Can I still call myself Catholic?

[PJM]

To: char1963

SORRY

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Love and prayers,

Pat

 

[dtom]

I can truly relate to your thinking and where you are coming from…have most of the same concerns. I still go to church on occasion…I have no oher faith.

…I am probably not a “Catholic” anymore …so then where do I go to worship ? I find much peace when I am out sailing and am one with this wonderful universe that I believe was created by God. It is a very sad feeling to be lost and without a “religion”!

I keep reading and searching, hoping that someday I will really feel the peace of knowing the TRUTH. Having been brought up a Catholic with firm childhood beliefs; it is very difficult to be so confused. I feel that if a Creator really loves each and every one of us, He will understand our searching…it is too bad we can’t just have all the answers NOW…wouldn’t that be great!

This probably does not help you much, but knowing that you are not alone…it would be good if we could find a place that helps us to know. Let me know if you ever find your answers.

Peace be with you

 

[Alfred_Hili]

There is only one way to God; through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord.
Jesus Said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” ( John 14:6 )
If you are spiritually hungry, Jesus is the way.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me shall never go thirsty.” ( John 6;35 )
If you are confused, Jesus is the way.
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. ( John 8:12 )
If you feel lost, locked out of life, Jesus is the way.
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.” ( John 10:9 )
If you feel cheated by those around you, Jesus is the way:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” ( John 10 : 11, 14 )
If you want to live after you die, Jesus is the way:
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” ( John 11: 25-26)
Jesus is the answer. He is the friend and guide that you are looking for. Jesus is the way to salvation; the life in this world and the next. The void we feel in our heart is God missing from our life. We are separated from God by sin. Let us place our faith in Jesus, believing that our sins will be forgiven thanks to Him who died for us on the cross to pay for our sins. Only then will we have a fulfilling life free of sin, and the promise of a resurrected life in heaven foir eternity with Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. ( John 3:16 )

 

[char1963]

I think some of you may have misunderstood the question. I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus died to save us from our sins and that we should follow his teachings. Isnt that what makes a Christian? My problem is that what I am beginning to understand about the Catholic Church is they expect me to believe things that have no bearing on the above defination of a Christian. Therein lies my dilema.

 

[KingAlfred]

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that. I have always gone to Church to hear the word of God, not for any of the sacrements. If I keep going to the Catholic Church but dont go to communion, can I still say I am Catholic? I am certainly not in communion with the Church. I am sure some of you will say that I shouldnt be going to a Church I dont believe in, but where am I going to go?

Ask yourself what you do believe about Christianity, then connect to that. Also, try not to get hung up on details. Catholic theology is so rich, so deep, so comprehensive in addressing the human plight, there has to be something within it to which you can relate strongly. Read the Catechism to investigate that possibility.

 

[DL82]

it is too bad we can’t just have all the answers NOW…wouldn’t that be great!

We can! just trust in Jesus Christ and His promises. He said to the Church that the Holy Spirit would lead it into ALL the truth, not just part of it, He said the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church, He said that whatever the Apostles (and their successors) bind on earth would be bound in heaven. If you trust in Jesus, trust in His promises, if you trust His promises, trust His Church.

 

[JacktheCatholic]

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that. I have always gone to Church to hear the word of God, not for any of the sacrements. If I keep going to the Catholic Church but dont go to communion, can I still say I am Catholic? I am certainly not in communion with the Church. I am sure some of you will say that I shouldnt be going to a Church I dont believe in, but where am I going to go?

Prayers for you…

You are like many Protestants. When one Protests the Church they Protest God. Your situation is no different then many of us, myself included. It boils down to your heart and how much we allow God to work in us. The Catholic Church is the intepretor of scripture and this authority was given by Jesus and so to deny the Church is to deny Christ himself. The problem is not the Catholic Church, the problem is us.

 

[Alfred_Hili]

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that. I have always gone to Church to hear the word of God, not for any of the sacrements. If I keep going to the Catholic Church but dont go to communion, can I still say I am Catholic? I am certainly not in communion with the Church. I am sure some of you will say that I shouldnt be going to a Church I dont believe in, but where am I going to go?

