Is a person still a Catholic if they don't agree with everything that the Catholic Church teaches?

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While the Catholic Church has never stated that I/others must believe in “the literal fire & brimstone place” for hell, I am just an “everyday person” so I am not in a place to “convince anyone”.

But I must admit I do find a bit odd why some Catholics feel such an attachment to that version of hell, that even when Catholics in high authority such as Cardinal Vincent Nichols suggest other wise, they can’t let go of this attachment?

According to Cardinal Nicholls:

“The image of fire and brimstone and all that has never been part of Catholic teaching. It’s been part of Catholic iconography, Christian iconography, but it’s never been part of teaching,” Nichols said on Friday.

I understand that on one hand you might say “without putting the fear of hell” into people, people will just not care less and do whatever. But then consider the opposite, the only people that are going to follow religion due to fear-factor are the most weak minded - the others will reject anyway.

 
I agree with a lot of the things such as I am against abortion, agree with men as priests, love of God and neighbour, differences in genders, against gay marriage, against gender fluid ideology, and generally a lot of traditional beliefs, I would like to at least think that marriage is forever etc…

The things that make me uncomfortable are mostly how the strict prescription of teachings can make some Catholics become insensitive to people’s real life situations and seem cold. For example, if the Catholic Church doesn’t believe in condoms for western countries then ok, but just say in places such as sub-Saharan Africa if the Catholic organisations have tried to encourage men to be abstinent and chaste, but they still choose to go to prostitutes, sleep around a lot etc - I think what is ultimately worse, condom use or letting wives catch aids and the spreading of Aids pandemics?
I don’t mean as a permanent solution and for everyone to stay as they are, but only temporarily while people are educated and their “consciousness are raised” about non sleeping around.

I also feel uncomfortable when I see some Catholics possessing such loyalty to the religion, like with the mentality as if some club, to the point where it then makes them act opposite to love of neighbor and takes precedence over the commandment.
 
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Rozellelily said:
I don’t mean as a permanent solution and for everyone to stay as they are, but only temporarily while people are educated and their “consciousness are raised” about non sleeping around.
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I think that condoms could encourage sleeping around.

Also, if a man ignores Catholic teaching by sleeping around, I see no reason for him to folliw it on condom use.
 
On the other side, it can be hard for people to change sometimes. For example, in central Asian countries such as Kyrgystan, there is a big problem with injectable drug use and spread of hiv due to depression, difficult life circumstances etc. Some women sell themselves for money for drug, etc. Some NGOs work there and implement “harm reduction programmes” which include giving out condoms to prostitutes, and needle exchange - things which would be forbidden by the Catholic Church. But they don’t just do those things alone. They do it in conjunction with trying to help the individuals get off drugs, feel better in life and within themselves etc to not need drugs (and the means to get them).

I think if they just did “harm reduction” alone, it would be a disaster and keeping people as “slaves” to their addictions. Like what has happened with the methadone programme; which imo is a bit of a disaster as instead of a “step down thing”, for many drug addicts it just ended up exchanging one type of drug addiction for another.
But because these NGOs do the programmes in conjunction with changing the persons life and outlook, I think they are good-hearted.

If someone is so lost in their way and their addiction, that they are going to go prostitute that night, isn’t it better that they use condom than not use it?

Like mentioned, many men may still not even follow through with condom use, because sometimes some men do not respect life itself, but I think often women do follow through.
 
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There’s a huge difference between having a disagreement or a different veiw.

Views are just that views… Personal opinions.

But to strongly disagree is to challenge a ruling.

300 yrs ago if you went to certain parts of USA there was slavery. Was it right?

When the King of England could not receive the blessing of the Pope was he right?

300 years ago if I asked is it right for slavery they would yell yes!!

Asking The King Of England was he right, he’d likewise yell yes!!!

But both was wrong and against Jesus teaching.

So you need to back the church or decide what’s best for our own opinion.
 
My guess is the majority of ordinary American catholics privately disagree with certain teachings of the church but they simply keep it to themselves. I know I fell into this group for a long time. If every catholic who disagreed (privately) with any teaching of the church was excommunicated the church membership would immediately shrink considerably. Proof of this is the statistic that over 80% of American catholic women have used ABC at some point in their lives.
 
Totally agree.

Sadly more and more are voicing their opinions and rejecting the 1st teachings.

And now the oriningal teachings are being disolved by humans.
 
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This thread reminds me of a book I read a few years ago:

Why You Can Disagree and Remain a Faithful Catholic, by Philip S. Kaufman.

Philip Kaufman was a Benedictine monk of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville for 65 years, and apparently found a way to disagree and remain a faithful Catholic.
 
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Sorry but I am not quite following what the difference is between personal view vs disagreement?
Also, which original teachings are now being dissolved by which humans?
 
the difference is this: if in a conversation with a priest you disagree, out loud, with a catholic teaching, that is disagreement. On the other hand if, in your own mind, you decide that a particular teaching is wrong, but you keep it to yourself, that is a personal view.
do you understand now?
 
davidharper said:
the difference is this: if in a conversation with a priest you disagree, out loud, with a catholic teaching, that is disagreement. On the other hand if, in your own mind, you decide that a particular teaching is wrong, but you keep it to yourself, that is a personal view.
do you understand now?
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I’m confused.

Are you suggesting that Catholics who internally “decide that a particular teaching is wrong” should “keep it to [themselves]” and not alert their priest to their situation?

Personally I think it’s better for people to speak up about what they disagree with, because only when things are brought into the open can they be dealt with. Hiding our problems doesn’t make them go away, it just prevents others from helping us. I’d include the problem of ‘confusion’ in this.

Bonus problem is that problems hidden under the surface tend to multiply. Far, far better to deal with everything in the light.
 
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christofirst said:
Why You Can Disagree and Remain a Faithful Catholic, by Philip S. Kaufman.

Philip Kaufman was a Benedictine monk of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville for 65 years, and apparently found a way to disagree and remain a faithful Catholic.
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What did he disagree about?

Because surely there’s a difference between, say, disagreeing about whether suspending the discipline of meatless Fridays is a good idea, versus disagreeing about whether Jesus is the Son of God.
 
My disagreements are not a “problem” nor do they require any ones “help”. Nor are they “confusion”. They are carefully considered and sincerely arrived at convictions.
The only confusion is in the idea that every catholic teaching is infallible.
 
davidharper said:
My disagreements are not a “problem” nor do they require any ones “help”. Nor are they “confusion”. They are carefully considered and sincerely arrived at convictions.
The only confusion is in the idea that every catholic teaching is infallible.
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Oh I see – my apologies, I didn’t notice you marked ‘Religion: None’ on your profile. I only saw your most recent comment to another user and somehow interpreted it that you were a Catholic trying to help a dissenter (and what you said seemed not like Catholic advice – which makes sense now that I realize you aren’t Catholic!)
 
I was catholic for far longer than you have been. I was raised in the catholic church. I attended catholic grammar school (St. Pascals in Chicago). I attended catholic high school (St. Patrick’s in Chicago). I was married in the catholic church. But I never stopped thinking for myself. No small feat considering my upbringing.
 
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