Im no longer going to be a Catholic

[jmcrae]

So the man who administers communion to you can have done, or rather, do anything he wants but it’s okay because God chose him?

His sins are none of my business, unless they affect me in some way.

If I am a victim, I call the police on him, and I could receive Holy Communion from him or even go to Confession with him on the same day that I call the police on him - his sins have no effect on his priesthood.

 

[reteeks21]

His sins are none of my business, unless they affect me in some way.

If I am a victim, I call the police on him, and I could receive Holy Communion from him or even go to Confession with him on the same day that I call the police on him - his sins have no effect on his priesthood.

So you don’t mind if your priest is a child molester as long as it doesn’t affect you?

 

[jmcrae]

So you don’t mind if your priest is a child molester as long as it doesn’t affect you?

How would I even know, unless I were the victim?

One of my favourite Confessors turned out to be an embezzler, but I didn’t know that when I was going to Confession with him - and following the advice he gave me in Confession has never yet harmed me.

His victims called the police on him, and he is now in jail, but this doesn’t take away the graces that I received when I went to Confession with him.

 

[reteeks21]

How would I even know, unless I were the victim?

One of my favourite Confessors turned out to be an embezzler, but I didn’t know that when I was going to Confession with him - and following the advice he gave me in Confession has never yet harmed me.

His victims called the police on him, and he is now in jail, but this doesn’t take away the graces that I received when I went to Confession with him.

I totally understand your point. But if you knew would it make it okay? That is all I am asking.

 

[jmcrae]

I totally understand your point. But if you knew would it make it okay? That is all I am asking.

If I knew, I’d be calling the police, or else encouraging the victim to call the police.

I wouldn’t be quitting the Church, though, or refraining from the Sacraments.

 

[reteeks21]

If I knew, I’d be calling the police, or else encouraging the victim to call the police.

I wouldn’t be quitting the Church, though, or refraining from the Sacraments.

And I agree with you completely. I just misunderstood and wanted to clarify. Thank you.

 

[ChristianRoots]

**I always knew, from childhood, that there was something

too complex about Catholicism.

 

[jmcrae]

??? You just contradicted your entire post by saying this.

The person you were responding to was responding to someone else, but without using quote boxes.

 

[cathopologist]

The 1st century church was “full gospel” the present day Catholic Church is not. There are many, many other distinctions that prove Catholicism lacks the fullness of faith.

The Catholic Church today is the Catholic Church of the 1st century. Her teachings have remained faithful to the Word made Flesh to this day. Take for example, issues on abortion, contraceptives, marriage, etc are still taken seriously in the Catholic Church, in fullness of Gospel teachings. What is your church teaching you nowadays?

 

[liberational]

1. The RCC doesn’t recognize my protestant marriage as valid.
2. I do not believe in the real presence.
3. I no longer believe in auricular confession, nor do I believe it is necessary to confess to an ordained Catholic priest to receive Gods forgiveness.

I also am not convinced that there is any Biblical direction that people must confess to an ordained priest in order to obtain forgiveness.

1. The doctrine of Mary is a theological fabrication.
2. I do not believe the Church is infallible in faith and morals.
3. Outside the Church there is no salvation ( for Catholics).
4. Position on homosexuality.
5. Position on celibate priests.
6. Hardcore position on abortion.
7. Hardcore position on artificial birth control.
8. Institutional salvation.
9. Claim of the Church that they are necessary for mans salvation.
10. Doctrine of purgatory.
11. Mary’s veneration.
12. Praying to Saints and Mary for intercession.
13. No money = no annulment = no chance of re-marriage within the Church. Money = good chance of annulment = re-marriage!
14. Having to obey the magesterium ( aka having to obey powerful, far removed, white old men)
15. Powers that only ordained clergy enjoy, that no one else can obtain.
16. Devout Catholic arrogance.

That about sums it up.

 

[cathopologist]

1. The RCC doesn’t recognize my protestant marriage as valid.
2. I do not believe in the real presence.
3. I no longer believe in auricular confession, nor do I believe it is necessary to confess to an ordained Catholic priest to receive Gods forgiveness.

I also am not convinced that there is any Biblical direction that people must confess to an ordained priest in order to obtain forgiveness.