One cannot be a catholic and then expect to remain a catholic while going against the policies of the catholic church. There is no place for ‘cafeteria’ catholics; one cannot pick and choose from the core catholic dogmas or moral principles and expect to have the right to form a personal kind of catholicism. Whether we agree or not, we catholics are morally bound to accept all the teachings of the church. If you believe in Jesus Christ you can call yourself a christian but I don’t think you can call yourself catholic if you don’t believe and accept all dogmas and moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Still I suggest you keep going to church, pray to God and look for the truth. The path is difficult but not impossible.

 

[Jacafamala]

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that. I have always gone to Church to hear the word of God, not for any of the sacrements. If I keep going to the Catholic Church but dont go to communion, can I still say I am Catholic? I am certainly not in communion with the Church. I am sure some of you will say that I shouldnt be going to a Church I dont believe in, but where am I going to go?

No, you can’t call yourself Catholic. You’re far from it, but you’re still welcome at Mass, just not Communion.

 

[Incomplete]

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that. I have always gone to Church to hear the word of God, not for any of the sacrements. If I keep going to the Catholic Church but dont go to communion, can I still say I am Catholic? I am certainly not in communion with the Church. I am sure some of you will say that I shouldnt be going to a Church I dont believe in, but where am I going to go?

The suggestions to attend RCIA (if you have a good program available, some are not) or to seek spiritual direction are good ones. As has been said, learn why the Church teaches what she teaches. There are reasons for these teachings.

Also know why you personally believe what you believe. Is it just “gut feelings”, or based on something? And if your beliefs are based on something, is the basis the Bible or early Christian teachings? If so, figure out how you would know that your interpretation is correct, why you would know better than the Church what the teachings of God are? If based on something else, why is that source more believable than what the Church basis her teachings on?

Beyond that, yes, it’s important to love and serve God. To love Him goes above "feelings’ of love, though. To love Him is to learn His teachings also.

I am surprised that the sacraments are not important to you. Do you believe Catholic teachings regarding the Eucharist? It’s a pretty important sacrament!

Do you actually understand what Papal infallibility means? Many people, even Catholics, don’t.

Also think about this: if God is Truth, He must’ve offered a way to know the Truth and must have a desire for us to know the Truth, all of the Truth. If not in the Catholic church, then where? Where that Truth is is where you (and all of us) should be.

I can’t imagine God would offer truth, but not provide a way. Personal interpretation or acting on “feelings” just leads to confusion.

In essence, I would suggest understanding why the Church teaches what it does, and why you disagree with it. See if it makes sense to you that your understanding is better than 2000 years of Church teachings. Church history includes some really great minds; that should give you pause. Why would your understanding of God’s truth be better than theirs?

Forgive me if the tone of my text isn’t clear. I hope it doesn’t come across as sarcastic or anything like that. All these questions were asked in full sincerity. They are all questions we have to ask of ourselves.

I used to be a cafeteria Catholic myself.

 

[Incomplete]

Oh, and one more thing.

You said you attend Mass for the Word of God, not the sacraments. But the sacraments and Church teachings are all in the Word of God. You can’t really divide them.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that.

Each of the teachings you cite — opposition to gay marriage, Holy Orders only for men, a celibate priesthood, Papal infallibility, Mary’s perpetual virginity, the existence of Purgatory — has very good reasons behind it (note that priestly celibacy is a discipline, not a dogma — it can be changed in certain circumstances, although it is a tremendous blessing for the Church). If you really want answers, we can delve into these one at a time, perhaps in separate threads. But simply to reject them without exploring the Church’s reasons for these teachings is to reject a treasure of beauty and truth, and ultimately to reject Christ.

Isnt the most important thing that I believe Jesus died to save us from our sins? What does the rest matter? I am actually in line with the majority of the Church’s moral teachings , its the dogmas that I am having trouble with.

