Rabid Anti-Catholic, Catholics?

[Mike_D30]

My wife and I had our marriage convalidated by the Church yesterday. Afterword we had some family who witnessed the brief ceremony come back to our house, where I had some wine, food for everyone to celebrate.

I guess being in a Catholic Church got everyone thinking about the Church, and what the conversation turned into was essentially a round table of everything that’s wrong with the Catholic Church. From pedophile priests, no meating eating was proclaimed to make a Popes brother rich, pagan origins, I mean it pretty much ran the gamut with anti-Catholic conspiracy theories. The thing is these people were my family and all of them Catholics. My Mom leading the charge, she thinks because she was in Catholic school 50 years ago she knows Catholicism inside and out, and often says the most outrageous untrue things.

What makes:

1. Anti-Catholicism a perfectly fine discussion topic, in any setting, no matter if believing Catholics are present or not?
2. Why are so many Catholics, vehemently anti-Catholics?

I couldn’t take it anymore and essentially told everyone if they can have some respect and not trash the Church I just came back to, and have been working for months to get back in full communion with on the day I got my marriage convalidated. And if they hate the Church so much and its practices just go become Methodists, because that’s what they Catholic Church would be if they implemented all the changes these guys wanted, married preists, gay marriage, etc… I feel bad losing my temper (I didn’t scream or anything, but it was clear I had enough of the discussion topic) but really I was in awe at how offensive people can be without caring when it comes to Catholics. I did tell them I was kidding about becoming Methodists, but if they were half as energetic about learning about Catholicism as they are about trashing it, they could find out 80% of what they were talking about is anti-Catholic propaganda spread by people who despise Catholics, and the rest have very good reasons for being “rules”.

Another quick one is my friends girlfriend once said to me when I was explaining we can eat meat on St. Patrick’s Day because the Pope gave a dispensation. She said “I don’t know who would listen that ******* ***** or belong to that evil Church”, I sat in awe…

 

[DeFide]

Mike_D30:

My wife and I had our marriage convalidated by the Church yesterday. Afterword we had some family who witnessed the brief ceremony come back to our house, where I had some wine, food for everyone to celebrate.

I guess being in a Catholic Church got everyone thinking about the Church, and what the conversation turned into was essentially a round table of everything that’s wrong with the Catholic Church. From pedophile priests, no meating eating was proclaimed to make a Popes brother rich, pagan origins, I mean it pretty much ran the gamut with anti-Catholic conspiracy theories. The thing is these people were my family and all of them Catholics. My Mom leading the charge, she thinks because she was in Catholic school 50 years ago she knows Catholicism inside and out, and often says the most outrageous untrue things.

What makes:

1. Anti-Catholicism a perfectly fine discussion topic, in any setting, no matter if believing Catholics are present or not?
2. Why are so many Catholics, vehemently anti-Catholics?

I couldn’t take it anymore and essentially told everyone if they can have some respect and not trash the Church I just came back to, and have been working for months to get back in full communion with on the day I got my marriage convalidated. And if they hate the Church so much and its practices just go become Methodists, because that’s what they Catholic Church would be if they implemented all the changes these guys wanted, married preists, gay marriage, etc… I feel bad losing my temper (I didn’t scream or anything, but it was clear I had enough of the discussion topic) but really I was in awe at how offensive people can be without caring when it comes to Catholics. I did tell them I was kidding about becoming Methodists, but if they were half as energetic about learning about Catholicism as they are about trashing it, they could find out 80% of what they were talking about is anti-Catholic propaganda spread by people who despise Catholics, and the rest have very good reasons for being “rules”.

Another quick one is my friends girlfriend once said to me when I was explaining we can eat meat on St. Patrick’s Day because the Pope gave a dispensation. She said “I don’t know who would listen that ******* ***** or belong to that evil Church”, I sat in awe…

There could be a myriad of underlying issues, but try to be patient with these folks.

They may feel by bringing out problems, that they’re “helping” the church fix problems, not realizing that they may not have the whole story or that they may have false information.

In other cases, they may be chafing against Church authority much the way a teenager chafes against their parents for making them come home at a decent hour. They may understand in the future.

Pray for these folks, and encourage them to get answers, at… I dunno… say, Catholic.com. If they don’t have internet access, you may be able to help them, by asking them to summarize their question. If you don’t know the answer, or feel that there may be a more complete answer out there, say, "That’s a good question. Let me look up an answer and I will get back to you."

