Catholic Convert Doubting

[Parvana]

I think all Christians experience at least one crisis of faith in their lives. There is also the teaching of the “dark night of the soul” (Mother Theresa is said to have been in one for 30 years!). This is when you may feel disconnected from God and experience deep spiritual anguish. You can use this time to offer up your suffering to God, unite it to Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Fast and give alms. Pray rosaries for the intention of receiving guidance and doing God’s will. I am also a Protestant convert and am in RCIA now. I agree with others who posted that we tend to know more about the faith than cradle Catholics a lot of the time. Also, give your priest the benefit of the doubt. The Church is divided into “progressive” and “traditional” camps, and neither is either 100% right or wrong. Your priest is right that the Church has historically been very unfair to women, even misogynist at times (read the horrible things the early Fathers wrote, for example). I am not saying women should be priests, but one of the primary goals of Vatican II was to rectify the wrongs toward women. And there have been popes, saints, and other prominent Catholic writers who stated that God is Mother as well as Father. The Catechism teaches that God is neither male nor female but pure spirit, and that he possesses the perfections of both mother and father. Julian of Norwich went so far as to call Jesus “Mother Christ” and she was not branded heretical–she was in fact a highly respected anchoress and was honored by Pope Benedict not too long ago. The thing is, there are many levels of faith, and there is room for personal understanding and interpretation. Be gentle with yourself right where you are on the journey. Do not give up on the Church. She is who she says she is. I will pray for you!

 

[uther]

I agree about the conservative/liberal stuff. When the priest really started getting liberal, I reacted by going to a conservative parish for a bit. I got turned off by some of the ultra, more Catholic than the Pope people there. However, I’ve since learned to forget about them. The priest is good at that parish and I’ve been going there on some Saturdays evenings.

Hi SetonGirl,
I have heard this expression before and I am curious. This is not a criticism but in the nine years I have been Catholic I have never run into this particular kind of Catholic. I am not saying they don’t exist, but I wouldn’t know how to identify them. I can say that I did hear that expression applied to someone else that I didn’t know by someone in my parish, but not knowing what or who they were talking about I was not enlightened by the comment.

I know there are a lot of holy people in my parish. I don’t go to confession every Saturday so I cannot speak in absolute terms, but with only the one time per week for confessions I can speak with some degree of certainty that pretty much the only ones out of a parish of roughly 1000 who commit mortal sins are a dozen or so old ladies, a half dozen old men and a smattering of under twenties. Why Satan is so bent on corrupting these old women is a mystery, I think. But that is a whole other issue.

Perhaps it is all a matter of perspective.

 

[Chez]

Jesus was a Jew and died as a Jew. He was crucified because he questioned and upset the Jewish Hierarchy. Jesus was not a catholic or a protestant or a christian. As a man he was thinking beyond the fundamentalism of the Jewish religion. As Catholics I think we should emulate this.

I am truly baffled by your response.

You are aware that Jesus Christ is the Word made Flesh… Right?!

You, “as a Catholic”, must surely be aware that the Catholic Church is the one True Church established by Jesus Christ. And He uses His Church to carry out His New Covenant with man… Right?!

“As a Catholic”, you are also aware that you Do Not get to make up your own rules, or “think out of the box” on matters of Faith… Right?!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is not up for debate.

There is no such thing as liberal Catholicism… There is Catholicism and Catholicism taught and practiced in error!

Please learn your Faith… And stop trying to remake His Church in your image.

I apologize if I seem hostile. It is truly not my intention… But I am so tired of liberals trying to make EVERYONE bend to their will!

The Holy Catholic Church will not bend to your will, or anyone else’s!.. Not even the President of the United States!

God Bless all of us!

 

[rscanl01]

sounds to me like you should leave that parish anyway. if the priest does not lead his flock to God he does not deserve a flock… it can be just to leave a poisonous situation.

 

[rmtracey]

I am truly baffled by your response.

You are aware that Jesus Christ is the Word made Flesh… Right?!

You, “as a Catholic”, must surely be aware that the Catholic Church is the one True Church established by Jesus Christ. And He uses His Church to carry out His New Covenant with man… Right?!

“As a Catholic”, you are also aware that you Do Not get to make up your own rules, or “think out of the box” on matters of Faith… Right?!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is not up for debate.

There is no such thing as liberal Catholicism… There is Catholicism and Catholicism taught and practiced in error!

’

Please learn your Faith… And stop trying to remake His Church in your image.

