Former Catholic Priest Condemns the Catholic Church and Scott Hahn

[distracted]

I
It almost sounds as if he faults the church for failing to protect him from temptation. Since he is such an anomaly, there is clearly a more serious force which captured him.

Christ’s peace.

Where can i get more info on this guy? (Catholic resources…). I don’t know if i really want to read bout him because i am just tired of those who bash the Church… and frankly, it is difficult reading someone’s biog or whatever, knowing he is against the Church… for what are probably “weak” reasons…

 

[mercygate]

Hi. Um…I guess I just did that.
Yes. He was a Dominican. Here is the response I received from someone at the monastery.

Kind of fits with the TBI thing, huh?

 

[jmcrae]

Where can i get more info on this guy? (Catholic resources…). I don’t know if i really want to read bout him because i am just tired of those who bash the Church… and frankly, it is difficult reading someone’s biog or whatever, knowing he is against the Church… for what are probably “weak” reasons…

I don’t like it either; it makes my blood to boil.

 

[ralphinal]

Where can i get more info on this guy? (Catholic resources…). I don’t know if i really want to read bout him because i am just tired of those who bash the Church… and frankly, it is difficult reading someone’s biog or whatever, knowing he is against the Church… for what are probably “weak” reasons…

I doubt that you will see anything written about him from a Catholic point of view. First, it could be perceived as the big, bad Church beating up on another God-loving dissenter. Second, he is just a blip on the radar, and not a big one.

That letter on the previous post said something interesting to me:

I have to say I found his account of life here so slanted, so bitter, so lurid, so fundamentally false, that I just couldn’t connect it at all with the Tallaght I remember – nor with the man I had known as a student. Obviously some great change took place in him that altered his whole perception – and even his memory. I went through the same studies in the same place, and I am grateful for the education and formation I received. The same would be said by practically everyone who went through here – with different degrees of emphasis, obviously!

Something about him CHANGED and altered his whole perception and memory

 

[distracted]

I believe that the spirit of antichrist leads all away. .

i just left (i think it was) you a post asking about Fr. Bennett… but got info from another poster…

I guess one thing that got to him was that idea that christ died once and for all so we don’t need to do certain “Catholic” things anymore (rosary, etc.)…

I didn’t read the whole article (don’t have time)… but anyway…@ the risk of sounding prsumptious… I’ve basically heard the same old speel a 100 times b4…

I have some “issues” with the Church myself and sometimes i wonder if it isn’t a little too “rigid” or what have you, but there are things the catholic Church can give that no other can… (Real Presence…) and as priest, he ought to know that…

I sometimes wonder if, deep down, the real reason for him (others)leaving the RCc is because he wants to be more “free”… to do whatever…

It is pretty hard being Catholic in some circumstances… :hypno: uch: :banghead:

Who knows his real motives??

God in Heaven knows…

and as they say, “He aint tellin’”

One more thing: I kind of can 1/2-way understand some of his reasons for leaving… but when he says that he didn’t know the Bible until recently??? Give me a break…!!. the Catholics, especially priests/bishops know the Bible better than anyone… that is where I began to really know the Bible… from Mass… (daily Mass…)…

 

[qui_est_ce]

Hi. Um…I guess I just did that.
Yes. He was a Dominican. Here is the response I received from someone at the monastery.

Thanks for posting. Maybe he had a nervous breakdown and memory loss.

 

[qui_est_ce]

I have some “issues” with the Church myself and sometimes i wonder if it isn’t a little too “rigid” or what have you, but there are things the catholic Church can give that no other can… (Real Presence…) and as priest, he ought to know that…

I sometimes wonder if, deep down, the real reason for him (others)leaving the RCc is because he wants to be more “free”… to do whatever…

It is pretty hard being Catholic in some circumstances… :hypno: uch: :banghead:

Yes, but what else is there?

 

[distracted]

Yes, but what else is there?