How can you accept that Jesus died for us, but reject His teachings? The rest matters because it matters to God. These are Christ’s teachings! Faith is not just believing in Christ’s crucifixion. It is believing EVERYTHING He taught us, through Scripture and through the Church He established. You can’t pick and choose. That is inconsistent. Catholicism is not a cafeteria where you can take what you like and reject the rest.

I think some of you may have misunderstood the question. I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus died to save us from our sins and that we should follow his teachings. Isnt that what makes a Christian? My problem is that what I am beginning to understand about the Catholic Church is they expect me to believe things that have no bearing on the above defination of a Christian. Therein lies my dilema.

You hit the nail on the head: a Christian must not only believe that Jesus died to save us; a Christian must follow His teachings. All of them. Not just the appealing ones. Not just the ones that “make sense.” Not just the ones that are explicitly stated in Scripture, for we know that Sacred Tradition (that which has been handed down to us through the Church) is part of the deposit of faith, every bit as much as what is in the Bible. Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church are a “three-legged stool.” Take away any one of these and our faith topples.

Remember that the Catholic Church is the Body of Christ. When you say “they expect me to believe things,” you are really saying that “Christ expects me to believe things.” Yes, He does!

If we do not believe what the Church teaches, we reject Christ’s authority and the authority of God the Father who sent Him. Jesus said so Himself, when He sent the seventy-two (the beginnings of the Catholic Church) to preach in His name:

“Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)

 

[DL82]

It’s good that you’re asking these questions. I hope and pray that it will lead you to a deeper understanding of your faith. It’s hard though. It is hard to expose the roots of what you had always taken for granted, to have to start at the beginning with the difficult questions about the Church’s authority, indeed questions about the very nature of truth and whether and how it is possible for human beings to know the truth. These are hard questions, but be thankful, you have been given 3 great gifts:

1. A love of Jesus. You don’t realise how important that is. Never let anyone belittle this gift, you really want to seek out Jesus, you believe there is something special about Him, something that no other human being can compare to. Now you’re about to begin to find out just how special He really is, as you begin to explore the true treasures of the Catholic faith.
2. An upbringing in the Catholic Church. This is something I didn’t have, and it’s a huge gift. You have an intuitive understanding of what it means to live a Catholic lifestyle, to attend Mass regularly, to have access to the Sacraments, to belong to a Church which speaks with authority. You have others to pray for you, not only on earth but in heaven. You have the gift of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation to strengthen you and lead you into the truth.
3. A desire to explore and to question. You want to know more, you are not content to just shrug off these points of doctrine you don’t understand. This is good, it shows you care about Truth - the Word of God is the fullness of grace and truth - that Word is not only the Bible but the incarnate Word in Jesus Christ Himself. You care about the truth, but you also need to have the humility to see that there’s a difference between truth and what you can personally get your head around. That’s a big difference between Protestant and Catholic faith, our faith is a lived and shared faith, not just the sum-total of all the beliefs you can personally understand, but the faith of Christ, the faith of the Church, we live it out, we believe it, and when we struggle to personally understand we support eachother, even in the times of doubt.

Char1963, it sounds to me as if you’ve been a victim of default Catholic syndrome, perhaps the result of a watered-down ecumenical catechesis when you were younger. You understand that aspect of Christian education which we have in common with our Protestant cousins, that we believe in Jesus Christ and try to follow Him and live by the values He taught and lived. however, we must know Jesus Christ as He really is, not just as our intuition or culture tells us He ought to be - some of your assumptions about who Jesus is suggest that you are more influenced by the secular culture of Protestant America than by the Church which has been the guardian of the written and oral teaching about Jesus from the time of His personal friends and companions the Apostles on down to the present day. It sounds to me as if, until now, you’ve been Catholic because you were born and brought up Catholic, and you looked at the Church as being as good a church as any other, so saw no reason to change. There’s nothing wrong with that, and many people start from such a position. None of this is your fault.