I apologize if I seem hostile. It is truly not my intention… But I am so tired of liberals trying to make EVERYONE bend to their will!

The Holy Catholic Church will not bend to your will, or anyone else’s!.. Not even the President of the United States!

God Bless all of us!

No where can i find that christ established the Catholic church. His followers established christianity.
Using the word ‘right’ as an exclamation point does not make a statement ‘right’

Jesus was a Jew and died a Jew. But then i have been told ,in all seriousness, that he converted to Catholicism before he died.

Martin Luther disagreed with the church selling indulgences. was he or the church right.

Not many years back , eating meat on friday was a mortal sin. are those that ate meat confined to hell, but since then , those that eat meat on friday get off scott free.

In this forum i have seen stated that we should not criticise the clergy. does that mean we should ignore the great niumber who seem to think that paedophilia is a worthwhile substitute for ‘celibacy’.
Certainly the hierarchy of the church would prefer that it should not be discussed.

And much as i admire Obama, i fail to see how he comes into this discussion.

As Catholics we should think . If we remain mired in the middle ages, then our religion will become more and more irrelevant.

 

[thesmiter1]

No where can i find that christ established the Catholic church. His followers established christianity.
Using the word ‘right’ as an exclamation point does not make a statement ‘right’

Jesus was a Jew and died a Jew. But then i have been told ,in all seriousness, that he converted to Catholicism before he died.

Martin Luther disagreed with the church selling indulgences. was he or the church right.

Not many years back , eating meat on friday was a mortal sin. are those that ate meat confined to hell, but since then , those that eat meat on friday get off scott free.

In this forum i have seen stated that we should not criticise the clergy. does that mean we should ignore the great niumber who seem to think that paedophilia is a worthwhile substitute for ‘celibacy’.
Certainly the hierarchy of the church would prefer that it should not be discussed.

And much as i admire Obama, i fail to see how he comes into this discussion.

As Catholics we should think . If we remain mired in the middle ages, then our religion will become more and more irrelevant.

Martin Luther was right about selling indulgences, but not about indulgences themselves. They still exist and are obtained through prayer and specific observances. When I seek to obtain them, I use them for the souls in Purgatory, as I would imagine most do.

Eating meat on Fridays is still required of Catholics outside of America. In America, we are required to do some other kind of penance. Failing to do this is still, as it always has been, gravely disordered in that we disobey the Church. It is something I still forget to do often, but we must do it, nonetheless.

You are wrong about the Church, I’m afraid. Christ did found this Church. Catholics are the fulfillment of Judaism. We are the new Israel. He said to Peter that hell would not prevail against it. If you truly do not believe Christ is guiding this Church, then, my friend, I think you should seek counsel from a priest, or read the Catechism to understand what is required of us as Catholics. If you truly do not believe in the dogmas of the Church, you are not in communion and should not receive Eucharist. I hope you seek counsel! God bless.

 

[rmtracey]

Martin Luther was right about selling indulgences, but not about indulgences themselves. They still exist and are obtained through prayer and specific observances. When I seek to obtain them, I use them for the souls in Purgatory, as I would imagine most do.

Eating meat on Fridays is still required of Catholics outside of America. In America, we are required to do some other kind of penance. Failing to do this is still, as it always has been, gravely disordered in that we disobey the Church. It is something I still forget to do often, but we must do it, nonetheless.

You are wrong about the Church, I’m afraid. Christ did found this Church. Catholics are the fulfillment of Judaism. We are the new Israel. He said to Peter that hell would not prevail against it. If you truly do not believe Christ is guiding this Church, then, my friend, I think you should seek counsel from a priest, or read the Catechism to understand what is required of us as Catholics. If you truly do not believe in the dogmas of the Church, you are not in communion and should not receive Eucharist. I hope you seek counsel! God bless.

Christ queried and was crucified for it. Do you really think that Christ does not expect us to also query. and do you really believe that He would say “you are not in communion” because i use the intellect that He gave to me.
His followers established Christianity. Christ did not establish Catholicism. This is a man made terminology. Nor did he expect the popes to regale themselves in gold vestments and guccii slippers and have various mistresses. These are human failings, and the leaders of the church have not been immune.
’ render to god the things that are god and to man the things that are man’
unfortunately i think that too many catholics have fallen into the trap of rendering to man the things that are god’s.
and i see you have avoided the mention of paedophilia which is an undeniable blot on catholicism.

