Offended by the fact that some non-Catholics were offended

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Little_Mary

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Not sure where to post this, so mods, please move if need be.

I just need to vent a little bit.

I work for my local Catholic Diocese. In my particular department, there are three non-Catholic employees. All three of them are baptist. They’ve been with us for years. We all get along great as co-workers go.

This year, our Bishop hosted a Lenten Reflection retreat for all employees at the Chancery. We spent a day at a nearby camp. We had a guest speaker. This speaker is a convert from the baptist faith and spoke of his conversion. During his talk, he said a few things that offended the three protestants.

-Billy Graham’s theology was a little “screwy”
-He, the speaker, did not truly know God’s grace until he became Catholic
-The Catholic faith is the one true faith

These three women said they were so offended that they almost got up and walked out.

So, here’s my thing:

Given the circumstances: they willingly work for a Catholic employer whose “product”, if you will, is the Catholic faith, they were at a Catholic retreat sanctioned by their Catholic employer for the purpose of Lenten Reflection which is mostly a Catholic thing…

…I just don’t think they had any room to be offended. At a different place, time, circumstance, or if the statements were directed specifically at them…maybe, but under the circumstances, no.

We are all adults, this is not a big issue in our office, we all still get along fine, but they did bring it up at the next staff meeting for our department, about how offended they were. Nobody really responded, we just heard their laments, and then we moved on to the next order of business.

So, that’s it. Just venting. 🤷
 
Little_Mary said:
Not sure where to post this, so mods, please move if need be.

I just need to vent a little bit.

I work for my local Catholic Diocese. In my particular department, there are three non-Catholic employees. All three of them are baptist. They’ve been with us for years. We all get along great as co-workers go.

This year, our Bishop hosted a Lenten Reflection retreat for all employees at the Chancery. We spent a day at a nearby camp. We had a guest speaker. This speaker is a convert from the baptist faith and spoke of his conversion. During his talk, he said a few things that offended the three protestants.

-Billy Graham’s theology was a little “screwy”
-He, the speaker, did not truly know God’s grace until he became Catholic
-The Catholic faith is the one true faith

These three women said they were so offended that they almost got up and walked out.

So, here’s my thing:

Given the circumstances: they willingly work for a Catholic employer whose “product”, if you will, is the Catholic faith, they were at a Catholic retreat sanctioned by their Catholic employer for the purpose of Lenten Reflection which is mostly a Catholic thing…

…I just don’t think they had any room to be offended. At a different place, time, circumstance, or if the statements were directed specifically at them…maybe, but under the circumstances, no.

We are all adults, this is not a big issue in our office, we all still get along fine, but they did bring it up at the next staff meeting for our department, about how offended they were. Nobody really responded, we just heard their laments, and then we moved on to the next order of business.

So, that’s it. Just venting. 🤷
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I think that if the Bishop knew twho the speaker was, and the fact that he was a convert from the Baptist faith, he could have spoken to these 3 employees and given them the option of not going if they wished. On the otherhand, if the employees knew about this beforehand and still wished to go, they shouldn’t have complained. It’s wonderful your diocese does this. It would be refreshing to hear such a story.
 
Little_Mary said:
Not sure where to post this, so mods, please move if need be.

I just need to vent a little bit.

I work for my local Catholic Diocese. In my particular department, there are three non-Catholic employees. All three of them are baptist. They’ve been with us for years. We all get along great as co-workers go.

This year, our Bishop hosted a Lenten Reflection retreat for all employees at the Chancery. We spent a day at a nearby camp. We had a guest speaker. This speaker is a convert from the baptist faith and spoke of his conversion. During his talk, he said a few things that offended the three protestants.

-Billy Graham’s theology was a little “screwy”
-He, the speaker, did not truly know God’s grace until he became Catholic
-The Catholic faith is the one true faith

These three women said they were so offended that they almost got up and walked out.

So, here’s my thing:

Given the circumstances: they willingly work for a Catholic employer whose “product”, if you will, is the Catholic faith, they were at a Catholic retreat sanctioned by their Catholic employer for the purpose of Lenten Reflection which is mostly a Catholic thing…

…I just don’t think they had any room to be offended. At a different place, time, circumstance, or if the statements were directed specifically at them…maybe, but under the circumstances, no.

