Former Catholics-How many years were you Catholic before you left.

[Traveller1534]

Why do you want to leave a Church that Jesus Built Upon Peter? For I tell you, Protestants did not exist until 1517… It would be best if you remain Catholic… if not convert to E. Orthodoxy since they maintain ancient liturgic worship…

I can see that Manny has never attended a high church Anglican Holy Eucharist service.

 

[Traveller1534]

I was wondering why you all left the Church?
I know there are different reasons, but the main thing that leads a person to leave is being poorly catechized.

A person who truly believes and knows Jesus in the Eucharist will never ever leave the church for anything in this world.

While a few leaving the Church, others come to the Church with joys and happiness.

I pray for you all to someday realize how precious the gift of His Body and Blood is for you.

One very good reason I left the church is that I certainly didn’t want my son to be molested by a Catholic priest. If you think that God grants power to a child molester to consecrate bread and wine, but yet will not grant the same to an honest Protestant Christian, then you are as crazy as the church you attend.

 

[jmcrae]

Call me Manny. We are required to go to Mass and received Holy Communion Weekly.

While that’s an excellent practice, it’s not true that we are required to receive Holy Communion every Sunday.

We are only required to be at Mass every Sunday, and we are only required to receive Holy Communion once a year, at Easter time.

Monthly Confession is recommended by most priest while some lay Catholics go to confession every two weeks.

True - but the minimum for Confession is also once a year.

I just wanted to set that straight so that people reading along wouldn’t be confused.

 

[Traveller1534]

An Episcopal Church that ordains women and homosexual priest. I hardly think the Episcopal Church is the True Church of Christ…

You do not know what you are talking about sir and it is very obvious that you know nothing about the Episcopal church other than what is in the news. Keep spewing all of your Catholic propaganda because obviously it is all that you know. You know CHURCH, not Christ.

 

[jmcrae]

One very good reason I left the church is that I certainly didn’t want my son to be molested by a Catholic priest. If you think that God grants power to a child molester to consecrate bread and wine, but yet will not grant the same to an honest Protestant Christian, then you are as crazy as the church you attend.

If you think the only job that attracts child molesters is the Catholic priesthood, you’re even crazier. Every job that has contact with children attracts child molesters - and most of them are a lot easier to get into than the Catholic priesthood.

Use your common sense and your God-given parental instincts to protect your children, but never assume that any job is immune from predators, whether it’s the Catholic priesthood, or your local children’s hockey club. Being an atheist or a skeptic doesn’t make people automatically pure and good, any more than being Catholic does.

 

[Traveller1534]

If you think the only job that attracts child molesters is the Catholic priesthood, you’re even crazier. Every job that has contact with children attracts child molesters - and most of them are a lot easier to get into than the Catholic priesthood.

Use your common sense and your God-given parental instincts to protect your children, but never assume that any job is immune from predators, whether it’s the Catholic priesthood, or your local children’s hockey club. Being an atheist or a skeptic doesn’t make people automatically pure and good, any more than being Catholic does.

But shouldn’t the Catholic priesthood be where you would or at least should least expect them??

 

[jmcrae]

But shouldn’t the Catholic priesthood be where you would or at least should least expect them??

Well, and it is, since fewer than one percent of priests were ever even suspected of anything like this - as compared to more than 2% of the rest of the population.

I also think that the money had a lot to do with the number of accusations - if they had not been giving out million-dollar settlements, I’d bet most of those people would never have even thought of accusing their priest of anything like that.

Unfortunately, with some people, you wave a bit of money at them, and they’ll make up any story.

 

[Traveller1534]

Well, and it is, since fewer than one percent of priests were ever even suspected of anything like this - as compared to more than 2% of the rest of the population.

I also think that the money had a lot to do with the number of accusations - if they had not been giving out million-dollar settlements, I’d bet most of those people would never have even thought of accusing their priest of anything like that.

Unfortunately, with some people, you wave a bit of money at them, and they’ll make up any story.

I don’t buy that for one second. It was proven that the Catholic church had attempted to cover this up for years. All of you Catholic parishioners are the ones who should be outraged that your offerrings end up going to pay for these pedophiles. Over a billion dollars in total now. That is no minor thing, that is a huge travesty and scandal.

 

[MariaG]

Amen to that. I wish I would have left the church sooner than I did. It wasn’t until after I left that I truly began to know and walk with Jesus.

You do not know what you are talking about sir and it is very obvious that you know nothing about the Episcopal church other than what is in the news. Keep spewing all of your Catholic propaganda because obviously it is all that you know. You know CHURCH, not Christ.

Just because you never opened your heart to Christ while in the Catholic Church does not mean others are fail to do so.

The problem with most people who leave the Catholic church is they never opened a bible and actually sought a relationship with Christ while attending the Catholic Church. They were just pew warmers going through the motions.

It is always easier to blame the people or institution on the lack rather than examine oneself and realize the lack was in themselves.

Maybe you were different. Maybe you actually went to Catholic bible study classes for years before you left? Read your bible regularly for many, many years of the 34 years you attended the Catholic Church? Prayed with heartfelt desire to seek the face of God for years before you left?