 

[Chez]

No where can i find that christ established the Catholic church. His followers established christianity.
Using the word ‘right’ as an exclamation point does not make a statement ‘right’

Jesus was a Jew and died a Jew. But then i have been told ,in all seriousness, that he converted to Catholicism before he died.

Martin Luther disagreed with the church selling indulgences. was he or the church right.

Not many years back , eating meat on friday was a mortal sin. are those that ate meat confined to hell, but since then , those that eat meat on friday get off scott free.

In this forum i have seen stated that we should not criticise the clergy. does that mean we should ignore the great niumber who seem to think that paedophilia is a worthwhile substitute for ‘celibacy’.
Certainly the hierarchy of the church would prefer that it should not be discussed.

And much as i admire Obama, i fail to see how he comes into this discussion.

As Catholics we should think . If we remain mired in the middle ages, then our religion will become more and more irrelevant.

I write this with all sincerity… If you are indeed Catholic, you are very, very poorly catechized.
I am not trying to be insulting, because it truly breaks my heart when a Catholic does not know his/her Faith.

1- Where can you find that Christ established the Catholic Church?

Matthew 16: 18-19
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

2- Martin Luther disagreed with “The Church” selling indulgences… That’s nice, but "The Church was not selling indulgences, a Bishop was selling indulgences. And a Bishop does not equal “The Church”

3- Eating meat on Friday was a mortal sin and now is not… You, my friend need to learn obedience and humility!..

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

When the Pope exercises his authority given to him by Jesus Christ… That’s Christ speaking through His Vicar. And we are to obedient to Jesus Christ!

Jesus was asked why divorce was okay under the laws of Moses and now it not. Look up the answer, you with a hardened heart!

4- Pedophilia a substitute for celibacy? A “large” number of Priest involved?
They were sick men with evil intentions, celibacy had nothing to do with it. Molestation of a child is horrible and I do not want to get into a numbers game. But look up the statistics on the percentage of Catholic Priests involved with child molestation. Just one is bad enough, but I think you will be surprised at what you find.

5- You don’t know what Obama has to do with this?!
HHS MANDATE… Look it up!

6- Stay mired in the Middle Ages?!
The Middle Ages are @ the 1500’s, that’s about 500 years ago… The Catholic Church is 2000 years old!
Why would you not be in awe of that?
Why would you not be amazed that the Catholic Church is the oldest living institution on this planet!
Why would you not ask yourself why, after all the great rulers have come and faded away… After all the great empires and nations have come and gone… Why is the Holy Catholic Church the only constant on earth?

These words might give you a clue.

“On this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.”…
" And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

If you are indeed a Catholic, learn your Faith.
If you are not… Learn it anyway!

God Bless You

 

[rmtracey]

3- Eating meat on Friday was a mortal sin and now is not… You, my friend need to learn obedience and humility!..

it was and now is not. what does obedience and humility have to do with it.
p.s. using “my friend” in this way is not christian. nor humble

 

[rmtracey]

“If you are indeed a Catholic, learn your Faith.”

If you wish to learn you do not insult.

Anything you quote if have already read. Any good catholic should be able to query. any good catholic should be able to answer. quoting verses from the new testament or the old testament is not a viable answer. in the middle ages the clergy were the only educated, and the rest believed what they were told. i would like to think that we have advanced.

 

[rmtracey]

“If you are indeed a Catholic, learn your Faith.”

If you wish to learn you do not insult.

Anything you quote if have already read. Any good catholic should be able to query. any good catholic should be able to answer. quoting verses from the new testament or the old testament is not a viable answer. in the middle ages the clergy were the only educated, and the rest believed what they were told. i would like to think that we have advanced.

 

[Janina_Mousley]

SetonGirl
"Fast forward to today. I feel like I’ve lost my Catholic faith. I feel like I don’t believe much of the Church’s teachings now. I am not doubting God or Christianity in general, just whether or not I should’ve stayed Protestant. I tell you, I truly am shocked at this turn of events. If someone had told me this was going to happen, I would not have believed it could because I know how I felt and I know what I believed up until a couple of months ago. I would’ve staked my life on the Church and its teachings.

