Correction and retraction

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Silverstone

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If I’m talking with non-Catholics, and make a statement to prove my point, then later find out from this site or somewhere like this that it’s not the Church’s official stance, how can I retract my earlier statement without seeming like I’ve changed my mind, or become hypocritical?

Not that this has happened or anything; I want to be prepared because if non-Catholics see a chance, they jump at it, and it seems that if I make a mistake, it ipso facto proves that the Church is false.

I know, the first thing is to be sure that I haven’t made a false statement; but that’s tough when dealing with people who want to see you confused and making errors in debating.
 
The easiest way is to do it like this:

"Hey, previously I said “this-n-that-n-such”, but I was wrong. The Church doesn’t teach that and this was an error on my part. What the Church DOES teach is…“etc…”. "

Never be ashamed to admit when you are wrong, or that you don’t know the exact answer. IF someone you are debating demands “THE” answer “now”…you can polityely remind them that you simply don’t have all the answers, you are willing to find out for them, and if they are in a big hurry, they are welcom to come to CAF and open a thread about it. 🙂
 
Thanks. This makes me feel better. Now I don’t have to hit myself over the head for not being “perfect” all the time; just try harder, huh?
 
Silverstone said:
Thanks. This makes me feel better. Now I don’t have to hit myself over the head for not being “perfect” all the time; just try harder, huh?
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It also helps to caveat your posts from time to time, such as “I’m not an authority, but my understanding of teh Church’s position is …”, or the like.

And likewise, if you’re called out for blatantly posting a gross misunderstanding of Catholic doctrine–own it, and point out that you were posting your understanding of Catholic teaching–and further I suggest volunteering that that is basically implied every time you post–unless you cite your source(s)–in which case, the source you are relying on for your position, would have been disclosed.

FWIW.
 
Goya said:
It also helps to caveat your posts from time to time, such as “I’m not an authority, but my understanding of teh Church’s position is …”, or the like.

And likewise, if you’re called out for blatantly posting a gross misunderstanding of Catholic doctrine–own it, and point out that you were posting your understanding of Catholic teaching–and further I suggest volunteering that that is basically implied every time you post–unless you cite your source(s)–in which case, the source you are relying on for your position, would have been disclosed.

FWIW.
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Helpful, indeed. Except that, when I mention that I quote from Catholic sources such as this website, my opponents say that this is a biased website. But how can that be if it just presents our Catholic teachings, which is want they really want to know about?
 
Biased? I don’t see how any source ontehis site would bias a Church teaching (unless you are quoting from the forums). The tracts here will say, “such-n-such is the Church teaching”. Usually soem reference to the Catechism or the ECF’s or SCripture will be given. If someone wants to challenge that…“that’s not really what the Church teaches…” then they are free to prove it from a Catholic teaching if they think they can.
 
And that’s my thoughts, too. Just making sure that I can definitively say, “This information is not biased.” Because, sometimes, I use a quote from the forums because there isn’t an article that explains it the way I’m looking for, Do some posts contain bias, then?

Everyone wants to challenge WHY the Church teaches what it does, but nobody will listen to them… the whole world’s messed up.
 
I’ve done that on this forum more than once (a very public and permanent screw up). Those posts are still out there.

Somebody like Church Militant will come along and correct me. This is a Good Thing. I would rather my misinformation be corrected than to stand and mislead others.

I usually respond by acknowledging my error and thanking the person who provided the correction.
 
The thing that’s hard for me to take is that these “corrections” aren’t given to me in the nicest of terms…

“You’re so ignorant for thinking such and such.”

“Only a totally insane person would think this. Oh, wait. You are.”

And so on.
 
To err is human
To forgive divine
To err about the divine forgiven if humane.
 
Well, add some humour into the conversation:

“Oh, so do you converse with insane people on a regular basis?”

“At least you can match my ignorance by your arrogance.”
 
Just be honest, it truly is the best policy. If you ever meet anyone who hasn’t made a mistake I will be surprised!
 
Silverstone said:
If I’m talking with non-Catholics, and make a statement to prove my point, then later find out from this site or somewhere like this that it’s not the Church’s official stance, how can I retract my earlier statement without seeming like I’ve changed my mind, or become hypocritical?

Not that this has happened or anything; I want to be prepared because if non-Catholics see a chance, they jump at it, and it seems that if I make a mistake, it ipso facto proves that the Church is false.

I know, the first thing is to be sure that I haven’t made a false statement; but that’s tough when dealing with people who want to see you confused and making errors in debating.
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If your unsure about something it’s o.k. to say" I not sure about that. The Catholic church is so big and been around so long there is a lot of information to look up. I will look into that and get back with you." I think it’s better to admit you don’t know then to have to retract.
 
I understand this completely - I do it sometimes myself. Most people are human, after all! 😃

The other posters provided some valid responses, and I might add that if you’re not utterly sure about an official Church position, just say “I think this is whatever… but let me get back to you about that”. Try not to cross into territory you’re not familiar with and you’ll be fine.
 
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