Okay, I am curious about the Roman Catholic faith and I intend on asking some people I know these questions as well and I was looking for some honest opinions from you as well. Feel free to pm me if you’d like.
What if you don’t agree with the pope?
I go to see my priest with a list of questions. If I disagree on something, usually it is based on a misunderstanding on my part, but I don’t always see that until I ask what the real issue is. By asking lots of questions, I can see how close I am to understanding what was said, why it was said, and what it should mean for me, the common believer. So far, he’s never become angry with me or told me that I must believe this or that or else burn in hell or anything like that. I like that I am a member of a church that is willing to be on the journey with me. My previous church was very unhappy with questions.
How do you see the roman catholic church growing (in terms of people) with the ever changing world?
It will grow if (and where, and how) it is meant to grow, and shrink if it is meant to shrink. On an individual level, people will accept it or not. I don’t think we need to worry the overall number of adherents so much as the quality of the teaching these new Catholics are given, and our own ability to deal with internal strife, so as to not become swayed by post-modernist or overly rationalistic thinking. Some people want more of X or less of Y without thinking about the Church as a whole, and how their whims might not be in keeping with it. We need to keep our Church whim-free and wimp-free.
Do you believe God can speak to you?
Of course He can. He created the universe and everything in it. He can do whatever He wants. “Will I listen” is the real question.
What do you feel is the most effective way to bring people to Christ?
I don’t know if most “effective” is the best measure. If I bring 200 people into the Church who leave shortly afterwards for something else when someone else comes calling, then those 200 mean nothing because they were fair-weather friends. But if I can show my largely agnostic friends and family that God has infused me with peace and comfort through my relationship with Him, which flourishes in His Church, then I’ve got something special, even if only very few people notice it. So I don’t know how to say it. The best way to bring people to Christ is to bring yourself to Him first.
How do you feel about fellowship with non-catholics?
It depends on what fellowship means. I love my non-Catholic family and friends (who are the overwhelming majority of both camps). I will pray for them always and love them constantly and as completely as I can, to the best of my ability. I will not attend their services, however, and I will not submit myself to their ideologies. I serve only God, and I believe He is present fully in the Church, which is One, Holy, and Apostolic. Absent that definition, I cannot in good conscience enter into worship with just anyone who intends to worship God. What if their worship denies the sacraments/mysteries, divinely-invested authority, or anything else that the Church has taught me? Then I will have to decide who I can follow: these well-meaning people who are against the Church in one or more ways, or the Church itself. The Church will always win, not because its adherents claim it will, but because Jesus told us it will.