I need to figure things out fast because I don’t want to feel like this. I don’t know what the exact cause of this is. I think most of it stems from two things: I have a very liberal priest. He came the parish after I became Catholic. He preaches things contrary to the Church’s teachings. I was enraged when this happened and I planned to find a better parish but then some other conservative people begged me to stay. I stayed. After awhile, I started to try and see things from the liberal priest’s perspective, and then I started to think liberal (by liberal, I probably should say “heretical”). Some of the things he taught were: women are denied equality in the Church, God can be called “mother”, God wants us in heaven so we’re all going to end up there. Stuff like that. Anyway, after flirting with liberalism myself because I didn’t fit in with some of the extremely conservative Catholics (the more Catholic than the Pope types), I came back to my senses and was enraged again that I didn’t quit this parish when I had the chance. Now I am involved in it too much to quit (I teach catechism and I don’t think I can quit it since it’s my duty to keep my word and it’s hard to find teachers)."

Dear Sister in Christ,
Your posting of your dilemma regarding the Faith is courageous: you can see the problems you are facing yet you are continuing your struggles (bravely), and with determination!
Do not give up, even if you ‘feel’ overwhelmed. We have all had these feelings especially those of trustration and anger when deliberate error is being taught and accepted. Make this an opportunity to know Christ better.
Also, at such times, remember our Lord’s parable about the sower in the field in which He warns how the ‘seed’ He sows can wither and die if not nourished, or describes the 'seed ’ so overcome with the weeds and brambles of life that it cannot thrive…
Your acceptance of the Church was like the planting of that seed…however, Christ has warned us that to follow Him is also to be yoked to Him, we do not lead Him, he leads and directs us!!! When we are ‘yoked’ it means he guides us. He also made it clear that He is the Shepherd Who guides, feeds, protects and rescues His sheep… “us”… and He He knew all the trials and errors facing His future followers and thus appointed Apostles (and their successors) to nourish. forgive and lead His flock forever in His Name.
The Epistles in the New Testament witness to the necessity of firm leadership because the early Christians were being led astray by false teachers, some of whom were even denying Christ’s divinity (these St John calls the anti- Christ), while others were falling back into paganism. All individuals in these Christian communities were being addressed and called back to live faithfully, so, NOTHING has changed!!!
In our own Parishes, as you have correctly observed, there are many types of Catholics and we should pray for them all. This does not mean we have to condone false teaching and even in the posts you have already received, one can tell those who do their own thing.!!! for example calling God “mother”, when Christ specifically taught us to call God " our Father". In fact, just before He died, He told the Apostle present to call a very special person ‘his mother’…(Read St John’s account of Christ’s death).
Do not ignore your private prayers: we all have our preferences but the Rosary properly prayed will increase your love of Christ and you will grow in Faith.
In many countries, prisons, or situations where Catholics have had no priests, or spiritual books, or are persecuted, they have kept the faith alive for years by praying the Rosary. All the truths about God, the Trinity, Christ are contained in it, starting with the Creed, the Our Father and the Glory be…If you object to the hail Mary prayer, realise the Hail Mary comes from Scripture itself when God proclaims through the angel Gabriel, His unfathomable Mercy to man…man’s redemption!!!
Contemplation of the mysteries is important (start with ONE only reading the relevant Scripture passage beforehand) and this will help you think more about Christ’s Life, Teaching , Passion, Death and Glory and you will be surprised how your Faith will deepen and you will find inner peace.
Finally, we can all look critically at others and forget that we also set an example in all you do or say. Always check the Church’s teaching on spiritual/ moral matters before accusing others of doing wrong. When it is necessary to be silent, pray for them!!!.

 

[rmtracey]

janina, of course god wants us all in heaven, and i do not think that god is worried about gender. he is not an old man with a beard sitting on a throne up in the sky.
try not to be so intense. god may well have put us on this earth to serve him , but i do not think he meant us to make our lives miserable by doing so.
again, if you are a worthwhile person god wiil judge you on that, not whether you are a catholic or protestant or hindu or muslim. just abide by your own conscience .
none of us really know who or what god is. we just have to accept him as a superior being.

 

[Janina_Mousley]

janina, of course god wants us all in heaven, and i do not think that god is worried about gender. he is not an old man with a beard sitting on a throne up in the sky.try not to be so intense. god may well have put us on this earth to serve him , but i do not think he meant us to make our lives miserable by doing so.again, if you are a worthwhile person god wiil judge you on that, not whether you are a catholic or protestant or hindu or muslim. just abide by your own conscience .none of us really know who or what god is. we just have to accept him as a superior being.

Tracey,
I am surprised by this post.

