Have you heard of the term "cafeteria" catholic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter bettercallpaul
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I get it. It just makes you come off a little hysterical. I don’t mean this as an insult, i just think sometimes you gotta take a deep breath and count to ten
 
I think in the Church we HAVE lost the sense that orthodoxy and heresy are, ultimately, matters of eternal life or death. (Of course I’m aware of invincible ignorance, where people are seeking truth but genuinely don’t understand or know better)

When’s the last time you’ve heard a homily which even touches on the sin of heresy? Yet heterodoxy–like sexual sins such as contraception-- is so common in the Church, so it needs addressing.
 
Last edited:
I’m not sure that homilies are the answer.

Think about who will hear a homily. It’s the people already at Mass. Their beliefs are probably pretty well in line with Church teachings. It’s the people will self-identify as Catholics but who attend Mass a couple times a year whose beliefs may be off kilter and you’re not going to reach them with a homily.

I don’t know what the answer is, how you reach the unchurched Catholics, but I think they are the ones we need to reach out to.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
Think about who will hear a homily. It’s the people already at Mass. Their beliefs are probably pretty well in line with Church teachings.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure of that at all. I think most Catholic who attend Mass disagree with the Church on matters of faith or morals.

At my former parish, the priest never addressed contraception, and one of the men in leadership in the parish said they can’t address it because half the parish would leave.

And very few churchgoers go to Confession or pray the Rosary.
 
Last edited:
bettercallpaul said:
I’ve never been divorced but I find the rule for not giving Communion to divorcees who are in a new relationship too strict.

I’d like to say Abortion in absolutely no circumstances. I understand we need zero tolerance rules. But my heart says there need to be very rare exceptions.

So I am a cafeteria catholic then?
Click to expand...
In the first place a divorced person can receive Communion if they live a life of continence.

Second, even if you find a teaching strict it is not an issue as long as you accept that teaching.

A cafeteria Catholic is not a name I like. It simply means a Catholic who has rejected one or more of the teachings of the Church. By doing so they put themselves in a state of mortal sin (assuming they know what they have done (the 3 conditions]) and if rejecting an infallible teaching they have also committed heresy.
 
Confession is mandatory and necessary. The rosary, while it may be a helpful spiritual exercise, is neither.
 
Confession is mandatory and necessary as you say. And it’s not often practiced even by churchgoers. The Rosary is not mandatory but if you look at a parish as a whole, and if few pray the Rosary, you can bet that there is little Marian devotion, which is fatal… Like Venerable Paul VI said, “If we want to be Christians, we must be Marian”. Marian devotion is the key to defeating fake Catholicism and healing souls
 
Last edited:
I disagree. Cafeteria Catholics tend to not believe that the Sunday obligation is real. They simply cannot conceive that the Lord will hold it against them on the last day. I have heard this remark too many times to count. They believe that this is a rule “made up by men in dresses in Rome”. Seriously. That’s the whole thing with cafeteria Catholics. They believe it’s arbitrary to
  1. keep people in line
  2. to pass the collection basket
I can truthfully say that nearly everyone in Sunday Mass is there to worship. At least in my current parish.
The previous parish I worked in, was very liberal. Perhaps there was a bit of what you speak of. Peace.
 
Last edited:
I think that’s true.

But Mary can win us all over to Jesus, the Truth and the Mercy. As Pope Benedict XVI says: “Devotion to Mary is the driving force of Catholicity”.
 
I think if they don’t understand WHY Mass attendance is mandatory, they can’t be help responsible for a mortal sin, so God won’t “hold it against them” in the end.
 
There are not that many “invincibly ignorant” Catholics around.
Invincible ignorance applies to people who have never heard of Christ.
Even the person with the most rudimentary knowledge of Catholicism has heard of the Ten Commandments.

Slippery slope for those who just don’t want to obey.
 
Last edited:
Poor Catechism and lack of living the faith has produced a whole generation of adults who do not truly understand the faith fully. Add that to priests who do not proclaim the “hard parts” of the faith and you have a generation of people who do not have “full knowledge”

Sad, I know.

And I have heard about your parish pianistclare, and yours seems to be the exception as to the education of its members.
 
Thank you, It’s a pastoral thing. We make these things a priority.
We also try very hard to meet people where they are, and to bring them around firmly, but with mercy and gentleness. But as a wise priest once said "The TRUTH, is the most compassionate way.
 
Being a cafeteria Catholic means you are picking and choosing what teaching to follow out of your personal convenience really to the point rationalizing sin.

So you shouldn’t become one.

I think terms like this are best to describe behavior and not people. It’s obvious that a lot of Catholics take Communion who shouldn’t, but I wouldn’t go around labeling people indiscriminately for it.
 
bettercallpaul said:
And I notice too that Chrstians of other denominations believe the Pope belongs on the left side of politics for being vague and not spelling out doctrine.
Click to expand...
That’s probably because like a lot of people, they don’t bother to READ what he writes or LISTEN carefully enough and just revert to some cheap talking point.
 
Doesn’t the term cafeteria Catholic mean something like: a person who picks and chooses what he/she believes and discards the rest?
 
It’s basically a Catholic who chooses which teachings of the Church they want to believe in, some may not agree with the Church on say abortion or homosexuality. They may not even believe in the real precense. However they go up and get the Eucharist regardless. I know people at my parish who are this way and they commit sacrilege on a weekly basis.
 
jas84173 said:
They may not even believe in the real precense. However they go up and get the Eucharist regardless. I know people at my parish who are this way and they commit sacrilege on a weekly basis.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that :cry:
 
Joe1 said:
They may not even believe in the real precense. However they go up and get the Eucharist regardless. I know people at my parish who are this way and they commit sacrilege on a weekly basis.

Sorry to hear that
Click to expand...
Not every Catholic is as well informed as they should be. I guess more homilies on doctrine can be delivered, but there will always be a number who are behind the curve
 
jas84173 said:
They may not even believe in the real precense. However they go up and get the Eucharist regardless.
Click to expand...
Right.

Karl Keating talks about how one should only receive Communion if they believe all the Church teaches and are trying to live it out.

How often do priests tell the congregation this?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top