Catholic Answers a bad place for information?

[BTypical]

She’s doing my head in and I have told her I won’t engage with her anymore on Catholicism.

This was the best thing to do. You don’t need to engage with her on Catholicism to pray for her soul, and if it’s hurting you, then you need to take care of your own soul as well.

 

[OneSheep]

I have a friend who wants to be Catholic but can’t get past “no salvation outside the Church”.

A scripture-scholar priest taught us that what it really boils down to is that no one goes to heaven but through Jesus, so the Catholic, the Protestant, the Muslim, the Jew, the atheist go to heaven through Jesus when they do so.

The catechism is very clear:

CCC 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.337

What does it take to “know” Christ and His Church? This would be knowing Christ as the source of Love itself. We could tell people this, but they may not comprehend this or use those words if they already see that the source of love is within humanity, for example.

If they are seeing that using the words “Jesus is the only way” is manipulative or coercive, then they would be correct in instead seeing that the Father is not manipulative or coercive. Their consciences, helping to guide their own image of God, are accurate in rejecting the coercive image.

Do you see how important it is to focus on His love and forgiveness rather than the human-made rubrics by which it is formulated that God rejects some people?

Jesus came not to condemn, but to save.

You might want to check CCC 839-845 also.

 

[IWantGod]

“no salvation outside the Church”.

What do you think that means?

I have always took it to mean that Jesus is the way the truth and the light, and that the Catholic Church by extension of that authority provides the path.

But i don’t take the extremist view that everybody outside of the church is necessarily condemned. That would be very legalistic.

 

[sunandstars]

Doctrine hasn’t changed, but has developed.
Those that are saved, are saved by virtue of their relationship with the Catholic Church. Be that outright member ship, like myself, or some unconscious relationship for someone who is not a member. All grace in the world comes ultimately from the Church.
I also believe that many are not saved, and that being a Catholic is no guarantee of salvation.
And I believe that in the end, no one can know the mind of God, and He has the final say yea, or nay.

 

[MasterXploder7]

It might be wise to accept that a lot of people interpret scripture. I read somewhere in the church fathers just today that there are places where scripture can be widely interpreted and then there are places where it is incredibly strict. Perhaps it would be better for her to read the interpretations of the church fathers and then compare them to the words of the RC church today. After all, the words of “my home-boy John Chrysostom” (who makes me fearful) are what converted me when I read in a homily of his about the way we are saved and then compared it to the council of Trent and found the language was almost identical.

Otherwise, I just say be patient and enjoy the mental exercise.

 

[Gorgias]

Many priests are not trained not catechised properly these days.

I would disagree. My interactions with priests who have been formed in the past 20 years have been quite positive; there are many really good seminary programs these days for Catholic seminarians.

I don’t know that I would make the same kind of blanket statement in the context of 30-50 years ago, though. The experience of being a seminarian during or in the immediate aftermath of Vatican II seems to have been a difficult one, and filled with the potential of having been steeped in theologies and ecclesiologies that seem to be at odds with what’s being taught these days.

Just one guy’s perspective…

No. It has to do with the sorts of things I hear from priests that are indicative of their poor formation. Relativism, universalism, modernism.
Including what I hear from well formed priests about their fellow priests.
Please refrain from judging me because I go to the TLM.

Ahh… there we go. Many who love the ER see “relativism, universalism, and modernism” everywhere they look in the OR context. Now I get where you’re coming from. So, maybe what you’re saying is “many priests these days don’t see things the way I do”…?

 

[LeonardDeNoblac]

mental illness are caused by evil spirits

It is possible, and sometimes it does happen, but I don’t think it’s always the case. There can be natural causes. That’s why the Church recommends to make clear that there is no natural explanation for a state of mental illness before performing an exorcism.

women are inferior

If by “inferior” you mean a kind of subhuman, the only possible answer is absolutely no.

 

[sunandstars]

No, I’m saying that many priests don’t see the teachings of the Catholic Church the way the Church does.