Catholic Answers a bad place for information?

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sunandstars

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I have a friend who wants to be Catholic but can’t get past “no salvation outside the Church”.
I have explained it to her a million times, but she refuses to believe that there is a qualitative difference between her Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism.
Because I go to a TLM, she believes i only listen to horrible, hateful interpretations of what’s in the Catechism regarding this.
I told her Catholics don’t interpret. One of the main differences between her and my religions.

I recently sent her a few articles from Catholic Answers on this topic.
She is still saying that the articles are a personal interpretation of the teaching and she refuses to go with it because it’s hurtful for her to think that all Protestants aren’t going to heaven.

She says the priests that she has spoken to agree with her.
I told her Catholics don’t interpret doctrine. We explain it.
She refuses to believe what the Church says about its own doctrines.
She’s doing my head in and I have told her I won’t engage with her anymore on Catholicism.

I don’t know where else to send her for good, faithful explanations of this or any doctrine. I was shocked that she thought CA was a bad place to inform prospective converts. The articles I sent her, I thought, were very well written, fair, and correct in understanding of what the Church teaches.

I’m at a loss. She going to find some priest who was badly catechised himself to receive her. She’s going to practice and believe her Protestant religion in the Catholic Church. Not good for the Church…not good for her soul.

Any suggestions , other than to just breathe and put it all in Gods hands?
Thanks.
 
I think she thinks everyone I going to heaven unless they are a Hitler.
 
The Catholic Church has the keys to heaven and hell, so they are able to make people saints. As well, they are able to send people to hell.
The beauty is that our Church has never done that to anybody(not even hitler etc.). They have the authority, yet they keep it up to God to decide.

Also I would recommend reading the CCC for information, salvation outside of the church is possible. Yet for us catholics who know the fullness, understand the CCC, and thr the eucharist, its to us that we have no salvation if we leave the Church.
Find a commentary on John 6. That entire chapter is about Jesus saying if we dont eat his body we have no life in him. Hope I helped a bit!
 
She won’t say exactly to me…
But I think she only wants the trappings.
That, and she is bored. Converting will give her a “project” and new identity.
she has Chronic Fatigue Symdrome and says she can’t even get to mass.
I don’t know how she can be a Catholic if she won’t even go to Mass.
She managed a trip overseas this summer, and a trip to the other side of the country last months. She has groceries in the fridge and library books everywhere.
She clearly isn’t housebound.

I’m just afraid she will find someone to receive her and she will be jeopardizing her eternity because she can’t let go of Protestantism, among other things.

I should just make it stop bothering me, but I confess, it does. A lot.
 
She already has her mind made up and will only dig her heels in if you keep pushing.

Let God be her guide for only He knows how to feed her.
 
sunandstars said:
other than to just breathe and put it all in Gods hands?
Thanks.
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And to be fair, many Catholics believe the same thing. Would it really be so bad for one more? If she becomes a Catholic, she will have the eucharist and confession and graces, and maybe that’s the first step?

Just a thought. We shouldn’t wait until someone accepts EVERYTHING about Catholicism before they convert, that’s a high bar for a lot of people. Wouldn’t it be more manageable if they progress towards perfection?
 
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The Church does not “make” saints, God does. The Church, through an exhaustive investigative process discerns if someone is in heaven, and declares them a saint, but it is only God that does the sanctifying work.
 
sunandstars said:
She is still saying that the articles are a personal interpretation of the teaching and she refuses to go with it because it’s hurtful for her to think that all Protestants aren’t going to heaven.
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If its hurtful, it can’t be true. This is modern culture logic. My feelings tell me what is fact.

Causes me good feelings? Must be true

Causes me hurtful feelings? Must be false
 
sunandstars said:
I think she thinks everyone I going to heaven unless they are a Hitler.
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Common modern cultural misconception that most go to heaven and few go to hell.

Jesus said the opposite in Matthew 7 = most go to hell and few go to heaven.
 
sunandstars said:
I have a friend who wants to be Catholic but can’t get past “no salvation outside the Church”. I have explained it to her a million times, but she refuses to believe that there is a qualitative difference between her Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism.
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Baby steps, my friend. You need to walk baby steps with her.

You shouldn’t expect someone to assent to Catholicism in one big leap. It’s not like a prestigious club membership – just sign here and pay the dues. It’s a path. It’s the Way.

It’s like the way up a great mountain. Let’s say you are somewhere uphill. You have your map and compass, and you reckon that you’re on the right trail. Now you see her some distance below, maybe on a different trail. You want to say to her “It’s simple. Just come to where I am.” But how’s she going to get from where she is to where you are?

Alternatively, you could meet her where she is. Show her your map. Walk with her, one step at a time.

Not all trails lead to the summit, but a lot of them at least go upward and get closer. Maybe she needs to gain some altitude on her trail before she can clearly see your trail and understand why you chose it.
 
Never give up on her. I pray for the conversion of sinners every day. I think some in-depth history lessons would help her to see the subjective nature of all the protestant interpretations and heresies. And reading up on the early church, too. For instance, transubstantiation was strongly believed by all in the early church, so it’s baffling that reformers have so much hatred of this doctrine.

Also, she should visit a museum and see the medieval art and read about beliefs held by the middle ages Church.

There were no “denominations” or different “churches” until the reformation. And the way in which protestants say it’s good to have a plurality of beliefs and viewpoints has always struck me as self-defeating: what do you believe and how can you say you’re right if the person next to you says you’re wrong… but you still say “boy, it’s great we all get to believe whatever we want.”

I can believe the sky is red, but that doesn’t make it so. [EDIT: I forgot the sky changes color at sunset… woops lol]
 
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Catholic Answers has solid Apologetics. It’s pretty clear that she’s only looking for answers that she agrees with.

That being said, I don’t recommend using the Catholic Answers Forum for anything serious or important. It’s more of a research tool and has a lot of confusing threads and opinions.
 
sunandstars said:
She going to find some priest who was badly catechised himself to receive her. She’s going to practice and believe her Protestant religion in the Catholic Church. Not good for the Church…not good for her soul.
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A bit more charity, faith, and humility, please! Even an imperfect priest can be the instrument in God’s hands which leads her to the Church. Even in her imperfect Catholicism, she can be healed and nourished by Jesus present in the Sacraments. That’s good for her soul and for the Church.
 
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Yes, I’m afraid you are right. It’s more important that she is right, than she has the Truth.
She’s convinced she’ll find someone to receive her anyway. And she might.

I’m knocking the dust off my sandals.
She’s a grown up, she can make her own decisions.
Thanks guys.
I love CA. They were instrumental to me actually learning and loving and living my faith joyfully and correctly.

God bless!
 
@Timeflies2me
The church does not have the keys to hell! Only heaven!
 
sunandstars said:
it’s hurtful for her to think that all Protestants aren’t going to heaven.
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Does she think that all Protestants go to heaven? Just because they proclaimed faith in Jesus? (“Not all who cry ‘Lord, Lord’…”!) Does she think that Jesus teaches this in the Gospels?
sunandstars said:
I don’t know where else to send her for good, faithful explanations of this or any doctrine.
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Point her at the Catechism, if you want to know what the Church teaches:
“Outside the Church there is no salvation”

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.

848 “Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men.”
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She seems to interpret the Catechism as saying that Protestantism has as much truth as Catholicism. And now she’s also saying RJ Neuhaus as being in agreement with her. I thought he was pretty much on the Catholic side of things.
I’m really confused now…
 
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