1. The doctrine of Mary is a theological fabrication.
2. I do not believe the Church is infallible in faith and morals.
3. Outside the Church there is no salvation ( for Catholics).
4. Position on homosexuality.
5. Position on celibate priests.
6. Hardcore position on abortion.
7. Hardcore position on artificial birth control.
8. Institutional salvation.
9. Claim of the Church that they are necessary for mans salvation.
10. Doctrine of purgatory.
11. Mary’s veneration.
12. Praying to Saints and Mary for intercession.
13. No money = no annulment = no chance of re-marriage within the Church. Money = good chance of annulment = re-marriage!
14. Having to obey the magesterium ( aka having to obey powerful, far removed, white old men)
15. Powers that only ordained clergy enjoy, that no one else can obtain.
16. Devout Catholic arrogance.

That about sums it up.

You would make a wonderful Baptist or SDA.

 

[qui_est_ce]

I don’t get it…you mean *besides *Good Friday?

Wow, I admire your strong will to abstain on Good Friday. In our parish, Good Fridays are the best fish fries ever with lots of beer. And then after you get to go to the Good Friday service and drink some of the good stuff, real blood.

 

[jmcrae]

1. The RCC doesn’t recognize my protestant marriage as valid.

Easily fixed, unless you married someone who was divorced at the time.

1. I do not believe in the real presence.

This is probably the main issue.

1. I no longer believe in auricular confession, nor do I believe it is necessary to receive Gods forgiveness. I also am not convinced that there is any Biblical direction that people must confess to an ordained priest in order to obtain forgiveness.

Have you read the Letter of James?

1. The doctrine of Mary is a theological fabrication.

Mary teaches us about Jesus. If Mary did not give birth to Jesus, then did He even exist at all? If she is not Queen of Heaven, then what claim has Christ to be King?

1. I do not believe the Church is infallible in faith and morals.

So, we can just make it up as we go along, and that’s fine with God?

1. Outside the Church there is no salvation ( for Catholics).

Or anyone else, either. Those who are saved without visible membership in the earthly Church are joined to it in an invisible manner that we cannot know, here on earth.

1. Position on homosexuality.

Which part do you disagree with - that it is not a sin to have the disease of same-sex attraction, or that it is a sin to have sex outside of the bonds of heterosexual marriage?

1. Hardcore position on abortion.

You want to kill your own child? (Or you did this, and want it to be considered okay that you did this?)

1. Hardcore position on artificial birth control.

Can God create any human being “by accident”? If not, then what is the point of artificial birth control? And if so, then do you know anyone who wasn’t supposed to be born - whom God doesn’t love?

1. No money = no annulment = no chance of re-marriage within the Church.

Not true - lots of people obtain Declarations of Nullity who had to ask for help with the fee.

Money = good chance of annulment = re-marriage!

Again, not true - just ask King Henry VIII.

1. Powers that only ordained clergy enjoy, that no one else can obtain.

So, you would rather not have access to these powers at all (by asking a priest to help you), than have to be in the same room with someone who has something you don’t have? (Isn’t this the sin of envy?)

 

[qui_est_ce]

1. The RCC doesn’t recognize my protestant marriage as valid.

INCORRECT

1. No money = no annulment = no chance of re-marriage within the Church. Money = good chance of annulment = re-marriage!

Could someone remind the archbishop to send me a bill? I haven’t gotten one from the annulment I was granted 30 years ago. I did have to pay my lawyer for the divorce, though.

 

[jmcrae]

Wow, I admire your strong will to abstain on Good Friday. In our parish, Good Fridays are the best fish fries ever with lots of beer.

What happened to fasting on Good Friday?

And then after you get to go to the Good Friday service and drink some of the good stuff, real blood.

There is no Mass on Good Friday. There is a service of Holy Communion, but it is under the species of bread, only.

 

[Princess18]

Ha ha fooled you…
But seriously, what i want to know is, why do people leave the Catholic religion.
Please explain your reasons why you left…
Thanks
Dolphy

I left for a while because I was poorly catechized. I went to CCD every week and paid attention at Mass, and even my mother to this day has the wrong idea about many things. I paid attention to a few Protestant churches but found the inconsistency to be maddening. One preacher says this, another from the same denomination says something else, one reads the Bible this way, one interprets this another. The idea that God put us here with one book and said “go figure it out for yourselves, and if you don’t get it right then straight to hell you go” just didn’t seem likely to me, so I never really left the Church. I just wasn’t a good Catholic.

I knew that my parents would never recognize my marriage if I didn’t marry in the Church so my fiance’ and I started pre-Cana and straight out the gate I told the priest that I was not a happy Catholic. He asked what my beef was with the Church and when I started listing off some of my incorrect beliefs he quickly corrected me. I made an effort to re-learn my faith and realized that it was what I was always searching for.