 

[ASimpleSinner]

Amen to that. I wish I would have left the church sooner than I did. It wasn’t until after I left that I truly began to know and walk with Jesus.

Please let us see that side of you more.

The way you insult, provoke, make accusation and refuse to back up allegations on here, this newfound peace and spiritual growth is not being put forth much here.

 

[CherryBomb]

Just because you never opened your heart to Christ while in the Catholic Church does not mean others are fail to do so.

The problem with most people who leave the Catholic church is they never opened a bible and actually sought a relationship with Christ while attending the Catholic Church. They were just pew warmers going through the motions.

It is always easier to blame the people or institution on the lack rather than examine oneself and realize the lack was in themselves.

Maybe you were different. Maybe you actually went to Catholic bible study classes for years before you left? Read your bible regularly for many, many years of the 34 years you attended the Catholic Church? Prayed with heartfelt desire to seek the face of God for years before you left?

AMEN!

 

[ASimpleSinner]

But shouldn’t the Catholic priesthood be where you would or at least should least expect them??

No.

Why would we?

Most priests are in formation before ordination anywhere from 6-13 years depending on the diocese, order, level of education they come in with, etc.

Why would we expect this to be a more attractive field for a child molestor? In fact it is not.

In fact public school systems have reported as many as 1 in 10 students are molested or inappropriately propositioned at some point in their K-12 education. 1 in TEN!!

Why is this less reported? Public schools enjoy protections against large lawsuits by capping wards - in some states as low as 100K or 150K… $100K, with a third going to the attorney - it leaves $66K for the vicitm and $33K for the attorney - if they get the max. If they don’t get the max, or get nothing, the attorney gets NOTHING.

So how many attorneys do you think are chomping at the bit to go after these cases, to be involved in what could take years of proceedings, hundreds of hours of preparation, before going to court to win only as much as $33 to $50K?

The Catholic Church on the other hand enjoys no such protection. Millions can be recieved

But what is your point here? Why are you using this for agitation? Why do you come to the Catholic Answers Forums to air such trash?

 

[ASimpleSinner]

This is more Catholic propaganda as well. Scripture never states that only the Roman church embodies the real presence of Christ. For that matter, some Protestant churches may have it for certain while the Roman church may not at all. After all, it is only Catholics who say that only they possess the true Eucharist.

Wrong again. But then again you are playing fast and lose with your terminology. There is a difference between “Roman church embodies the real presence of Christ.” versus the notion “After all, it is only Catholics who say that only they possess the true Eucharist.” Which, incidentally is ALSO false.

The Catholic Church recognizes the validity of orders of the Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Orthodox, Church of the East, Ultrajectines (Old Catholic) as well as orders derived from groups in schism such as some from the Bp. Thuc lines of consecration or Brazillian Bishop Carlos Duarte. Priests from all of these groups have, variously, been recieved into the Catholic Church as priests. As a matter of fact, that is how entire Catholic Churches - sich as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - came to exist.

Since the Catholic Church holds to an Augustinian theory of the validity of Holy Orders - one many Anglican Communion apologists wish to appeal to - it does not deny that those in schism or heresy would, as a matter of course, be without valid orders and sacraments. It is with the loss of necessary form, matter, intent (i.e. not using bishops to ordain, using anything from pizza to corn chips as eucharistic elelments, ordaining women, baptism without a Trinitarian baptism, etc) that their sacraments can be called into question or become null and void.

 

[ASimpleSinner]

I can see that Manny has never attended a high church Anglican Holy Eucharist service.

You can’t see any such thing… Ask him if he has.

Do you maintain and contend that the BCP - as authored by Cramner and company is a reflection of an ancient liturgy in practice & prayer?

For its similarities - especially in “high church” praxis - some serious deficeincies in its prayers and practice preclude its consideration - without editing - Fr. David Zampino - formerly of a body that used the BCP - has written a rather good thesis comparing and contrasting the nature of the BCP to the ancient liturgies of the East & West. Its not light reading, but it is informative.

Again, I commend to you for comment or response:

***The Trouble with Anglo-Catholicism
By Robert Ian Williams ***
catholic.com/thisrock/2001/0109fea5.asp

 

[ASimpleSinner]

You do not know what you are talking about sir and it is very obvious that you know nothing about the Episcopal church other than what is in the news. Keep spewing all of your Catholic propaganda because obviously it is all that you know. You know CHURCH, not Christ.

That is a serious and damning allegation. You would do well to retract it, apologize, or clarify.

In fact, who is “spewing” anything on the Catholic Answers forum? Who is coming here to make daming allegations of our ignorance and wrongful practices?

In fact, it rather seems he knows well what he is talking about.

Are you saying these “headline matters” of the imminent rupture in the Anglican Communion, such as women’s ordination, the ordination of practicing/promoting homosexual, “same sex marriage” and the like are not problematic?

You point to 2%< of the Catholic clergy who have been accused of some of the vilest things - things that are sins going against God, His Church, His Children. Things that are not policy, practice or up for debate. You point to these things and then accuse Manny of knowing only the headlines and spewing propoganda?

 

[Rachel_Malloy]

Let’s get back on track folks.

God bless-

Rachel