1. Whether you accept it or not, the caricature you have described above is not the god we Catholics believe in.
2. We believe in ONE GOD Who is Three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: revealed to mankind by God the Son Incarnate, who is Jesus Christ.
3. The Divine Person, God the Father was revealed to us by Jesus Himself and whether you like it or not, Christ mentions God the Father in the Gospels numerous times. Never did He address God in either His prayers OR His teachings as anything but Father. This is not something we change to amuse ourselves or to satify some feminist wish for goddesses.
   4 Has it never occurred to you what a privilege it is that God, the Creator of our beautiful world and all that is existence, should ‘desire’ (this is such an inadequate word to describe God’s immeasurable love for us) that we mere creatures should know and love Him. It is not for us to question WHY God is WHO He is, or change what has been revealed to us by Christ.
4. God the Son became Man to reconcile us with God, to teach and show us how to live lives which are pleasing to Him. OUR conciences must be attuned to God our Creator, for nothing defiled (by sin) can abide in His Presence for the eternity which is ahead of us all.
5. If this is not so, the Saviour would not have been sent to redeem us from our sinful state, by His suffering and death on the Cross. Nor did our Saviour Jesus spend His life in servitude to the Father and teaching the Way to God during His public life…
6. It is well to remember that Christ, when asked by the rich young man how he coulld obtain heaven (eternal life) Our Lord answered “Keep the Commandments” and when later challenged to define the greatest commandment, Christ dod not say forget the Commandments. OR do not bother Me with silly questions or do what you please since your concience is infallible! !!!
   What Jesus who is the Son of God did reply was:
   The greatest Commandment is
   “Love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, mind and soul”
   and the second is like this
   " and Love thy neighbour as thyself"

All the best jjm

 

[uther]

His death was demanded by the Jewish authorities because he claimed to be God–thats Catholic dogma, a “fundamental” if you will. That’s what upset Caiphas, Annas, and the rest.

Pilate and the Roman authority was equally culpable by aquiessing to “keep the peace”–knowingly executeng an innocent man.

Jew and Gentile, Monotheists and Pagans–He died for all of our sins.

Exactly right. And how is it that any of us, Jew, Gentile, Monotheist or Pagan appropriate that salvation?
We do know that he also said that the gate to eternal life is narrow and few find it, whereas the gate that leads to destruction is wide and many go there.

 

[uther]

No where can i find that christ established the Catholic church. His followers established christianity.
Using the word ‘right’ as an exclamation point does not make a statement ‘right’

Jesus was a Jew and died a Jew. But then i have been told ,in all seriousness, that he converted to Catholicism before he died.

Martin Luther disagreed with the church selling indulgences. was he or the church right.

Not many years back , eating meat on friday was a mortal sin. are those that ate meat confined to hell, but since then , those that eat meat on friday get off scott free.

In this forum i have seen stated that we should not criticise the clergy. does that mean we should ignore the great niumber who seem to think that paedophilia is a worthwhile substitute for ‘celibacy’.
Certainly the hierarchy of the church would prefer that it should not be discussed.

And much as i admire Obama, i fail to see how he comes into this discussion.

As Catholics we should think . If we remain mired in the middle ages, then our religion will become more and more irrelevant.

Interesting. Let us not remain mired in the Middle Ages. As if truth has anything to do with chronology. Well, the bishops tried it that way. Do you suppose that pedaphilia among some priests had never happened before? It actually had, and the Church had already established procedures to deal with such priests, back when it was considered sin, as in the Middle Ages.

One of the findings of the secular inquiry in Ireland over the scandal there, was that the bishops had not followed the Church’s procedures, and if they had done so, the problem would have been nipped in the bud. So what did they do? Well, they were persuaded that the twentieth century sciences of psychology and psychiatry had the answer, and at the time and up until recently, in fact, those sciences were not treating pedaphilia as evil or criminal and were certain that such people could be cured through therapy. The bishops were trying to bring the Church into modern times. You see the results.

Did you know why eating meat on Fridays was a mortal sin? Nothing to do with the meat or the Friday per se. Disobedience to a direct disciplinary directive of the Church was the mortal sin. Christ gave the Church the authority to do that. When the directive was replaced with the directive to do some penance on Friday of your own choosing, disobedience to that directive becomes the mortal sin. So the sin was disobedience.

I know, obedience is a tough thing isn’t it. But Jesus did say that if you love me you will keep my commandments, and he told the first bishops of the Church, the apostles, “he who hears you hears me.” That is the way he set it up. He was big on obedience, as you may remember from reading the gospels. Those pharisees that he criticized “queried” and challenged? He told his disciples to “do as they tell you, not as they do.” So they still had the authority, even when sinful and prideful. And the Church still had Christ’s authority in Luther’s day, even while corruption was all around him. God called him to help reform the Church and instead his own pride got in the way and he started his own church.

