Know any Protestant Catholics?

[reggieM]

I’ve been a fan of Catholic Answers since I was the organist at St. John the Evangelist in San Diego, it was the church that Karl Keating attended and it was exposure to “This Rock” and other documents at the church that helped my reversion to Catholicism, the Holy Spirit was responsible for the rest! I’d returned to the one true Church back in 2003 and I’ve never regretted it.

One challenge though…

We moved to a small community in Washington State and I got involved in the parish and a small men’s group. While we’ve been reading scripture passages and talking a bit about them, I discovered that quite a few of the men are nominal Catholics.

When I would mention a church doctrine as a matter of fact, I was surprised to find that the group, almost as a whole, argued AGAINST the Church’s teaching authority on several matters. And they even defended Protestantism to a degree.

One gentleman pulled me over the next Sunday, right after Mass and explained that it didn’t matter if you were a Muslim or Buddhist, if you loved God and were good you would have salvation. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Buddhists don’t believe in God…There was so much to teach and explain, that there was not near enough time to even start before his wife called him away.

The crux of the matter…I am torn in continuing to attend this group. I was hoping to find Catholic gentlemen who practiced obedience and faithfulness to our faith. But instead I found Protestant Catholics who are mostly ignorant of church teaching, and I cannot and will not keep my mouth shut when a Catholic speaks contrary to the faith and church that Christ gave us.

Should I attend and look for opportunities to evangelize my fellow Catholics, or should I use that time deepen my faith personally, or do some corporal act of mercy? It’s disheartening to have to defend Catholicism to Catholics.

I continue to pray about this, but I want to know if this is fairly common in the Church and how different people have handled this situation.

I would try to find another parish, or start a men’s group yourself with true Catholic teaching as the foundation. I do not believe you’ll be able to change the mind-set of these Protestantized-Catholics. I’ve met many people like that. Actually, they’re more secularized than Protestant in many ways (they pick a little Protestant teaching along with secularism on their way through the cafeteria line).

Most of those kinds of people are obstinate. They really have to be challenged from many sides. They like to go with the majority, and if the priest does not speak out about the lack of Faith (most do not), then it’s almost impossible for a layman to win them over.

I have tried to engage these types of people many, many times in the past. They do conform to a pattern – rebellion against the teaching of the Magisterium, subjective judgement, lack of reverence, belief that they know how to “change the Church”, denial of doctrines, twisted arguments to justify their moral abberations … it’s driven by pride, and that is one of the hardest vices to confront.

Our Lord Himself had to leave some towns where His Word was not accepted. The same remains true for us. There are good Catholics out there who would benefit much more from your fellowship.

 

[qubica]

…it may be good to point out that very few dispute the founding of the Catholic Church by Christ, but rather that it was founded on the wrong principles and/or was later corrupted to the point that reform was necessary. As a Lutheran, I would state both to be true, …However, to say that the Church has had the fullness of truth revealed to it is to contradict itself. Any good Catholic will understand that as fallen human beings, we cannot possibly know the full nature of the truth. It is reserved for such a time as God sees fit to resurrect the body and make us perfect, as He is perfect, once again, restoring us and cleansing us of Original Sin in the most perfect way.

Thanks for the post. I sit here with a smile on my face because you state that very few dispute the founding of the Church by Christ himself, but that it was founded on the wrong principles. So Christ couldn’t get it right, eh?

As far as the fullness of truth…when I post - I do assume that I am posting to fellow Catholics who understand Catholic Doctrine! I came from the Lutheran church myself - Missouri synod. The Church does not believe it has the WHOLENESS of truth, only the FULLNESS of truth that has been revealed by God so far. You are correct in the fact that none of us will know the wholeness of all truth until we get to heaven. But we do believe that the Christian faith is fully realized within the holy sacraments in the Catholic Church infused with the Holy Spirit. We are the bride of Christ.

I am glad you are here in our forums, and I appreciate the fact that you are searching for the truth. May God continue to bless you!

 

[mdcpensive1]

I have been in the same boat so to speak, as you have been in at your parish. In a bible class, I found that many “Catholics” had divergent views on doctrine and beliefs. It was only by discussion and sharing that many saw the truth of what I was saying. It is hard to argue against truth if you have no background to refute it I found out.
Anyway, those who just want to believe seem to me not wanting to find out about their faith and take the easy way out of hoping that what they say is true. One question to ask them is “what did Jesus say on the matter”? And why is your belief different than His?
It is a shame that we believe what we want and hope that when our human life ends and we face God that we were just lucky enough to be correct. It is important to know that Jesus did not abandon us and left us a Church to give us the guidance and Graces through the sacraments for strength for the journey.

mdcpensive1

 

[Janet_S]

Sad to say, but most Catholics I know are like the ones in your men’s group. Even more sad is that a lot of those same Catholics are teaching RCIA to adults or catechism to children.

But I still think you may have the opportunity to be a good influence on them, though it will probably take a lot of patience and time. I watch “The Journey Home” every week, and I’ve heard the testimonies of hard-core atheists and anti-Catholic fundamentalist Protestants who converted to Catholicism. If they could do it, why not a cafeteria Catholic?

Maybe you could get a priest or deacon involved as the group leader. Or maybe you could be the leader. You could include Catholic books on apologetics or the lives of the saints in addition to your Bible studies. You could study the Catechism and writings of the Popes and the Church Fathers. By doing this, you might show them that there is more to the Church than what they thought.

I think we Catholics have such a treasure, but a lot of people don’t know it. And if these men are motivated enough to join a group, they must be looking for some kind of deepening in their faith or prayer life. They probably just need some guidance. Consider yourself a missionary in a foreign land.

 

[rfpapcun]

I have been in the same boat so to speak, as you have been in at your parish. In a bible class, I found that many “Catholics” had divergent views on doctrine and beliefs. It was only by discussion and sharing that many saw the truth of what I was saying. It is hard to argue against truth if you have no background to refute it I found out.
Anyway, those who just want to believe seem to me not wanting to find out about their faith and take the easy way out of hoping that what they say is true. One question to ask them is “what did Jesus say on the matter”? And why is your belief different than His?
It is a shame that we believe what we want and hope that when our human life ends and we face God that we were just lucky enough to be correct. It is important to know that Jesus did not abandon us and left us a Church to give us the guidance and Graces through the sacraments for strength for the journey.

mdcpensive1

Whether Catholics are obstinate or receptive often depends on the culture in their parish/diocese – the more liberal, the less receptive people are to the truth. Among this latter group, in fact, discussion often becomes impossible, because these people have “their truth” which they will vigorously oppose to the Truth. They also believe in absolute relativism in all matters, including religion.

 

[Teflon93]

Yes, there are some “protestant” Catholics, the Church being a hospital for sinners.

As one of my cradle Catholic buddies says, “Once a Catholic—EVENTUALLY a Catholic.”

 

[mdcpensive1]

Whether Catholics are obstinate or receptive often depends on the culture in their parish/diocese – the more liberal, the less receptive people are to the truth. Among this latter group, in fact, discussion often becomes impossible, because these people have “their truth” which they will vigorously oppose to the Truth. They also believe in absolute relativism in all matters, including religion.

You speak much that is true. But Christ has given us graces and gifts to prepare us for all that we encounter. If we are true to His call then He will lead us to those places where His truth will be spoken. However, we must have discernment in order to find those areas where we must “shake the dust from our feet”.

mdcpensive1