Even the greatest saints went through times of doubt, don’t worry. Pray that Christ will lead you into all truth. Perhaps just pray St Peter’s prayer of simple abandonment from John 6 - Jesus had just told him that he would need to eat Him to inherit eternal life, a teaching he couldn’t even begin to understand, but in simple trust, Peter says “Lord, to whom shall we go, you alone have the words of eternal life”.

(PS - as regards the perpetual virginity of Mary, even a lot of Protestant Bible scholars agree that the Bible does not conclusively say that Jesus had any other brothers and sisters. There are all kinds of fancy arguments relating to the economy of salvation, relating to the Greek language, relating to the beliefs of the early Church fathers, to support the doctrine that Mary remained a virgin after as before she gave birth to Christ. All the same, I think there’s a much simpler argument which most men intuitively understand. Imagine your wife has just given birth to the Son of God, she has known a kind of union with the Holy Spirit which no other woman has ever experienced, her womb has been the dwelling place of the King of Heaven. You just wouldn’t, would you. Even if God told you that it was ok to have a normal marriage, you just wouldn’t. Apologies if this strikes anyone as inappropriate curiosity into the Blessed Virgin’s private life, I mean no disrespect.)

 

[PJM]

=Alfred Hili;6128868]One cannot be a catholic and then expect to remain a catholic while going against the policies of the catholic church. There is no place for ‘cafeteria’ catholics; one cannot pick and choose from the core catholic dogmas or moral principles and expect to have the right to form a personal kind of catholicism. Whether we agree or not, we catholics are morally bound to accept all the teachings of the church. If you believe in Jesus Christ you can call yourself a christian but I don’t think you can call yourself catholic if you don’t believe and accept all dogmas and moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Still I suggest you keep going to church, pray to God and look for the truth. The path is difficult but not impossible.

What you say is true friend, but does very little to actually help one get to the truth.

Thanks for your imput, and please pray for this person.

Love and prayers,

Pat

 

[michaeldaniels]

I am wondering…and I am not trying to be rude…why you feel your OPINIONS give you a valid reason to blatantly oppose The Church and Christ? It seems you are the product of poor Catechesis and that is not your fault…you should speak to an apologist to not only understand what The Catholic Church believes and teaches…but also, WHY we believe and teach the things we do. It is a simple lack of understanding and systematic failure of those responsible for teaching you things, failing to do so…it also appears you have had a great deal of protestant, agnostic, and modernist influence as well…I would never advocate abandoning The Truth, which is what you would be doing if you left the Catholic Church…however, I do recommend going to Mass as much as possible…talk with a priest…talk with an apologist, learn about Our Faith…then when you are comfortable and can accept THe Church’s teachings, go to confession…make a good confession and start receiving The Sacraments again…the graces you will receive from that will be unbelievable. God Bless…you are in my prayers.

I am having some major problems with the Catholic faith. I thought my problem was with opposing gay marriage, women priests and priests not being allowed to get married. When I started looking into what I am supposed to believe , I realized I had much bigger issues. The Pope is infallable, Mary was a virgin the rest of her life, Purgatory? I have never believed any of that. I have always gone to Church to hear the word of God, not for any of the sacrements. If I keep going to the Catholic Church but dont go to communion, can I still say I am Catholic? I am certainly not in communion with the Church. I am sure some of you will say that I shouldnt be going to a Church I dont believe in, but where am I going to go?

 

[michaeldaniels]

You have a lot to learn…EVERYTHING matters…Justification by Faith Alone with one of the most heretical and damaging false doctrines ever created

Isnt the most important thing that I believe Jesus died to save us from our sins? What does the rest matter? I am actually in line with the majority of the Church’s moral teachings , its the dogmas that I am having trouble with.