Jesus told us that he was building a Church. That is in the gospels as well. That Church is the Catholic Church. Yes, Jesus was a Jew, and in fact, most of the early Christians were Jews as well. He told us that he was on earth to redeem the Jews first and then the Gentiles, and being a Jew and the Son of God he reminded us that it was him as the second person of the trinity that gave the Jews their laws in the first place, and that he was there to fulfill the law, not abolish it. Continuity. And we are the Church that he started, Christian because we follow his teaching as the fulfillment of the Jewish law.

You are absolutely right that as Catholics we should think. If I had not done so, I would not be a Catholic. And we should try to obtain all the facts, and not be prejudiced against any truth that was obtained or recognized or declared prior to the time we were born, which only shows us to be narrow minded thinkers at best, shallow in our understanding and knowledge, slaves to the ideology of modernism.

And we should take Martin Luther as a classic model of what not to do, defying and practicing disobedience in an effort to change the Church. It was that spirit of disobedience that got us all in trouble in the first place and it is not pleasing to God, no matter how right we think we are.

 

[Chez]

“If you are indeed a Catholic, learn your Faith.”

If you wish to learn you do not insult.

Anything you quote if have already read. Any good catholic should be able to query. any good catholic should be able to answer. quoting verses from the new testament or the old testament is not a viable answer. in the middle ages the clergy were the only educated, and the rest believed what they were told. i would like to think that we have advanced.

Well my friend, (most humbly intended) … There is nothing I, nor anyone else can say
(right now), to soften your hardened heart.

If the Words of Christ are not acceptable, and the Catechism of His Church is not relevant, you obviously have closed yourself to everything but yourself!

You make it up as you go along… You are protesting against the Church that Christ established.

I’m still not convinced that you are indeed a Catholic. Either way, I’ll be praying that you have a conversion of heart, accept the teachings of Christ, and learn to respect and love the Church He gave us, to administer His Holy Sacraments.

I wish you all the best… And I’ll be praying for you.

P.S. To SetonGirl,
If the Catholics and the Pastor you are encountering at your parish have completely closed themselves off to the True Word of Christ and will not accept the Catechism of His Church… Please, do not walk away from the Church. Find a good parish.

Godspeed

 

[Chez]

Interesting. Let us not remain mired in the Middle Ages. As if truth has anything to do with chronology. Well, the bishops tried it that way. Do you suppose that pedaphilia among some priests had never happened before? It actually had, and the Church had already established procedures to deal with such priests, back when it was considered sin, as in the Middle Ages.

One of the findings of the secular inquiry in Ireland over the scandal there, was that the bishops had not followed the Church’s procedures, and if they had done so, the problem would have been nipped in the bud. So what did they do? Well, they were persuaded that the twentieth century sciences of psychology and psychiatry had the answer, and at the time and up until recently, in fact, those sciences were not treating pedaphilia as evil or criminal and were certain that such people could be cured through therapy. The bishops were trying to bring the Church into modern times. You see the results.

Did you know why eating meat on Fridays was a mortal sin? Nothing to do with the meat or the Friday per se. Disobedience to a direct disciplinary directive of the Church was the mortal sin. Christ gave the Church the authority to do that. When the directive was replaced with the directive to do some penance on Friday of your own choosing, disobedience to that directive becomes the mortal sin. So the sin was disobedience.

I know, obedience is a tough thing isn’t it. But Jesus did say that if you love me you will keep my commandments, and he told the first bishops of the Church, the apostles, “he who hears you hears me.” That is the way he set it up. He was big on obedience, as you may remember from reading the gospels. Those pharisees that he criticized “queried” and challenged? He told his disciples to “do as they tell you, not as they do.” So they still had the authority, even when sinful and prideful. And the Church still had Christ’s authority in Luther’s day, even while corruption was all around him. God called him to help reform the Church and instead his own pride got in the way and he started his own church.

Jesus told us that he was building a Church. That is in the gospels as well. That Church is the Catholic Church. Yes, Jesus was a Jew, and in fact, most of the early Christians were Jews as well. He told us that he was on earth to redeem the Jews first and then the Gentiles, and being a Jew and the Son of God he reminded us that it was him as the second person of the trinity that gave the Jews their laws in the first place, and that he was there to fulfill the law, not abolish it. Continuity. And we are the Church that he started, Christian because we follow his teaching as the fulfillment of the Jewish law.

