Help Needed from Traditional Catholics Please

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Fin1983

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Hi There this is my first post so please go easily on me. I’m hoping that you guys may be able to give me some advice. Before I ask my question I hope I don’t cause any offence. First a little background. I live in Scotland and come from a very protestant background my father is a minister. I grew up surround with the Christian message and church but I didn’t ever really give it much serious thought until two or three years ago. It was the great spiritual tradition of the Catholic church that drew me back and eventually led to my serious conversion to Christ. In particular is was St Therese and St Francis who I feel were really calling me back. I began to read more and more around Catholic theology and tradition and it seemed more and more to be the truth. Coming from a very protestant background and a very protestant country the thought of converting to Catholicism was very frightening. I therefore did what I think many people do I headed for an Anglo-Catholic episcopal church which I thought would work as a half way house and would be content there. I couldn’t have been more wrong. To begin with I loved the liturgy,incense and music and tried to turn a blind eye to some of the more worrying aspects of the modern episcopal church. However recently this has become impossible and recently culminated in me walking out as a ‘bishop’ who was openly atheist preached and passed out the bread and wine. I saw this as a call from God to finally convert to the Catholic Church and so I’m about to start my RCIA classes at the Catholic Church I have been attending. However I’m feeling really confused and slightly fearful. This has been caused by some the statements and stories I have heard surrounding Pope Francis. Coming from a once holy institution which had its guts and soul ripped out by the liberals I’m afraid Pope Francis is going to go down the same route empowering the liberals to take control of the church turning The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church into a bigger and older episcopal church. Please let me know if these worries are silly. Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post.
 
The Holy Father wants a more inclusive church, not a private club. His description of “a hospital for sinners” and emphasis on mercy should be our guide whether we consider ourselves just Catholic or über Catholic.😉
 
First, fear not. The Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.

Second, welcome home. Best wishes in your journey of faith.
 
Welcome.

In addition the the other messages, please remember misquoting the Pope is a crusade for some organisations, especially the media. I would recommend always looking for the source document, even in the most excited Threads at least two or three people will post a link direct to and/or via a Catholic publication to the source document. Pope Francis is on Facebook (just look for the official page). If something important really bugs you, try asking your priest or an Apologist on the Site (and pray of course).

If you really want to know what the stance of the Catholic Church is, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is the book to read. It is available for free online (just search). .

Hope you enjoy RCIA.

May God bless you.
 
Keep in mind the media is grossly mischaracterizing Pope Francis’ statements. He said we need to focus more on The gospel and not so much on abortion and etc. And here is the headline:" Pope seeks historic easing of rigid Catholic doctrine"

Plus the catholic church is protected by the holy spirit from teaching error.
 
Fin1983 said:
Coming from a once holy institution which had its guts and soul ripped out by the liberals I’m afraid Pope Francis is going to go down the same route empowering the liberals to take control of the church turning The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church into a bigger and older episcopal church.
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Thanks for coming! No, it’s not a silly worry. Don’t believe everything you read in the media; there’s a misquoting frenzy out there. For example, Pope Francis gave an 80 minute interview to reporters on a plane. All you ever hear from this interview is a 20 second blurb answering a reporter’s question about a rumored “gay lobby in the Vatican,” and the comment was wildly distorted to make it seem that the Pope approves of homosexual activity. 🤷
 
Absolutely do not worry! Most of what we hear the Pope has said has been filtered through the media folks who have ***no ***understanding of Catholicism, even the ones who think they do. Pope Francis is trying to tell us something very good, which is that we need a fully Catholic foundation in which we are motivated by God’s love for us and our love for God, Who has done so very much for us.

And I would basically ignore what the media says about the Pope and not even worry too much about what he says. The Pope is important, bit through most of our history, what has the average layperson known about what the Pope was saying? Learn about the Faith, the basics of theology, morality, and spirituality, and then live those things out in your life. Learn the main apologetics lines for important issues that come up, but St Paul tells us only that we need to give a reason for our faith, not be able to win debates against professional anti-Catholics of every kind.

And WELCOME HOME 😃
 
Hi Fin! So glad you are considering the Catholic Church. Welcome, and do not fear.

For you, it might be best to avoid controversies stirred up by the press. I would even avoid controversial threads on CAF for the time being. To be a Christian and a Catholic does not necessarily require us to engage in incessant debates or give creedence to the false interpretations of the faith given by the secular media.

Be at peace, pray, learn about the Faith from the main source. Remain steadfast and cling closely to the merciful Lord and Savior.

The Lord is with us until the end of time. Fear not.

Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Avila123 said:
Welcome.

In addition the the other messages, please remember misquoting the Pope is a crusade for some organisations, especially the media. I would recommend always looking for the source document, even in the most excited Threads at least two or three people will post a link direct to and/or via a Catholic publication to the source document. Pope Francis is on Facebook (just look for the official page). If something important really bugs you, try asking your priest or an Apologist on the Site (and pray of course).

If you really want to know what the stance of the Catholic Church is, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is the book to read. It is available for free online (just search). .

Hope you enjoy RCIA.

May God bless you.
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EXACTLY- always go to the source! Do not base your judgment on what others say, not the news reports nor even your faithful Catholic friends who could be mistaken or taken things out of context. Go to the source and read for yourself the text of the interview, or the entire text of the Holy Father’s letter or speech, or whatever.
 
Fin1983 said:
turning The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church into a bigger and older episcopal church
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To be sure there are those working overtime to making this happen (I don’t think the pope is one of them), but look at things in perspective. There have been crises in every age of the Church. With the exception of the last Council, all the General Councils were called because of some major heresy or crisis. We got through them. Rest assured, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church built on Peter. Our Lord’s promise.
 
