, ignorance of the scripture is ignorance of Christ. How about the doctrines/dogmas?
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vern_humphrey
Guest
Yes, we are. We should study all our lives.
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1ke
Guest
Yes and yes.
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Scottgun
Guest
Yaw and yaw. Ya gotta be ferin’ it, not agen’ it. 
Scott
Scott
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Della
Guest
Only those Catholics without the capacity to learn/understand are exempt from learning about the teachings/practices of their own Church, don’t you think? After all, sloth is one of the 7 deadly sins, and for good reason. 
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itsjustdave1988
Guest
Yes.
St. Thomas Aquinas: "ignorance denotes privation of knowledge, i.e. lack of knowledge of those things that one has a natural aptitude to know. Some of these we are under an obligation* to know*, those, to wit, without the knowledge of which we are unable to accomplish a due act rightly. Wherefore all are bound in common to know the articles of faith*, and the universal principles of right, and each individual is bound to know matters regarding his duty or state**.**… through negligence, ignorance of what one is bound to know, is a sinSumma Theologica, *IIa, 76, 2]
**John Paul II **referred to “an ever-increasing urgency for ***a doctrinal ***formation of the lay faithful, not simply in a better understanding which is natural to faith’s dynamism but also in enabling them to “give a reason for their hoping” in view of the world and its grave and complex problems. Therefore, a systematic approach to *catechesis, *geared to age and the diverse situations of life, is an absolute necessity” [John Paul II, On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici_en.html”]Christifideles Laici (1988)]
John Paul II further affirms: “… Mother Church is called to take part in the divine work of formation, both through a sharing of her very life, and through her various pronouncements and actions…First of all the Church is a teacher, in which the Pope takes the “primary” role*** in the formation of the lay faithful.*** As successor of Saint Peter, he has the ministry of “confirming his brothers in the faith”, instructing all believers in the essential content of vocation and mission in light of the Christian faith and membership in the Church. Therefore, not simply the words coming directly from him, but also those transmitted by the various departments of the Holy See call for a loving and receptive hearing by the lay faithful*…in and through the particular Churches.…the Bishop in his person has a responsibility towards the lay faithful, in forming the animation and guidance of their Christian life through the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments…Situated and at work within the particular Church or diocese is the Parish which has the essential task of a more personal and immediate formation of the lay faithful…Internal to the parish, especially if vast and territorially extensive, small Church communities, where present, can be a notable help in the formation of Christians….The Christian family, as the “domestic Church”, also makes up a natural and fundamental school for formation in the faith**…***Schools and Catholic universities, as well as centers of spiritual renewal which are becoming ever more widespread in these days, are also important places for formation…Groups, associations and movements also have their place in the formation of the lay faithful. ***” ***(ibid.)
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thistle
Guest
YES. If you only read two books in your whole life they should be the Bible and the Catechism.
Of course we don’t want you to stop at these two.
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vince2paul
Guest
Haha… nice one!Only those Catholics without the capacity to learn/understand are exempt from learning about the teachings/practices of their own Church, don’t you think? After all, sloth is one of the 7 deadly sins, and for good reason.
I think I can use this argument.
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vince2paul
Guest
But… but… the Bible is so thick and the language in CCC is difficult to understand (to the people whose 1st language isn’t English). Well, that’s the argument that I always get. There are even who say that Compendium of CCC still difficult to understand.
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giagustine
Guest
I’d say that they are required to find out the teaching. What a monumental task!
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Pug
Guest
It is. I find it easy, but then I am a fully catechized adult Catholic. When I first started, I would have been lost in the CCC. I think for the person who has had zero religious instruction their entire lives, and has no experience reading large amounts of anything, then they are better off with a child’s catechism, at least to start, and then switch to the compendium or something larger.But… but… the Bible is so thick and the language in CCC is difficult to understand (to the people whose 1st language isn’t English). Well, that’s the argument that I always get. There are even who say that Compendium of CCC still difficult to understand.
That way they start with a skeleton structure of true facts, and they can go from there, being sure that they don’t interpret anything they read as contrary to the basic structure as they flesh it out.
It wouldn’t really matter, except that nowdays one seems to be expected to learn the faith on one’s own, by reading. That’s how I had to do it. That method is *fraught *with peril. It is much safer now, though, that the CCC exists.
And yes, we are obliged to know the faith! We should nourish it and protect it once we have it. The CCC is a great blessing for many!
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puzzleannie
Guest
yeah, well the Bible and catechism have been translated into most modern languages so that excuse aint worth much
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noma
Guest
If you are Catholic, then you are obligated by the Hierarchy.
I think it’s always best to study as much as possible, but I take what Rome says with a grain of salt.
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BlestOne
Guest
Obliged Yes, both the teaching of the scriptures and the magesterium. But I find that the true question is why wouldn’t a person want to find out? Don’t they have a burning desire to learn more? Why not?
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awalt
Guest
I just heard Karl Keating discuss this today.
He said there is invincible ignorance and vincible ignorance. Invincible ignorance is really having to reasonably ability to know the right answer. Vincible ignorance is that you really could know, or shoudl know, or know but you are rationalizing it to yourself. You are culpable for that, you are not culpable for invincible ignorance.
And guess what? God decides which it is
He said there is invincible ignorance and vincible ignorance. Invincible ignorance is really having to reasonably ability to know the right answer. Vincible ignorance is that you really could know, or shoudl know, or know but you are rationalizing it to yourself. You are culpable for that, you are not culpable for invincible ignorance.
And guess what? God decides which it is
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noma
Guest
But the distinction between the two must be able to be discerned to be meaningful. How are we to discern what is vincible and what is invincible? I know the claims of the Roman Catholic Church, and the reasons flaunted for these claims, yet I reject some of them. Is this vincible or invincible? And how would we discern which it is likely to be?
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JMJ_coder
Guest
Hello,
Then get the new Adult Catechism from the USCCB. And if that is beyond their reading capability, get the Baltimore Catechism, which was written for children. And if that is beyond their reading ability, then have them enroll in a remedial English course.But… but… the Bible is so thick and the language in CCC is difficult to understand (to the people whose 1st language isn’t English). Well, that’s the argument that I always get. There are even who say that Compendium of CCC still difficult to understand.
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Mommyof02green
Guest
Is the CCC only written in English?But… but… the Bible is so thick and the language in CCC is difficult to understand (to the people whose 1st language isn’t English). Well, that’s the argument that I always get. There are even who say that Compendium of CCC still difficult to understand.
see:
vatican.va/archive/ccc/index.htm
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Sixtus
Guest
I believe we are. But I think we need be cautious. Not everything believed and taught by the ultra-right hardliners is in my view ‘official teachings’ nor is everything they say ‘the gospel truth’.
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Pug
Guest
I agree we need to be cautious in what we accept when talking with any old person, so why the specific mention of one group of people here?
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