Is it a sin to pray with Protestants?

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MartyrForJesus said:
Don’t see how that would drive off converts…
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Condesencion and treating people as if they are stupid is never a way to win them over.

That whole thing came off as: “Silly you…you ignorant simpleton, your believes are stupid and if you only were a little smarter and better educated you would see the error of your ways you silly little person”.

It’s not a matter of “Oh now that we have the internet and e-mail all those silly uninformed protestants can be fixed”.

Many of us have studied and are very knowledgable about church history and theology. We are not protestants because we are ignorant, we are protestants because we actually have studied and believe it. I have read both the Lutheran and Catholic bibles, I spent quite a bit of my adult and student life studying church history, and I am Lutheran MS because that is what my studies of history and the bible have led me to.

Morgan’s assessment is so simplistic, condesending and wrong it is laughable.
 
Alix1912 said:
Condesencion and treating people as if they are stupid is never a way to win them over.

That whole thing came off as: “Silly you…you ignorant simpleton, your believes are stupid and if you only were a little smarter and better educated you would see the error of your ways you silly little person”.

It’s not a matter of “Oh now that we have the internet and e-mail all those silly uninformed protestants can be fixed”.

Many of us have studied and are very knowledgable about church history and theology. We are not protestants because we are ignorant, we are protestants because we actually have studied and believe it. I have read both the Lutheran and Catholic bibles, I spent quite a bit of my adult and student life studying church history, and I am Lutheran MS because that is what my studies of history and the bible have led me to.

Morgan’s assessment is so simplistic, condesending and wrong it is laughable.
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I can see what Morgan was trying to say, but I agree with you that it was presented a little “bluntly” and could be taken as offensive. However, I have to agree with Morgan that the Catholic Church alone holds the fullness of the truth. I would encourage you to read not just a Catholic bible, but also the Catechism which explains Sacred Tradition. Scripture and Tradition are equally important in the Catholic Church, so if you’ve only looked into one it may leave you with an incomplete understanding of our beliefs.

Here’s a link:

vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
 
Alix1912 said:
That whole thing came off as: “Silly you…you ignorant simpleton, your believes are stupid and if you only were a little smarter and better educated you would see the error of your ways you silly little person”.

…]

Morgan’s assessment is so simplistic, condesending and wrong it is laughable.
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Alix1912 said:
Wow…way to drive off converts.
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"To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant."
–Blessed John Henry Newman
 
I don’t see how that would drive off converts either. If anything keeping the information and suggestions very simple should feel more welcoming (think of the simple, yet delicate and moving writings of St Therese). Usually the people that are offended and feel degraded feel so because there is some doubt in their hearts on their current beliefs. Kinda like when the wife tells the alpha male that they need to turn left, he doesn’t want to listen to her…misses the turn…drives 100miles out of the way and refuses to admit that there was even a slight chance he was wrong.
 
Please stay on topic. Answer the question and instead of trying to make statements about the pros and cons of Protestantism. That’s a subject for Non-Catholic Religions Forum.

Thank You
 
I would say no, unless there are anti-Catholic overtones in the prayers.
 
ProVobis said:
I would say no, unless there are anti-Catholic overtones in the prayers.
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👍

As long as the prayers are theologically correct for us, then there is nothing wrong about it. Many of my family and friends around where I live now are non-Catholics. Many are Evangelicals and Pentecostals whom I get to hang around during Summer and Christmas. I don’t have problems praying with them, so far there’s nothing wrong with their prayers from my perspective.
 
Catholics had better pray with em… there gonna need all the help they can get!!
 
Haha just when the thread was getting interesting it got cleansed
 
Paxvobis said:
Does the ban on communicatio in sacris mean that it’s a sin to pray with Protestants?
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I would say to simply be careful not to make it appear that you are in agreement with their non-Catholic beliefs, or that you are placing Catholic beliefs on the same level as their beliefs. Although Church leaders participate in, and even encourage, ecumenical prayer meetings with non-Catholics, I personally feel uncomfortable with them because of the appearance of placing the Catholic Church on an equal footing with other denominations.
 
ServantofMary said:
I would say to simply be careful not to make it appear that you are in agreement with their non-Catholic beliefs, or that you are placing Catholic beliefs on the same level as their beliefs. Although Church leaders participate in, and even encourage, ecumenical prayer meetings with non-Catholics, I personally feel uncomfortable with them because of the appearance of placing the Catholic Church on an equal footing with other denominations.
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That is a beautiful picture on your signature.
 
Christians are starting to work together out on the streets, through an initiative called Street Pastors. This involves going out late on a Friday night until around 3 am, and coming into contact with drugs, aggression, drink, gangs, rowdy behaviour and some wonderful people too.

It cannot work without prayer, and trusting that God hears and responds to our combined prayers. I feel so blessed that I am able to do this with Christians from 8 denominations, we pray for each other, we pray for the people on the streets.

I am a Catholic, and find a great blessing that people of other denominations are praying for me, and I joyfully pray for them too.
 
Paxvobis said:
And, while we’re on the subject, what is the Church’s position on prayer in public schools?
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We haven’t had it here in America for almost 50 years, but Catholic children and teachers were certainly permitted to participate in public school prayer when we did.

There were religious groups that didn’t allow their members to engage in school prayer- or the pledge of allegiance which still continued after 1962- but it wasn’t us.
 
PatriceA said:
I think you have to be more specific about what you mean when you state “to pray with Protestants”. If you mean to fully participate in other denomination worship services, it might be problamatic.
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Why? What is the theological and/or canon-law basis for this?

Actually, if all you mean is that there are some things in some Protestant worship services that a Catholic shouldn’t participate in, then obviously you are right.

Edwin
 
ServantofMary said:
I would say to simply be careful not to make it appear that you are in agreement with their non-Catholic beliefs, or that you are placing Catholic beliefs on the same level as their beliefs. Although Church leaders participate in, and even encourage, ecumenical prayer meetings with non-Catholics, I personally feel uncomfortable with them because of the appearance of placing the Catholic Church on an equal footing with other denominations.
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I don’t get this. I never have.

Catholics are well known among Protestants for their “superior” attitude. This is a major cause of scandal, particularly among moderate/liberal Protestants (obviously some conservative Protestants reciprocate in spades!). My priest is honestly convinced that Catholics think they are the only Christians. That is surely at least as serious a misunderstanding as the one you seek to avoid.

Why can’t Catholics simply act in a way that reflects their actual beliefs about Protestants? Don’t you in fact believe that we are imperfect members of the Church–that many of our beliefs and practices are right and some are wrong? So why not just participate in the stuff you agree with and not the stuff you don’t?

Edwin
 
If we pick and choose what we participate in then wouldn’t we just be some sort of neo-protestant? Also, by participating in the stuff that MAY be inline with Catholic doctrine we could be allowing demons to creep in through the windows we cracked open. We, as Catholics, already have everything we need…so why go out to other faiths just to pray? Praying amongst other faiths has always been a protestant practice, not so much a Catholic thing. In my experience protestants and liberals like to use the above argument - in order to be a good Catholic you must pray with pagans, buddhists, and protestants otherwise you’re closed minded and possibly hell bound.
 
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