 

[char1963]

I asked for guidance as I opened the bible today. It opened straight to Luke, to the part about Elizabeth and Mary ( interestingly enough, it skipped right over the part where it says she was a virgin, not that I am arguing that point.) I kept on reading and Jesus replies to the woman who cried out “blessed is the woman who gave birth to you and who nursed you” , Jesus replied…" rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and listen to it. " ( I may not have that exactly worded right, but am sure you all know the verse I am reffering to ). He said to say to many people “Your faith has has healed you”. They had faith in him , not his mother. Why should we need scholars to understand what Jesus said? As a related thought, who are the 7 Churches in revelations? To those who say I should just join another Church, it isnt so easy . My husband is a french Catholic and we live in a very french part of the country. He doesnt speak english either. We dont have alot of other demonations around. Anglican , Presberterain, Baptist , Pentacostal and " The Christian Fellowship " My understanding is that these last 3 are evagical churches , the Anglican is very similar to the Catholic and I know nothing about the Presbeterian. One thing I do like about the Catholic Church is its more of a Church of example , then going out and converting people.

 

[char1963]

I should point out that I am not rejecting Jesus’s teachings at all. Not the ones found in the Bible.

 

[Della]

I asked for guidance as I opened the bible today. It opened straight to Luke, to the part about Elizabeth and Mary ( interestingly enough, it skipped right over the part where it says she was a virgin, not that I am arguing that point.) I kept on reading and Jesus replies to the woman who cried out “blessed is the woman who gave birth to you and who nursed you” , Jesus replied…" rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and listen to it. " ( I may not have that exactly worded right, but am sure you all know the verse I am reffering to ). He said to say to many people “Your faith has has healed you”. They had faith in him , not his mother. Why should we need scholars to understand what Jesus said? As a related thought, who are the 7 Churches in revelations? To those who say I should just join another Church, it isnt so easy . My husband is a french Catholic and we live in a very french part of the country. He doesnt speak english either. We dont have alot of other demonations around. Anglican , Presberterain, Baptist , Pentacostal and " The Christian Fellowship " My understanding is that these last 3 are evagical churches , the Anglican is very similar to the Catholic and I know nothing about the Presbeterian. One thing I do like about the Catholic Church is its more of a Church of example , then going out and converting people.

And what is wrong with scholars commenting on a very ancient and hard to understand outside of its cultural setting set of writings?

And why should you think that just opening the Bible and reading a passage makes your ideas about it more correct than those of scholars or that of the Church, the latter being the more important interpretation?

Don’t you know that the New Testament was written by the very bishops of the Church you don’t agree with? That’s who the Apostles were, after all, bishops of the Church.

Jesus isn’t denigrating Mary, an impossiblity since she was “full of grace” before he was conceived in her womb, and she gave birth to him, and followed him faithfully. The woman wasn’t praising Mary, she was praising Jesus. Apparently, she had some wrong idea as to why he is so blessed because he corrected her by saying that those who do God’s will are to be called blessed. Jesus wasn’t saying anything about his mother, he was saying something about himself–that his whole purpose was to do God’s will. We can’t read the Bible without understanding who is saying what and why. Nor can we do so according to those already biased against any form of devotion for Mary. Like the woman in the Gospel story we’ll misunderstand who Jesus is and what he intended, and that can lead us seriously astray.

It is important to remember that Jesus never founded a book. He founded a Church–that’s biblical. He gave his Apostles the power of the Holy Spirit to take his message to mankind. They did that mostly through oral teaching/preaching. Some of what they taught was written down in the New Testament, but not all. It’s why we rely on their successors to teach us what it all means–because they have been ordained to continue the ministry Jesus gave to their predecessors, the Apostles.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

I should point out that I am not rejecting Jesus’s teachings at all. Not the ones found in the Bible.

But it has been clearly demonstrated that not all of Jesus’ teachings are found in the Bible. So if you reject the Church’s teachings, you are still rejecting Jesus’ teachings.

More examples:

There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)

And Paul writing to Timothy, which clearly supports the validity of oral tradition in the Church:

And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well. (2 Timothy 2:2)

More Biblical support of the validity of the Church’s oral tradition:

Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

Your assumption that we only need to believe what is written in the Bible is entirely wrong.