How does one defend the Catholic faith in these situations?

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thereseozi

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I live in the Archdiocese of Detroit where Archbishop Vigneron recently made statements upholding the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding gay marriage and Holy Communion. Today in the Detroit Free Press I read two letters supporting the Archbishop the rest of the letters were filled with negativity, anger, etc. against the Archbishop including a letter from a nun! How does a faithful Catholic respond in defense of the Catholic faith? I feel overwhelmed and wish I could make each person who wrote against the Archbishop to understand and realize the Truth. Why don’t more faithful Catholics submit letters? Has it come to this? Will it be as Pope Emeritus Benedict stated that only a few faithful Catholics will remain? Here is a link to the Detroit Free Press letters:
freep.com/article/20130414/OPINION04/304140022/Catholic-Communion-gay-marriage-Archbishop-Vigneron
 
I didn’t read the letters, but one thing I would do if this I came across something like this in my local paper. That being me writing a letter of my own. I once heard something along the lines of “The bad will suceed when the good do nothing.” We can’t wait around for someone ele to do something. You saw these letters, have you written one of your own?
 
Christy_Beth said:
I didn’t read the letters, but one thing I would do if this I came across something like this in my local paper. That being me writing a letter of my own. I once heard something along the lines of “The bad will suceed when the good do nothing.” We can’t wait around for someone ele to do something. You saw these letters, have you written one of your own?
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I always send letters because I just can’t sit back and do nothing and yes, I already sent a letter regarding this as well. I am always fighting for the Catholic faith. What saddens me so much is there were only two letters in support of the Archbishop with the rest being against him. I wanted to know how other faithful Catholics respond when they come across these types of situations. It worries me that we are going to be outnumbered. And by the way, you could follow the link I posted and submit your own comment in defense of the faith online.
 
thereseozi said:
I always send letters because I just can’t sit back and do nothing and yes, I already sent a letter regarding this as well. I am always fighting for the Catholic faith. What saddens me so much is there were only two letters in support of the Archbishop with the rest being against him. I wanted to know how other faithful Catholics respond when they come across these types of situations. It worries me that we are going to be outnumbered.
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I have always believed that “those that scream the loudest are heard” Thus we need to as faithful Catholics write letters as well. The problem that comes into play is when we have no control over what is published. Here in liberalvill University town you can forget
getting a letter published that is “too conservative” for their readership.
 
MaryT777 said:
I have always believed that “those that scream the loudest are heard” Thus we need to as faithful Catholics write letters as well. The problem that comes into play is when we have no control over what is published. Here in liberalvill University town you can forget
getting a letter published that is “too conservative” for their readership.
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That was my concern as well. I asked the question in my letter if what The Detroit Free Press printed was a true representation of the letters they received.

We’re supposed to have free speech in this country, but conservative voices don’t seem to be heard.
 
It is very frustrating indeed. Especially when nuns and those of our faith go against the Church. I’m afraid I don’t have any reassuring words for you since some polls show that the majority of Catholics do support SSM. So as you have correctly stated, we probably are outnumbered. And I can appreciate your concern. But rest assured, He is still in control! And you can bank on that. Things could get a bit rough for our Church. But always remember what He promised…That the gates of hell shall not prevail against her!

Peace, Mark
 
The people writing the complaints won’t be reasoned with by logic. It isn’t until they open their hearts that they will understand why the Church holds views She does. Simply put, regardless of what they say, the people are following the will of the world and not of God. While Christ called everyone to the table, he also called them to sin no more.

The group he took issue with the most were those who believed they were righteous and in no need of salvation. As Archbishop Sheen once wrote, “He who makes light of sin will make light of forgiveness. He who makes light of really serious wounds will never appreciate the power of the physician.”
 