You are absolutely right that as Catholics we should think. If I had not done so, I would not be a Catholic. And we should try to obtain all the facts, and not be prejudiced against any truth that was obtained or recognized or declared prior to the time we were born, which only shows us to be narrow minded thinkers at best, shallow in our understanding and knowledge, slaves to the ideology of modernism.

And we should take Martin Luther as a classic model of what not to do, defying and practicing disobedience in an effort to change the Church. It was that spirit of disobedience that got us all in trouble in the first place and it is not pleasing to God, no matter how right we think we are.

Very well put… You are much better at this than I.
Thank You!

 

[aragonjohn1]

Hi,

Here’s my problem in a nutshell: I’m a convert from Evangelical Protestantism. I was a strong Christian my entire life. I was drawn to Catholicism over a number of years and then had a sudden pull to it 3 years ago at the same time that I discovered EWTN. I immersed myself in reading and discerning things and came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church was the one true Church founded by Jesus. I went through RCIA and became Catholic 2 years ago. I was excited and thankful for the grace of finding the Church. I truly believed everything the Chuch teaches. I was excited about the Eucharist. I started contemplating religious life and/or working for the Church as a teacher or lay minister sometime in the future. The desires of my heart changed for the better and I became a much more peaceful and forgiving person.

Fast forward to today. I feel like I’ve lost my Catholic faith. I feel like I don’t believe much of the Church’s teachings now. I am not doubting God or Christianity in general, just whether or not I should’ve stayed Protestant. I tell you, I truly am shocked at this turn of events. If someone had told me this was going to happen, I would not have believed it could because I know how I felt and I know what I believed up until a couple of months ago. I would’ve staked my life on the Church and its teachings.

I need to figure things out fast because I don’t want to feel like this. I don’t know what the exact cause of this is. I think most of it stems from two things: I have a very liberal priest. He came the parish after I became Catholic. He preaches things contrary to the Church’s teachings. I was enraged when this happened and I planned to find a better parish but then some other conservative people begged me to stay. I stayed. After awhile, I started to try and see things from the liberal priest’s perspective, and then I started to think liberal (by liberal, I probably should say “heretical”). Some of the things he taught were: women are denied equality in the Church, God can be called “mother”, God wants us in heaven so we’re all going to end up there. Stuff like that. Anyway, after flirting with liberalism myself because I didn’t fit in with some of the extremely conservative Catholics (the more Catholic than the Pope types), I came back to my senses and was enraged again that I didn’t quit this parish when I had the chance. Now I am involved in it too much to quit (I teach catechism and I don’t think I can quit it since it’s my duty to keep my word and it’s hard to find teachers).

A friend of mine wrote to the priest to address his heretical ideas but got no response. My friend then wrote to the Bishop and got no response. I think I started to get bitter and doubtful about the faith after seeing that the Bishop doesn’t seem care.

The second thing that may be causing my doubts is that when I see that the majority of the other parishoners are not bothered by my priest’s liberalism. I’ve started to wonder if anyone knows their faith or even cares (I’m generalizing, I know). And then adding further confusion, I joined a group of supposedly conservative Catholics who meet to discuss doctrine and I’m taken aback by some of the things they do and say and it confuses me because I know Protestants that are more clean living than them.

So I guess in a nutshell, I see lots of spiritual fruit from some Protestants and a lot of Evangelical Protestants know the Lord and know their Bible and love the Lord with their whole hearts and they are bearing much fruit despite the fact that they don’t have the Eucharist. Then I see other Catholics that have the Eucharist (which at this point, is the only thing I’m clinging to) and they don’t know anything about the Bible or Church teachings.

I’ve rambled some and I don’t intend any disrespect to anyone here. I’m baring my heart in the hopes that I can get some advice because I’m heart broken about the way my thoughts and beliefs are messed up.

I don’t know who I can talk to about this because I’m ashamed that I feel like this. I alluded to some of this during Confession with a conservative priest but he basically said it’s no wonder I’m mixed up based on the liberal priest stuff. But that Confession was a month ago and I initially felt better after it and now in the past week, I feel worse.

Thanks for listening.

And does this happen much? Do Catholic converts ever revert back to Protestantism???

Don’t be discouraged that feeling usually means you are getting closer to loving God and you’re neighbor as much as or more than you love yourself.