Hmmm… What else is there?? well, when i remember how things were b4 i came back to the Church and compare them to now…

There was more so-called (what the world calls) “fun” in my life, but… it wasn’t as fun as it sometimes seemed… sin is never fun for very long… pretty short-lived… but the consequences resulting therefrom seem to go on forever… uch: :hypno:

anywya, thanks for causing me to think of all this… I don’t usually think about my past (though i used to obssess about it… until i got strong in the Faith), but it is always good to remember where you came from, what Jesus saved you from…

You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free…
The truth is that nothing in this life can be trusted… or depended upon…

 

[vocatio]

MAN! I sure wish I could have you come and tell your story to a group of bruised/broken/angry fallen away Catholics seeking to reclaim their faith and the mercy of God in His Church! Unfortunately, I do not HAVE such a group, although I have been pumping for it with the Archdeacon (who is my confessor).

You have been truly graced. I am deeply touched by your line:

If the pride of the priests I ran into was less than my pride I may never have fallen away from the Church.

My experience has largely been with the “noisier” ex-Catholics who rail against the Church from a platform of willful arrogance or obscene ignorance. I am going to print out your post and put it where I can read it until I have absorbed what you have shared and made it my own.

May God reward you for your graciousness here.

YES!!! God has truly blessed me. Fortunately I was able to hang on to Catholic concepts when the scriptures didn’t make sense to me. I grabbed hold of what I understood and wrestled with the rest. An interesting point is abortion and invetro fertilization. [my spelling is horrible, so please forgive] I figured out on my own that invetro fertilization was inately wrong if not evil - messing with God’s creation. Many Protestants or non-Catholic in general would say that though they do not believe abortion is right, there always seemed to have an out for rape or incest… Dahh! If abortoin is evil then it doesn’t matter whether the baby comes from daddy or rapist. A Command Sergeant Major, who was a Protestant Minister also, used to tell us “there ain’t no right way to do wrong”. That was one of the best learning lessons of my life.

Anyway. I have more of my story posted here and there in more detail. Just do me a favor and correct the typos and grammar…I look rediculously ignorant. Pe

Pax et tecum

 

[Al_Masetti]

A while back, some former Catholics came by the house representing JV and all that. I asked them some very simple questions about Catholicism and they had no answers; they simply didn’t know very basic Catholic stuff.

With all due respect to these good-hearted folks, their lack of knowledge is, in my opinion, the fault of the Church for not teaching. And a lot of folks don’t know what questions to ask or where to go to get answers.

But they got a little defensive. What I told them was that regardless of how strongly they “felt” [their word] their new faith was, if they go from door-to-door holding themselves out as “experts” on comparative religion, they had better get some actual factual knowledge about Catholicism.

I gave them some sources, although I suspect they weren’t much interested.

 

[HashemEchad]

I just discovered this website, started by a former Catholic priest, Peter Bennett:

bereanbeacon.org/RC_Apologists.php

Bennett chastizes Scott Hahn, Patrick Madrid, and other converts for falling into apostasy. Elsewhere on this site, he solicits testimonials from former Catholics. Much of what is said against the Catholic Church and Scott Hahn is just plain false or lifted out of context. He is alarmed by the many books, cd’s, and talks given by these converts and seems bent on countering them. As a Catholic, Evangelical tapes and CD’s do not bother me unless they spout anti-Catholic falsehoods. I used to listen to them all the time before the Catholics got into the media. I would not condone Catholics spreading falsehoods about Protestantism either.

My question is how can someone who claims to have been a Catholic priest for over 20 years to have found the truth in Fundamental Evangelicism accuse a former Presbyterian minister of not understanding Protestantism when he himself didn’t understand the teachings of the Catholic Church? Not sure if Bennett adheres to Calvinism, Antimonianism, etc., as the focus of the site seems to be anything but Catholic.

Is anyone SURE this guy is a former Catholic priest? I have seen so much deception in the world of religious polemics, such as “messianic Jews” who claim they “were raised Orthodox”, and it turns out their great grandfather was Orthodox, or something like that. I will say the few Jewish converts to Catholicism I have met have been honest: they say they grew up agnostic/atheist, or nonreligious otherwise. But some of the bornagain ones go all out with their truth-stretching.

This is why I advise you, make sure he really WAS what he says he was.

Remember Alberto?

 

[rpp]

Is anyone SURE this guy is a former Catholic priest? I have seen so much deception in the world of religious polemics, such as “messianic Jews” who claim they “were raised Orthodox”, and it turns out their great grandfather was Orthodox, or something like that. I will say the few Jewish converts to Catholicism I have met have been honest: they say they grew up agnostic/atheist, or nonreligious otherwise. But some of the bornagain ones go all out with their truth-stretching.

