Dad's bad experience as a Catholic

[Pfaffenhoffen]

I joined the Catholic Church right in the midst of when all of the priest scandal hit the fan. But the reason I joined the Church was not because of the priests or members (saint or sinners). It was upon learning about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This was overwhelmingly compelling to me. And in spite of all of the terrible stuff going on – I know that the Catholic Church has the Truth. (Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life?) I read the catechism and the writings of the saints and fell in love with the Church. It is the Blessed Sacrament that keeps me in the Church and I pray by God’s grace to never leave it.

I often see that many protestant churches have many magnificant social and religious programs, but I cannot stray over there because they do not have the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.

It is a long and difficult journey but well worth it!

Neden

Congratulations.
I am in a protestant Forum to learn how they think and I tell you is a tough experience…Protestant are very sensitive…

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

I cannot resist responding to your reply. When we were in catholic gradeschool, we used to do the same thing to torment the sisters. It was fun. And if you got caught, everyone else snickered and laughed. The trick was not to get caught. We had lots of fun. In highschool, it was the same, we tormented the brothers just to see how much we could get by with. Great times! Now its my turn to be tormented, and I’m the one crying.
Liked your post.

Tell you, only someone who passed through it can understand the fun of being in the system and trying to beat it without being caught.
Once we had a brother who was so regular in his schedule that he went to the bathroom everyday at the same hour, minute and second. You guessed: we occupied all the toilets at that time…Another time, two boys were playing with a tennis ball throwing it from window to window when the ball fell on the gall roof of the priests’ dining room. To catch the ball, one of them put a belt in the window and started descending to the glass roof to catch the ball. The belt broke and the fellow felt through the glass roof into the fathers’ dining room when they were having lunch. Decades later, he is remember as “the best”.
These are the soft ones. Others cannot be told here…

When I left, they admitted girls in the school and the old “mafia”, we the alumni joined to protest for that was not “our school anymore” !!!

 

[fred_conty]

Tell you, only someone who passed through it can understand the fun of being in the system and trying to beat it without being caught.
Once we had a brother who was so regular in his schedule that he went to the bathroom everyday at the same hour, minute and second. You guessed: we occupied all the toilets at that time…Another time, two boys were playing with a tennis ball throwing it from window to window when the ball fell on the gall roof of the priests’ dining room. To catch the ball, one of them put a belt in the window and started descending to the glass roof to catch the ball. The belt broke and the fellow felt through the glass roof into the fathers’ dining room when they were having lunch. Decades later, he is remember as “the best”.
These are the soft ones. Others cannot be told here…

When I left, they admitted girls in the school and the old “mafia”, we the alumni joined to protest for that was not “our school anymore” !!!

That was a good one. I have one about rulers, but might spoil the post. Maybe another time.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

That was a good one. I have one about rulers, but might spoil the post. Maybe another time.

Come and share. You will not spoil anything.
Another time, a fellow from Africa, mixed blood, my great friend, was locked in the 5th floor for he did not come in time for lunch. He was sitting beside me. His chair was empty. Only now I realize that no one cared if he came for lunch or not !! rough times! Bad luck! He was late !!.
All of a sudden, I look left and see him there. I said: “look, how come you are here?” He said that he was hungry and so he had to descend hanging on the narrow water channels made of aluminum that brought the rainwater from the ceiling to the floor. “You might get killed!” - I said. “I was hungry!” - he replied. And we changed subjects.

We were divided into 5 divisions of 100 boys each. The elders were in the 1st and 2nd division which had always a relation of animosity. The great day of the trimester was the 1st against the 2nd (younger kids) division in soccer. It was an happening, the younger 2nd division trying to win over the elders.

Once, things sent wrong and everybody started fighting, so it was 100 against 100. I only remember the Jesuit Fathers, in the dining room with a glass ceiling I mentioned before, on the 4th floor, watching. They did not move a finger nor should they but somehow the fight stopped…in the end…no one required hospital which, anyway was far away.

Great Days…

 

[Bob_Crowley]

My Dads been talking to me about my choice to be Catholic. To give some back ground on this, he was brought up Catholic, confirmed and went to a Catholic school – but this is where his issues lie. Where he was the Priests in charge beat the kids and were very cruel – so naturally he and his classmates fell from the church after they were 18 and living their own lives.

He questions my choice by asking how I could support an religion whose Priests “are and were notoriously known for being corrupt and cruel”.

Of course, I fully understand why he thinks this.

I am just wondering how to answer that kind of question. Combined the Pedophilia cases talked about during the last year, he has very few positive things to say about Catholicism, and just see’s me as naive about the “truth about Catholics”.

He asked me why I couldn’t just be a non-denominational Christian, and not be a church goer, but still have all my beliefs. When I explained that Church and God go hand in hand he accused the church of being like any other organisation – out to get money and control, and use the fear of an almighty God to keep control.

Thanks!

There’s an older bloke on Australian TV who hosts a gardening show. I think I remember reading about him that he went to a Catholic school in Britain, and like your father, it was so cruel, that when they finished at the age of 12 or 13 (long time ago), they stood outside and shouted “That’s it with God!” They weren’t going back. As far as I know he’s still an atheist. Decent bloke, but an atheist.

I know a chap who when through an Anglican “Boys Home” which was also cruel. His “sin” was that his parents were alcoholics, and he and his brother were taken off them and put into this home. His brother was dead by the age of about 23 or so, after being caught hiding under a bridge during a flood. He didn’t feel accepted anywhere. Yet oddly enough the other brother, the one I know, always had a sense of God notwithstanding. Was God fair to his brother? I don’t think He was.

The Church has got a bit to answer for in this regard. And the culture of cover-ups and concealment over the paedophilia issue is going to have an effect for a long time. I remember my own wise old Protestant pastor saying to me he thought there was going to be a lot of trouble re. the paedophilia in the Catholic Church, commenting “There’s been a lot of it”. That was before it became mainstream news.

However there are two issues here - not one. One is your faith, the other is your father’s. You have the responsibility of retaining your faith - he has the responsibility of his faith. I doubt if there is any quick answer, and the only witness he’s going to have as to whether the Catholic Church is worth anything will be your witness ie. how you behave.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

There’s an older bloke on Australian TV who hosts a gardening show. I think I remember reading about him that he went to a Catholic school in Britain, and like your father, it was so cruel, that when they finished at the age of 12 or 13 (long time ago), they stood outside and shouted “That’s it with God!” They weren’t going back. As far as I know he’s still an atheist. Decent bloke, but an atheist.

I know a chap who when through an Anglican “Boys Home” which was also cruel. His “sin” was that his parents were alcoholics, and he and his brother were taken off them and put into this home. His brother was dead by the age of about 23 or so, after being caught hiding under a bridge during a flood. He didn’t feel accepted anywhere. Yet oddly enough the other brother, the one I know, always had a sense of God notwithstanding. Was God fair to his brother? I don’t think He was.

The Church has got a bit to answer for in this regard. And the culture of cover-ups and concealment over the paedophilia issue is going to have an effect for a long time. I remember my own wise old Protestant pastor saying to me he thought there was going to be a lot of trouble re. the paedophilia in the Catholic Church, commenting “There’s been a lot of it”. That was before it became mainstream news.

However there are two issues here - not one. One is your faith, the other is your father’s. You have the responsibility of retaining your faith - he has the responsibility of his faith. I doubt if there is any quick answer, and the only witness he’s going to have as to whether the Catholic Church is worth anything will be your witness ie. how you behave.

I did not see this. This is violence…