Ex-Catholics - Anyone evangelized these rare gems?

[SaintPatrick333]

I was raised in a baptist church and really… its hard to describe the way that i feel when I read these responses.
Protestants and other christians as “misinformed” “misguided”
The catholic faith being the one True Faith.
Also the idea that former catholics were “lured” away by the message of other denominations.
In reality, while growing up I have visited many different churches baptist, pentacostal, southern baptist, non-denominational and other services and the messages do not preach against catholicism. There was never a message that mentioned the catholic faith.

Hearing for myself, the message always focused my mind on the gospel, on Christ, and learning what it meant to follow Christ, God’s commandments for us as christians.

What exactly was luring these catholics away from their faith?

It’s what many (not all) protestant and non denominational “christians” believe outside of their churches. I talked to a really nice baptist girl for a while. Her dad was a minister and when she told him I was Catholic he convinced her I worship mary and pray to the dead and I’m damned to hell for eternity for not receiving the holy spirit and not being saved or following Christ.

And anytime a Catholic joins another group then they are leaving Christianity in its one true form. Scripturally supported and historically proven the Catholic Church is THE one faith started by Jesus Christ Himself. Christ gave us the Church. The Church gave us Scriptures. Scriptures are important to every Christian but the Church is where Christ calls us all too. To Communion with Him (that only validly ordained Priests can offer). Self ordained ministers of protestant and non denominational faiths are not validly ordained. They have not gone through the formation that Christ gave to His Apostles, and those Apostles gave to their Disciples, and those Disciples gave to their Disciples (Apostolic Succession-which is Christ’s promise to always be with His Church and that the Holy Spirit is ever guiding the Church). Every protestant and non denominational church ultimately leads up to martin luther (regardless of denomination). That’s where it all started for them. Pentecostals claim their church started at Pentecost but that’s historically unfounded and proven false. Christ taught unity. Christ created One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Anything outside of that (despite good intentions) is outside of what Christ taught and wants for us. Simply believing in Christ is a great start. But what good does that do if you don’t do as He wishes and come to His Church, come to Him to validly receive Him in Communion. Christ gave us the Holy Sacraments to keep us in His grace and to strengthen us in this world of tribulations. Without them we are lost. Hence why Catholics being talked into joining other churches is misguided, misleading, and everything else mentioned above.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

The ones who feel driven away are different.

But lately I’ve been running into SO MANY who were ‘devout’ Catholics in their youth and yet claim the Church teaches things it just DOESN’T. I never know how to respond to it. My knee jerk reaction is to correct their misinformation but they’re pretty stubborn and convinced that what they were taught is correct and what I say is wrong.

Insist they are wrong and quote the Catechism. Quote other sources if you are familiar with them. Keep repeating they are wrong and throw information at them. Maybe it will stick at some point.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

The ones who feel driven away are different.

But lately I’ve been running into SO MANY who were ‘devout’ Catholics in their youth and yet claim the Church teaches things it just DOESN’T. I never know how to respond to it. My knee jerk reaction is to correct their misinformation but they’re pretty stubborn and convinced that what they were taught is correct and what I say is wrong.

These are the sort of people who encourage and spread the distorted view of the Catholic faith that some Protestants have (not all, of course).

I think it would be easier to deal with people who were simply hurt by someone in the Church and thus driven away… in a way their objections are entirely subjective and much easier to combat.

I run into this a lot. I had an argument with a lifetime Christmas-Easter Catholic friend recently who was complaining to some non-Catholic mutual friends about the crass hypocrisy of the Church. He said that he can’t tolerate how the Church teaches that gambling and drinking are mortal sins on one hand, then features gambling and drinking at virtually all fundraisers and hosts bingo in Church halls across the country. When I told him he was mistaken, that neither are considered sinful when done in moderation, he dug in his heels and kept insisting that gambling and drinking were both considered mortal sins. Even when I pointed out that on very rare occasions rolleyes the Church has been known to include wine as part of the Mass, he said that just adds to the hypocrisy. By the time the conversation shifted, I think a couple of our non-practicing friends at least saw that I was correct, but it was such a silly, long-winded argument that I don’t think they really cared by that point.

I even have relatively devout friends who go to Mass most Sundays yet are greatly flawed in what they believe the teachings of the Church to be. Since several of them went to the same schools I did, I know where some of it comes from. One graduated from a Catholic college with a Theology degree, though, and he’s just as off base as the rest. While these friends are a little more open to having their misconceptions corrected, the more casual Catholics seem to be the ones most set in their ways and, even worse, most likely to spread those false beliefs to others.