For what it’s worth, most of the lapsed Catholics I know suffer from the same affliction. We don’t know squat about our faith, and we mourn it instead of celebrate it. Re-learning everything freed me from my religious prison, so to speak. I also feel that everyone of every religion needs to make a life-long effort to keep learning and studying - if you’re going to be a Baptist or Methodist, then be a knowledgeable one! How do you know you agree if you don’t know what you’re agreeing to?

Happy Friday everybody.

 

[liberational]

You want to kill your own child? (Or you did this, and want it to be considered okay that you did this?)

Your passive aggressive attack is pitiful and I expected it coming from such a devout Catholic, so there has been no surprise.

I was describing this site to someone, and I told them, ’ remember those few really over the top Holy people in your RCIA…well this site is like that, except there are hundreds of those people’.

That was all I had to say and they understood exactly the tone and charity level around here.

 

[liberational]

INCORRECT

Could someone remind the archbishop to send me a bill? I haven’t gotten one from the annulment I was granted 30 years ago. I did have to pay my lawyer for the divorce, though.

Buddy, a Catholic marrying in a protestant Church without dispensation HAS AN INVALID MARRIAGE.

There are no ifs, no buts, no ands…THAT IS IT MAN!

The only solution is to have the marriage made sacramental within the RCC.

 

[cathopologist]

Your passive aggressive attack is pitiful and I expected it coming from such a devout Catholic, so there has been no surprise.

Yes i know. Imagine the nerve! Where’s youtube to censor this site from pro-lifers?

to disgruntled “catholics” over at liberational’s side

 

[Lost_Again]

53 yrs old, raised Catholic, Married to a lovely Christian woman who was raised Baptist (29 years in Sept).

Left the church and returned many times but left for good when I lost my job in '96 and the church kept hounding me for my kids tuition money. They were worse than most of my creditors.

Got involved with a Protestant Christian co-worker in 2000 who got me involved with reading the Bible and ended up in a Baptist church 5 years ago. I love my current church especially the loving, caring people we’ve befriended. However, the longer I’ve been there, the more of a Catholic Apologist I have become. There are so many things that Protestants believe about the CC that are just aren’t so!
My experience with the Baptist faith led me to this site because (as many have pointed out) even as a practicing Catholic who “thought” he understood the Catechism, I really didn’t know, or had forgotten what the CC teaches Vs. what Protestants believe they teach. The main thing I am thankful to the Baptist church for is opening a whole new world for me through the Bible. Its one thing to listen to bits and pieces of scripture read at mass, but reading through the whole bible was like putting the last piece of a 1000 piece puzzle together! All of a sudden it all made sense!

Now when people at our church say stupid things about the CC and I don’t have the answers to “defend the faith”, I come here or www.biblechristiansociety.com and get the real answer.

One of the reasons for my not returning is that I still know way too many Catholics (including family members) who are just going through the motions about their faith. When I happen to catch a mass on EWTN TV, it reminds me of the reasons I left. Everyone seems so dead during mass. Everyone mouths the responses in a dull monotone. Its just sad.

I am disappointed that the masses are being said in Latin again, it discourages me from coming back even more. I’m old enough to remember the Latin mass and how we basically learned the mass by rote. We didn’t know what we were saying, we just said it because thats what we were supposed to do. Heck, I couldn’t make it as an altar boy because I just couldn’t remember all of the Latin. To me this is too much like the Muslim faith who expects their followers to memorize praying the Koran in Arabic even though they don’t know what they’re saying! What a joy it was the first time I heard the mass in English!!!

Another reason…

I still live across the street from the Catholic church we used to attend and it bothers me to see people make a dash out the doors before the mass ends because they want to beat the rush out of the parking lot. Or when Mass ends how these “Christian” people honk and yell at each other as they vie for the quick way out of the parking lot.

When our church service is over my wife and I hang around to visit with friends, find out who needs praying for, its hard to get a lot of people to leave!

Will I ever return to the church? Friends… I wish I knew… I’ve been praying for guidance for some time. The more I listen to the Catholic channel on my Sirius radio, and visit these and other Catholic forums I’m slowly making my way back.

Do I have a lot of problems with the church? You betcha but the more I educate myself on what the church is, the more I am beginning to believe (re-believe?) that I did leave the “true” church.

Please pray for me?