To all those who claim the pope is constantly being misquoted by the press, I just want one quote explained. What does Francis mean when he says, “the dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not equivalent.” ?
 
The Church is, and always has been, under attack. The Pope, especially, is ALWAYS under attack, even by fellow “Catholics”!

Anyway, have you read what the man has actually said, in its entirety? I have read enough of it where I think a lot of people have only heard sound bites and have either spun what he said, like in the liberal media, or misinterpreted it.

Recently, the Pope came out with a statement that SALVATION was the priority and not to get overly obsessed and hung up on 2 or 3 issues, since the Church is more than that, that nagging, hammering, and railing is not helpful and could actually push people away. He wanted us to try to attract flies with honey rather than vinegar.

People ran out and began saying that the pope was weak, caving in on these issues! Even the interviewer said it was crystal clear the Pope continued in line with the Church’s position. The misinterpretation continued to a point the pope had to come out with a couple of statements to clarify what he had really said and what he meant, and many were then reassured.

The Catholic Church, and our pope, are STILL in opposition to abortion, same-sex unions, contraception, and the rest just like before! So, try not to let these misunderstandings prevent you from moving forward in your faith.

Anyway, I hope you will continue in your journey towards the Catholic faith. Welcome, and congratulations!
 
Origen52 said:
To all those who claim the pope is constantly being misquoted by the press, I just want one quote explained. What does Francis mean when he says, “the dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not equivalent.” ?
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Not all teachings are equally central to the faith. For example, the dogmas expressed in the Creed are more essential than Marian dogmas. Not murdering is more important than not lying.
 
Fin1983 said:
Hi There this is my first post so please go easily on me. I’m hoping that you guys may be able to give me some advice. Before I ask my question I hope I don’t cause any offence. First a little background. I live in Scotland and come from a very protestant background my father is a minister. I grew up surround with the Christian message and church but I didn’t ever really give it much serious thought until two or three years ago. It was the great spiritual tradition of the Catholic church that drew me back and eventually led to my serious conversion to Christ. In particular is was St Therese and St Francis who I feel were really calling me back. I began to read more and more around Catholic theology and tradition and it seemed more and more to be the truth. Coming from a very protestant background and a very protestant country the thought of converting to Catholicism was very frightening. I therefore did what I think many people do I headed for an Anglo-Catholic episcopal church which I thought would work as a half way house and would be content there. I couldn’t have been more wrong. To begin with I loved the liturgy,incense and music and tried to turn a blind eye to some of the more worrying aspects of the modern episcopal church. However recently this has become impossible and recently culminated in me walking out as a ‘bishop’ who was openly atheist preached and passed out the bread and wine. I saw this as a call from God to finally convert to the Catholic Church and so I’m about to start my RCIA classes at the Catholic Church I have been attending. However I’m feeling really confused and slightly fearful. This has been caused by some the statements and stories I have heard surrounding Pope Francis. Coming from a once holy institution which had its guts and soul ripped out by the liberals I’m afraid Pope Francis is going to go down the same route empowering the liberals to take control of the church turning The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church into a bigger and older episcopal church. Please let me know if these worries are silly. Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post.
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Don’t worry. If Pope Frances disturbs you take John Paul II and/or Benedict XVI as your guide. Pope Frances is inteligent but not an intellectual. But he is a holy man. Don’t let his recent interview bother you. The Holy Spirit has promised to keep the Church free of error until Jesus comes again. But remember, that is only in matters of Faith and Morals. Stick to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and don’t worry about anyone’s personal opinions.

Linus2nd
 
Frist of all,welcome to the Catholic Faith,do not be afraid,for God will give you the strenght you need, and to what the media saids,don,t beleive all that you hear,but if you hear that the Pope is going to speak to the people,then tune in and listen to what he saids,for what he saids come from his Heart.
 
Avila123 said:
Welcome.
If you really want to know what the stance of the Catholic Church is, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is the book to read. It is available for free online (just search). .
Click to expand...
It is HERE.or HERE (where you can choose your preferred language).

🙂
 
Fin1983 said:
Coming from a once holy institution which had its guts and soul ripped out by the liberals I’m afraid Pope Francis is going to go down the same route empowering the liberals to take control of the church turning The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church into a bigger and older episcopal church. Please let me know if these worries are silly. Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post.
Click to expand...
The Church exists to change us. We don’t exist to change the Church. You have no control of the Pope and what he does so forget it.

Your job is to become holy. Holiness is a decrease in sin and an increase in virtue. That is what you should worry about. The sacraments, a prayer life, cooperating with grace so that your life can change and you can become more like Jesus… these are the things God want’s from you. If God had wanted you to be concerned about who the Pope is and what he is doing then he would have placed you in Rome.

God wants you to concentrate on what he has placed in front of you. When you die and stand before Jesus you will not be judged on what Pope Francis did but what you did.God want’s you to be holy so concentrate on that right where you are, now, here, today.

That is my advice.

-Tim-
 
Linusthe2nd said:
Don’t worry. If Pope Frances disturbs you take John Paul II and/or Benedict XVI as your guide. Pope Frances is inteligent but not an intellectual. But he is a holy man. Don’t let his recent interview bother you. The Holy Spirit has promised to keep the Church free of error until Jesus comes again. But remember, that is only in matters of Faith and Morals. Stick to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and don’t worry about anyone’s personal opinions.

Linus2nd
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LOL! Having attended a Jesuit parish for many years, I can count on 2 fingers the priests who were ordained into the SJ that were not intellectuals! Many Jesuits have doctorates in theology and have studied all over the world. Our Dear a Holy Father is also a chemist! Ignatius spirituality is awesome. If you understand the Jesuit philosophy, you will have an easier time understanding Pope Francis.
 
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