As far as people who have been hurt & driven away, while I’ve talked to plenty of people who say they were driven away, I’ve never personally dealt with someone who actually had anything bad happen to them. The typical conversation goes like this:

“I left the Church over the abuse scandal and coverup.”
“Why’s that?”
“The boy scout leader at my parish raped a little boy on a camping trip.”
“Was it you?”
“No, this happened a few years after I graduated.”
“Were you related to the boy?”
“No.”
“Did you know the boy?”
“No.”
“Did you know his family?”
“Not personally.”
“Did the priest or anyone else in the parish cover it up?”
“No.”
“Did the guy go to jail?”
“Yes.”
“So how did that drive you out of the Church?”
“Well, it just went to show that all priests are child molesters, and I’d never want my kids around that.”

I have no idea how to deal with people like that. They’re certain they were somehow wronged/hurt/violated and arguing with them just turns them against you.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

I have no idea how to deal with people like that. They’re certain they were somehow wronged/hurt/violated and arguing with them just turns them against you.

There probably is no way to deal with them because they use the story as an excuse. Who knows why they left. Probably because of lack of faith and whatever goes with it.

 

[jpink1019]

There probably is no way to deal with them because they use the story as an excuse. Who knows why they left. Probably because of lack of faith and whatever goes with it.

I know that for me personally when I hear about abuse in the church from an outsider’s perspective (meaning i wasn’t raised catholic) it turns me off.
I think that it turns me off particularly because as a priest you are given a tremendous responsibility and people are suppose to trust you. The many years of study and learning in scriptures would make you think that he was close to God, not to mention all the prayer and meditation. Just the process that priests go through to be ordained makes an average everyday person believe that there is a purpose to why they chose to go this way, to go a Holy way. When a scandal or abuse comes from someone like this, it has been enough to make me second guess and ask why?

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

I know that for me personally when I hear about abuse in the church from an outsider’s perspective (meaning i wasn’t raised catholic) it turns me off.

When a scandal or abuse comes from someone like this, it has been enough to make me second guess and ask why?

You can only imagine how painful it is for us to hear about it.

 

[jpink1019]

You can only imagine how painful it is for us to hear about it.

I haven’t always understood, but my best friend is catholic and i have slowly started to understand the implications these events would have on the people inside the church.

 

[jpink1019]

I didn’t mean to diverge from the original topic.

 

[nickybr38]

I have no idea how to deal with people like that. They’re certain they were somehow wronged/hurt/violated and arguing with them just turns them against you.

I’ve been thinking about this and I think arguing with them isn’t the answer.

But try to point out to them that while the Church is made up of people the Church’s teaching is objective. The Church does NOT teach us to abuse children. The Church does NOT teach us to hate. The Church does NOT teach us to hurt.

We are all human and human beings do terrible things. As an individual a priest may have done something completely horrendous! But… he was not acting within the Will of God OR the teachings of the Church. He was not ordered to do those things. He was not encouraged to do those things. He did them of his own will.

You find child molesters in schools, in the Boy Scouts, in the grocery store, in public washrooms… so are you going to boycott all those places as well? The Boy Scouts don’t teach men to molest little boys. The grocery store certainly doesn’t condone molestation. Public washrooms? Pretty rank places so go ahead and boycott those…

This would be my approach to someone like that but only IF they were willing to let me speak.

Maybe they’ll bring up all the ‘coverups’ and the like but then I would point out that in the time the bulk of these ‘coverups’ happened, the ENTIRE WORLD understood child abuse differently. The Church wasn’t the only one, in those days, moving people around instead of removing them from access to children completely. So, sadly, the Church was following society in that way and look what happened! This is why the Church should never follow society.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

I haven’t always understood, but my best friend is catholic and i have slowly started to understand the implications these events would have on the people inside the church.

I’ve not experienced a crisis of faith because of the scandals (original sin always affects things, doesn’t it?) but it is beyond awful to hear of such stories. I just couldn’t process it: how could they? who are these people? I am amazed that converts are still happy to join. I guess God truly works miracles and human sin can’t destroy the Truth.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

Maybe they’ll bring up all the ‘coverups’ and the like but then I would point out that in the time the bulk of these ‘coverups’ happened, the ENTIRE WORLD understood child abuse differently. The Church wasn’t the only one, in those days, moving people around instead of removing them from access to children completely. So, sadly, the Church was following society in that way and look what happened! This is why the Church should never follow society.