We are all adults, this is not a big issue in our office, we all still get along fine, but they did bring it up at the next staff meeting for our department, about how offended they were. Nobody really responded, we just heard their laments, and then we moved on to the next order of business.

So, that’s it. Just venting. 🤷
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Maybe they’ll all become Catholic and not get offended
 
It’s a known fact that R.C. Sproul likes to hire Catholics to staff his office headquarters in Orlando, Fla. Try putting yourself in their shoes for a while and imagine what that must be like.

Most Protestant converts to Catholicism will acknowledge the tremendous benefits they received growing up in a Christian home where they learned about God’s love and where the word of God meant something. Occasionally you get your odd duck who in their newfound fervor for the Truth find endless fault with their former faith. Think of the testimonies you hear from ex- Catholics. I would rather hear them talk of how they treasured the faith of their childhood and realized the completeness of it in joining the Church. Not about the “screwy” theology of Billy Graham or whatever. I think I would have been offended too.
 
Why is it that people today get so offended by views they disagree with?

Christi pax,

Lucretius
 
It is my opinion that the speaker overstepped himself with his negativity. The Bishop probably did not know what he would say word for word. I dislike negativity, but love the positive approach. Just my own opinion. Peace.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
Maybe they’ll all become Catholic and not get offended
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If what the speaker said was true, there is no reason to get offended. Unless they see themselves in the position of the scribes and pharisees and Jesus was criticising them left, right, center and every word is true, uncomfortable, but still true. Truth hurts. But if what the speaker said was not true, they should be offended and given the right to defend their beliefs and whack the speaker.

And if the Church is not being truthful, why work for such an employer. Whistle blow and help us clean house.
 
I like to think that I would (but I know I very possibly wouldn’t) be as ready to stand up for the Catholic faith as those three women were to stand up for the Baptist faith.
 
Just curious, but how much of the Baptist faith do you know in terms of beliefs and doctrines? I recall on yahoo questions or it could have been on this forum, someone asked what church was closest to the Catholic Church in terms of beliefs and doctrines and which church was furthest. I always believed it was the Eastern Orthodox because of shared sacred Tradition. Furthest I thought perhaps it was the Baptists. That’s just personal opinion because I share my faith with friends who are baptists, seventh day, pentecostals, lutherans etc.
So the point is, you would have to expect that Baptists may not find many things in common with what the Catholic Church teaches or believes. There is a big divide in our understanding of salvation and justification. I do agree though that if you work for an organization, you have to respect and be able to tolerate their beliefs. If you want to work for the NAACP, respect African Americans and don’t be a Klansman:p
 
It seems to me that it is almost a hobby in America to be offended, outraged, etc about almost everything. People were far less prickly a generation ago, perhaps because they had more things to worry about, like a world war.
These employees went to a Catholic sponsored event so should expect speakers to speak from a Catholic viewpoint. Should we be more sensitive to others’ opinions? How much more sensitive than the American legal and sociological mindset at the moment? Eggshells comes readily to mind.
I believe we do our best to tell everyone their child is beautiful, their hair looks great, they have chosen well in their choice of shoes; however, we cannot search their psyche for every unrealistic bias, unjustified value system, religious belief etc before we start a conversation. Otherwise, you tend to get over people very quickly…
 
Those baptists could have been given the Grace that they needed for conversion to Catholicism by the speaker’s words. I see no reason for us as Catholics to soften the message of Christ and His True Faith. Besides it is a historical fact that Catholicism truly is the One True Faith because Christ founded it

It is often sad how many non Catholic’s don’t enter the Church because of Catholics not telling them the Truth
 
Sorry about this and share your frustration. I am a nurse in a Catholic hospital. The name is not subtle, and the chapel is just to the left of the front entrance. There are pictures and plaques to honor several saints in the lobby. It never ceases to amaze me that people come voluntarily for treatment and ask to have the crucifix removed from their room (we don’t) or complain about the imagery. What does it take for people to NOT be surprised or offended when Catholic people or entities act, well, Catholic?
 