This is why I advise you, make sure he really WAS what he says he was.

Remember Alberto?

Yes, he really is a former Catholic priest. See posts 80 and 93 of this thread from GraceAndGlory. There is even some personal correspondence from one of his seminary companions.

Jack Chic has nothing on this guy.

 

[Contarini]

Hi. Um…I guess I just did that.
Yes. He was a Dominican. Here is the response I received from someone at the monastery.

What a lovely letter, given the nasty stuff Bennett has said about Catholicism. Now that is a witness for Catholicism!

Edwin

 

[Contarini]

Uh, duh.

Praying the Brevieary IS PRAYING the Bible!
:banghead:

I know. I remember being particularly amused and annoyed by this when I read *Far From Rome, Near to God *more than ten years ago some well-meaning family friend had given it to my parents to pass on to me). I found it particularly ironic because I was using the Liturgy of the Hours at that time. If it isn’t “parts of the Bible” I don’t know what is!

Edwin

 

[hawkeye]

And another one joins the anti-catholic que, like it’s been for centuries. :coffeeread:

 

[Benadam]

You couldn’t be more wrong on this. I fall into none of these categories and know plenty of former Roman Catholics that don’t either. Don’t make ridiculous universal statements that you can’t reinforce.

No more wacko than folks on these boards who argue all day long about who is right and wrong, who goes to hell and who doesn’t.

Well, not that wrong really. Authority comes from above. Most former catholics I’ve spoken to seem to have problems with authority. A person’s perception of authority is usually established through the bonds of family. The wounds are sublime so it effects how authority is perceived from other sources exercising it.

 

[qui_est_ce]

With all due respect to these good-hearted folks, their lack of knowledge is, in my opinion, the fault of the Church for not teaching. And a lot of folks don’t know what questions to ask or where to go to get answers.

There comes a point in time when you have to take responsibility for you own self and stop blaming the Church. Do you honestly remember all the math and history you learned in grade school? If the parents aren’t taking them to church, how can they take CCD seriously? At our Catholic grade school, over 50% of the families don’t go to mass on Sundays. They just don’t want their kids to go to public schools in the city (bad schools). And Archdiocesan tuition is a bargain compared to private schools. At my daughter’s high school, Catholic girls, it’s in the suburbs. Lots of parents don’t go to to mass either. You can tell, because the ones who do have their kids home in time for mass, the other ones don’t care. I was shocked that people pay $8,000.00 a year for private Catholic high shool, and don’t go to mass. It’s the college prep image that the Catholic high schools have.

I’m of the generation that was poorly catechized, but I took it upon myself. And now it’s so easy with EWTN and New Advent, Catholic.com, etc.

 

[HashemEchad]

I have found in my many years of working with people from various religious backgrounds (converts from one religion to another, etc)…that often when a person leaves a religion for another, and does so with anger in their heart, they were basically just looking for a reason TO leave anyway.

Religions do not need to change to suit people. People need to change to suit religion. The RCC could, for example, drop their rule against artificial birth control tommorrow, and all those embittered ex-Catholics who CLAIMED to have left for that reason will still stay away.

 

[rpp]

I have found in my many years of working with people from various religious backgrounds (converts from one religion to another, etc)…that often when a person leaves a religion for another, and does so with anger in their heart, they were basically just looking for a reason TO leave anyway.

Religions do not need to change to suit people. People need to change to suit religion. The RCC could, for example, drop their rule against artificial birth control tommorrow, and all those embittered ex-Catholics who CLAIMED to have left for that reason will still stay away.

I believe this to be very true. Hashem, you are not first wise Jew.

(I am saying this is a light-hearted and friendly manner, I hope it is received in like manner.)

 

[HashemEchad]

I believe this to be very true. Hashem, you are not first wise Jew.

(I am saying this is a light-hearted and friendly manner, I hope it is received in like manner.)

It is, don’t worry!

We have a similar problem in Judaism. There are assimilated Jews who want to marry a nonJew, or eat pork, or whatever, and so suddenly, the “fault” is with Orthodox Judaism. NOT with them, oh, no! Its with the religion.

Even though the religion is 3,500 years old, and nobody thought to complain until the last hundred years or so…suddenly, “that religion is old fashioned and needs to change!”