Christy_Beth said:
I didn’t read the letters, but one thing I would do if this I came across something like this in my local paper. That being me writing a letter of my own. I once heard something along the lines of “The bad will suceed when the good do nothing.” We can’t wait around for someone ele to do something. You saw these letters, have you written one of your own?
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👍

The beautiful thing about Vatican II is that it has given the laity the ability to speak up about matters of the faith. Even if it is a nun who is speaking un-truths we can (and should) charitably defend the Bride of Christ:

"According to their knowledge, competence and prestige which they possess, [the Christian faithful] have the right and even at the times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful"
  • Canon Law 212 Section 3
Even if it seems like our comments are being drowned in a sea of angry, hateful posts, our messages will shine all the more brighter to those who are seeking the Truth.
 
Yes, it’s up to us as individuals to respond when our faith is denigrated in a public forum, assuming we have the necessary skills and knowledge to do so. However, the liberal media will cherry pick and use the information they most agree with most of the time. They have an agenda and please keep that in mind. Yes, it is sad that our faith is challenged and maligned more and more in the world today. It is the devil at work, to be sure. However, keep in mind that times like these have come and gone before. We are called to be faithful and to evangelize as we can. We are not responsible for the actions of those who oppose us. Pray for them and thank God for your own grace and faith. If society could kill Jesus Christ, don’t expect that these days will be much better concerning our faith. Many of us are answering back, keep that in mind. if I were you, I’d spend more time reading Catholic publications and watching Catholic TV. it eliminated a lot of stress for me and also helped increase my knowledge so that I can respond when needed.
 
Thank you so much for all your replies which helped me realize that sometimes I get too emotional and fail to look at the big picture. I’ll be better prepared in the future! Thanks also for relieving my stress with your encouraging words! 🙂
 
What youre talking about here is exactly the kind of thing that causes me a ton of stress too, to the point that it often interferes with my faith. I have to be careful about reading these kinds of things too. I think we should be as involved as we can be, by writing letters and such, but if its causing problems with your faith, it may be best to step away for a time for some perspective.

I’ll pray for you, hope you feel better 🙂
 
thereseozi said:
I always send letters because I just can’t sit back and do nothing and yes, I already sent a letter regarding this as well. I am always fighting for the Catholic faith. What saddens me so much is there were only two letters in support of the Archbishop with the rest being against him. I wanted to know how other faithful Catholics respond when they come across these types of situations. It worries me that we are going to be outnumbered. And by the way, you could follow the link I posted and submit your own comment in defense of the faith online.
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The disciples were vastly outnumbered. What should sadden us is not being ‘outnumbered,’ but that people allow their minds & souls to be corrupted. But they aren’t beyond redemption, any more than any convert was . . . “For such were some of you,” St. Paul wrote, “but now you are washed”.

Thank God that He gives you the grace of living in a time when we have to stand forth & stand out to defend the truth, rather than in a time when we could simply coast along and think that our souls were in good shape because we weren’t too bad. We all must be filled with charity & firmness in this time – and we must never give in to the devil’s temptation to despair or self-pity or depression: it’s a grace to be subject to obloquy, as long as we suffer for Christ as Christ.
 
Thank you for the continued replies… great insights! This has been truly helpful to me!
 
The problem with defending our Faith,is because the priest don,t speak about it to much at Mass being a priest, he should defend our Faith as cathoilces.What is needed is for someone to ask the priest if you could talk up front to the people at Mass. I try to and the priest said no. the only people that are allow to talk are missioares priest and nuns that come from place that help the poor out. It is sad,but what can we do. Plus people shouldn,t Judge others.
 
thereseozi said:
Thank you so much for all your replies which helped me realize that sometimes I get too emotional and fail to look at the big picture. I’ll be better prepared in the future! Thanks also for relieving my stress with your encouraging words! 🙂
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It is hard to hear the horrible things said about our Beloved Church. But we must never respond in kind. Once we can set aside our emotional states of anger, fear and frustration we will be able to respond with firmness and kindness.

The Church is telling the truth. We must have faith that, although the Church may be headed for some really rough times, She will be strengthened because of that. Remember, our popular culture has existed for about 100 years, the Church will be around forever and has seen far worse persecution. As Blessed Pope John Paul II said, “Do not be afraid”. Isn’t it remarkable but that is just what Christ said.
 
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