My sister went to a non-Catholic Church on reformation Sunday so the preacher talked about how corrupt the Catholic Church was and how it has to be reformed, etc, etc. etc. My sister was offended so I can see how the other side can take offense. She only went because her friend was having a 100th birthday party at the Church afterward.

I like the way Steve Ray talks about his conversion. His parents were still Protestants and he says he knows they love the Lord. He includes statements like that in his talks knowing there are probably Protestants in the audience, plus he loves his Protestant relatives and friends.

Maybe a letter to the convert to make him aware how his talk can offend those who are not Catholic in his audience. I don’t think we need to water down our beliefs but to be aware of our audience and who is listening.

Some won’t want to listen to much more if they are put down each time.
 
Why did they go? Unless the Bishop made it compulsory. The can be offended if they like but not sure what they can do about it.
 
Mary_Estelle said:
It is my opinion that the speaker overstepped himself with his negativity. The Bishop probably did not know what he would say word for word. I dislike negativity, but love the positive approach. Just my own opinion. Peace.
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oneofmany said:
My sister went to a non-Catholic Church on reformation Sunday so the preacher talked about how corrupt the Catholic Church was and how it has to be reformed, etc, etc. etc. My sister was offended so I can see how the other side can take offense. She only went because her friend was having a 100th birthday party at the Church afterward.

I like the way Steve Ray talks about his conversion. His parents were still Protestants and he says he knows they love the Lord. He includes statements like that in his talks knowing there are probably Protestants in the audience, plus he loves his Protestant relatives and friends.

Maybe a letter to the convert to make him aware how his talk can offend those who are not Catholic in his audience. I don’t think we need to water down our beliefs but to be aware of our audience and who is listening.

Some won’t want to listen to much more if they are put down each time.
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I agree. Talking down one’s former faith isn’t the best way to go. It’s just plain ugly.

And I don’t see how it was relevant to a Lenten reflection talk. It’s not something I would have expected myself, had I been one of those non-Catholic employees at the retreat.
 
AbideWithMe said:
I agree. Talking down one’s former faith isn’t the best way to go. It’s just plain ugly.

And I don’t see how it was relevant to a Lenten reflection talk. It’s not something I would have expected myself, had I been one of those non-Catholic employees at the retreat.
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And to pick Billy Graham…Billy Graham is just about the most beloved person ever to Evangelical Christians. So many, many people came to a real and personal faith in Christ through his ministry. A man greatly used by the Holy Spirit to call many to a life of holiness.
 
Hang on there good people. The original poster only summarized the speaker’s points, so we can’t assume that he was being overly negative. If you’ve spent any amount of time on forums you know that people can take offense at even things put forward in the most positive terms possible. Truth does that by nature.
 
AbideWithMe said:
I agree. Talking down one’s former faith isn’t the best way to go. It’s just plain ugly.
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Now wait. So you don’t think that exCatholics should go around giving out Chick tracts?

(Just kidding. I know you don’t. :))
 
The speaker did emphasize that he is very grateful to his protestant roots as far as forming his love for Christ.

He was positive overall, IMO, but I’m Catholic. I didn’t find out until later that these three people were offended.

I agree with the posts here that we should not water down our faith to avoid offending others. The Truth is the Truth , even if you can’t handle the Truth.

They choose to work there, they know we are all Catholic, so I’m just surprised that they were surprised. Or as I originally said, I’m offended that they’re offended.

Anyway, I’m praying for an opportunity to speak with at least one of them about it again…charitably…I’d like to invite them to challenge themselves to learn more about the CAtholic faith, and then maybe they would better understand where that particular speaker was coming from.

I did point out that he was speaking about his own personal journey and that he had every right to his point of view/opinions that led him to the Catholic Church.

I also would like an opportunity to turn the tables on them about Billy Graham, because I’m willing to bet that, if pressed, Mr. Graham would say in so many words that Catholic theology is a little “screwy” in his opinion. Otherwise, wouldn’t he be Catholic?

You see, I am Catholic because I am convinced that the CAtholic Church is indeed the One True Church and the One True Faith. If I didn’t believe that, I’d still be searching.

These protestant ladies should, IMO, be able to say the same about their faith…that they believe their baptist faith holds the Truth. If they don’t believe that, why would they be content to stay there?

Just food for thought…🤷🙂
 
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