“And does this happen much? Do Catholic converts ever revert back to Protestantism?”

Yes it has happened before and even to quite a few saints in early Christendom and a few during the English reformation.

You are probably getting stronger in you’re faith just seek answers from someone who knows the answers.

Hope this helps
Shalom
God bless

 

[aragonjohn1]

SetonGirl
"Fast forward to today. I feel like I’ve lost my Catholic faith. I feel like I don’t believe much of the Church’s teachings now. I am not doubting God or Christianity in general, just whether or not I should’ve stayed Protestant. I tell you, I truly am shocked at this turn of events. If someone had told me this was going to happen, I would not have believed it could because I know how I felt and I know what I believed up until a couple of months ago. I would’ve staked my life on the Church and its teachings.

I need to figure things out fast because I don’t want to feel like this. I don’t know what the exact cause of this is. I think most of it stems from two things: I have a very liberal priest. He came the parish after I became Catholic. He preaches things contrary to the Church’s teachings. I was enraged when this happened and I planned to find a better parish but then some other conservative people begged me to stay. I stayed. After awhile, I started to try and see things from the liberal priest’s perspective, and then I started to think liberal (by liberal, I probably should say “heretical”). Some of the things he taught were: women are denied equality in the Church, God can be called “mother”, God wants us in heaven so we’re all going to end up there. Stuff like that. Anyway, after flirting with liberalism myself because I didn’t fit in with some of the extremely conservative Catholics (the more Catholic than the Pope types), I came back to my senses and was enraged again that I didn’t quit this parish when I had the chance. Now I am involved in it too much to quit (I teach catechism and I don’t think I can quit it since it’s my duty to keep my word and it’s hard to find teachers)."

Dear Sister in Christ,
Your posting of your dilemma regarding the Faith is courageous: you can see the problems you are facing yet you are continuing your struggles (bravely), and with determination!
Do not give up, even if you ‘feel’ overwhelmed. We have all had these feelings especially those of trustration and anger when deliberate error is being taught and accepted. Make this an opportunity to know Christ better.
Also, at such times, remember our Lord’s parable about the sower in the field in which He warns how the ‘seed’ He sows can wither and die if not nourished, or describes the 'seed ’ so overcome with the weeds and brambles of life that it cannot thrive…
Your acceptance of the Church was like the planting of that seed…however, Christ has warned us that to follow Him is also to be yoked to Him, we do not lead Him, he leads and directs us!!! When we are ‘yoked’ it means he guides us. He also made it clear that He is the Shepherd Who guides, feeds, protects and rescues His sheep… “us”… and He He knew all the trials and errors facing His future followers and thus appointed Apostles (and their successors) to nourish. forgive and lead His flock forever in His Name.
The Epistles in the New Testament witness to the necessity of firm leadership because the early Christians were being led astray by false teachers, some of whom were even denying Christ’s divinity (these St John calls the anti- Christ), while others were falling back into paganism. All individuals in these Christian communities were being addressed and called back to live faithfully, so, NOTHING has changed!!!
In our own Parishes, as you have correctly observed, there are many types of Catholics and we should pray for them all. This does not mean we have to condone false teaching and even in the posts you have already received, one can tell those who do their own thing.!!! for example calling God “mother”, when Christ specifically taught us to call God " our Father". In fact, just before He died, He told the Apostle present to call a very special person ‘his mother’…(Read St John’s account of Christ’s death).
Do not ignore your private prayers: we all have our preferences but the Rosary properly prayed will increase your love of Christ and you will grow in Faith.
In many countries, prisons, or situations where Catholics have had no priests, or spiritual books, or are persecuted, they have kept the faith alive for years by praying the Rosary. All the truths about God, the Trinity, Christ are contained in it, starting with the Creed, the Our Father and the Glory be…If you object to the hail Mary prayer, realise the Hail Mary comes from Scripture itself when God proclaims through the angel Gabriel, His unfathomable Mercy to man…man’s redemption!!!
Contemplation of the mysteries is important (start with ONE only reading the relevant Scripture passage beforehand) and this will help you think more about Christ’s Life, Teaching , Passion, Death and Glory and you will be surprised how your Faith will deepen and you will find inner peace.
Finally, we can all look critically at others and forget that we also set an example in all you do or say. Always check the Church’s teaching on spiritual/ moral matters before accusing others of doing wrong. When it is necessary to be silent, pray for them!!!.

I second this:thumbsup:

Shalom
God bless