Those may be the best six words in Catholic apologetics. Then, to avoid those confrontational feeling, you can just print out and mail them the best answer you can find, adding in your letter that if you find more, you’ll send it, and tell them that if they have more questions, just ask."

 

[TheRaiders]

I have seen this too. People think because they inherited the term Catholic, it gives them free-reign to bash the Church.
But it really is laziness on their part. They don’t want to read, ask questions and research the faith that defines their lives? That, to me, is lazy. They’d rather accept the nicely-packaged propaganda given to them by pop culture, and enemies of the Church.
Also, in their mind it takes pressure off of them in terms of following Church rules and becoming closer to God, because they can point to all hese negative things and basically say to God “You are lucky I still call myself a Catholic”. But, in reality, it is they who are incredibly lucky to have inherited the faith at all.
Patrick

 

[Church_Militant]

GaK! Mike, WOW! What a bummer!

One of my favorites for this kind of stuff is “Where’d ya hear that?” Most will blow it off with the usual a-C attitude that implies that “Well everyone knows…blah blah blah…” and it’s then that I point out that if they can’t prove what they say then it’s just empty talk.

Some Catholics are going to have to account to God for the trash they have talked about our most holy faith. Do you happen to know who all in that lot still goes to Mass and takes the Sacraments? Ruin your Mom’s life. Give her a subscription to “This Rock” for her next B’day or Christmas. You can say that since she likes to talk about the church that you figured that she’d enjoy it.

Another Idea is to get someone to make up some of those little quote signs that people hang on their walls that has this GREAT quote from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on it.

“Few people in America hate the Catholic religion,
but there are many who hate what they mistakenly believe is the Catholic religion
—and if what they hate really were the Catholic religion,
Catholics would hate it too.”
Actually I’m really proud of you for standing up like that. Sometimes people think we are “fanatics” but you know better than that. I think I’d’ve had about the same to say if it had been me. (And we both know how sadly shy and reserved I am.)

As for your friend’s girlfriend…I’d’ve looked her dead in her eyes and smiled and said. “I would.” and if she didn’t like it, too bad.

There really are limits to the trash talk I believe that we should tolerate…especially the most vitriolic and baseless of it. Face to face many people today think that it’s perfectly alright to disparage other’s religions or politics and then want to get bent outta shape when we call 'em on the facts.

I think that’s key…facts are the one thing that no one can overcome…especially those who are not dealing in facts but only their opinions and/or rhetoric.

Hang in there and think of subtle ways to get the facts to those family members. The rest, just be ready with a straight shot that will win their silence and maybe make them think.

BTW, The Bible Christian Society has about 14 KILLER CDs that are free for the shipping and will equip you better than most folks would believe. they also have study notes online here.
Pax tecum,

 

[richbansha]

There is no such thing as an anti-Catholic Catholic. If you don’t believe in the CC teachings, whatever you are you are not Catholic.

My guess is that your more secular family members think that calling themselves Catholic is all that it takes to be one. You can’t inherit faith, you have to actually desire it. It is a shame that many people who were baptized in the church have had to live in the kind of world that tempts them away from the church from the cradle to the grave.

Unfortunately, this is a Protestant country. We live in enemy territory. Like it or not, we are under seige from every destructive popular philosophy or religion of convienience that comes along. Sadly, the weak will fall away.

 

[Maria3m]

Congratulations on you and your wife’s convalidation.
My DH and I have recently spoken with our priest about doing the same.

Today, I had a similiar situation happen while my mom thought I was still outside watching my children and neice. (Well, I was outside, but the door was open and I heard the entire conversation.)

I overheard her bad mouth priests. She explained (gossiped) about all the shameful things she saw happen while she worked cleaning a rectory for 20 years. What she said was mainly truth, but it was so awful to hear her tell my SIL all the reasons she doesn’t trust one word that comes out of a priest’s mouth.

I said we are all sinners.
Priests are human and sinners just like the rest of us.

I’m not sure the motive behind it when no one even brought up religion. Just something to tell people. To point out other people’s sins so no one will look at her sins? To brag she had an inside view? I don’t know why.

 

[Wisdom]

I find it a common story that many anti-catholics are people who attended catholic school ages a go and haven’t picked up a cathechism since then and proclaim they know more than the pope.
Start rattling off some teachings in the cathechsim, Trent, Vatican 2, papal bulls and encyclicals blow their mind and ask so what do you learn in catholic school again? Most stop learning at confirmation and due to share laziness never develop a mature faith but have a faith of a teenager and all to often it shows bigtime.