There have been cases where priests were sent to psychotherapy and supposedly rehabilitated. I’ve read this in relation to a case in Munich where Ratzinger reassigned a priest to a new parish after treatment. The priest molested kids again. However, that were the claims those days, that it is possible to change certain behaviour. Today we know better. Such priests would not be allowed to continue with their ministry, but back then the church was following medical knowledge. ( I’m sorry I can’t provide any links to this story, but I remember reading it in an article somewhere, sometime ago )

 

[nickybr38]

There have been cases where priests were sent to psychotherapy and supposedly rehabilitated. I’ve read this in relation to a case in Munich where Ratzinger reassigned a priest to a new parish after treatment. The priest molested kids again. However, that were the claims those days, that it is possible to change certain behaviour. Today we know better. Such priests would not be allowed to continue with their ministry, but back then the church was following medical knowledge. ( I’m sorry I can’t provide any links to this story, but I remember reading it in an article somewhere, sometime ago )

No, I’ve read it too. No worries.

I think people forget that medical science hasn’t always understood this disease properly and the Church actually LISTENS to medical science at times. Sadly. Unfortunately!

I’m not trying to shift blame here but I do wish people would look at the whole situation.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

I’ve been thinking about this and I think arguing with them isn’t the answer.

To be clear, by “arguing” I meant the civil discourse type and not the angry disagreement type. It still didn’t get me anywhere as they cling to the skewed, mainstream media view of the Church and won’t listen to facts. Even with some of my cafeteria Catholic friends & family, regardless of any documentation you provide, they refuse to believe that most of these cases happened 20 or more years ago, that the Church was following standard, accepted practices at the time, and that it still occurs in public schools and other venues at a much higher rate than it ever occurred in the Church. I’ve brought up everything you have and sent links to websites, studies and articles disproving their views, yet was still called a liar and much worse for it. I continue trying to teach by example and throw in the occasional mention of my faith just to try to get it in front of them, but it seems impossible to dislodge these deeply-held erroneous “truths.”

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

I’ve brought up everything you have and sent links to websites, studies and articles disproving their views, yet was still called a liar and much worse for it.

Jesus said to his disciples to shake the dust off their feet and move on. That is all one can do with such types really. They have made up their minds and no amount of facts can change their view.

 

[studychristian]

People like Richard Bennett are the one’s who need evangelized

 

[Christmastwin]

Jesus said to his disciples to shake the dust off their feet and move on. That is all one can do with such types really. They have made up their minds and no amount of facts can change their view.

Just for myself, facts didn’t change my view. It came from the Holy Spirit. At least in my case, I feel that to be true. It was sudden and it was strong.

And I have to thank Church Militant on here for his blog about Mike Gendron because I almost fell for his Real Jesus vs Catholic Jesus. Or whatever it was. Something like that. I was so relieved to see his blog! I did a search and found this site (gratefully).

And just to add that prayer I’m sure had a lot to do with it, too. Both my mom and twin were praying very much for me to return Home.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

Jesus said to his disciples to shake the dust off their feet and move on. That is all one can do with such types really. They have made up their minds and no amount of facts can change their view.

I’ve taken that approach with some of them. With the ones closest to me, though, I keep trying.

 

[Church_Militant]

Yeah…two of them are now very active members here at CAF. Three, if you count me. My Testimony

 

[ByzCathCantor]

Yeah…two of them are now very active members here at CAF. Three, if you count me. My Testimony

Just read “My Testimony”

One word: inspiring!

May God bless you and your family abundantly!

 

[horselvr]

Yes, I have had numerous conversations with X Catholics and some that are still Catholics and blame the Nuns/Priests/Catholic school/the Church for all the ills in their lives.

They use to make me angry but now I just take each question and refer them to or repeat the catechism or tell them to look up Cannon Law or the early church fathers. Honestly, a lot of their questions and put downs of the Catholic faith are answered in Mass. If they go then they need to listen?

I have come to welcome their questions and even the attacks on the Church because it certainly opens up dialog and we all learn from this. My cousin goes to Mass most every Sunday, my other cousin was an alter boy for a long time, neither knew where the bible came from and when I told them they didn’t believe me so I told them to research it for themselves.

I always explain to them that it is much easier to be whatever religion denomination because you generally don’t concern yourself about divorce, re-marriage, confessing sins to anyone, birth control yada yada.

I also welcome the visits of other religions, (baptist, mormons, non-denom) that just sort of wander up when I’m outside working with a horse or gardening and they have come to save me from Catholicism. I really enjoy talking with them.

So, look at it as educational.