Stop Labeling Catholics

[Fets]

I see so many dividing arguments over things like Latin vs Vernacular Mass, strict prayer vs charismatic prayer, wearing a cross vs wearing a crucifix,
course when someone’s traditions begin to stray from dogmatic Church teachings we should correct them and call them out. But that doesn’t mean we have to call people heretics for charismatic prayer or for preferring Latin mass.

Idk maybe I’m crazy but to my understanding we have an Authoritative Church that teaches dogmatically on things an permits diversity among other things, and if this Church (Christ’s Church) allows these diversities so should you.

Maybe I’m wrong, I’m open for discussion

I don’t know if you’re naive, but you seem to have listed none of the reasons people might label Catholics. Well, I suppose there are labels for Latin Mass/ traditionalist Catholics, and charismatic Catholics, but I don’t think they divide the Church at all. Anymore than “Eastern Catholic”. Like, do you want the 23 Rites to stop existing? What about Anglican Ordinariates? Its not a bad thing to use these terms. Yes, the Church is very diverse, and these are all diverse brances and expressions of the Church. And all of these people can be fully Catholic, and by that token, Christians.

I would submit to you that the only real necessity for ‘divisive’ labels, is that many people who have been bapized Catholic or who claim to be Catholic aren’t even Christians anymore. So, there are “orthodox Catholics” and everyone else. Every group I talked about in the first one can be orthodox. Just as pretty much all the examples I left in. Nancy Pelosi is not. Its scandalous when people praying outside an abortion clinic are Catholic, and then the people working for the clinic are “Catholic” too. Those are progressive or liberal Catholics. Or whatever. There should be a label for those people. Because they are in opposition to Christ and His Church. They are heretics.

The largest religious group in America is Catholics. And the second largest is ex-Catholics, by far. Southern Baptists have a total of like 15 million. Catholics can be as high as 72 million. But, a substantial amount of that number don’t even consider themselves Christian. They don’t believe in God or Jesus, they support abortion. They’re completely secular, and quite frankly need to here the Gospel. Maybe for the 100th time, maybe for the first time they’ve actually heard it and listened to it.

A huge portion of Catholics in this country are not “orthodox Catholics”, that is faithful, traditional Christians.

 

[Fets]

Right. That’s to say nothing of people who believe garbage about the Church because “Oh, I have a Catholic friend and he does drugs” or “I know a Catholic couple who practice contraception”. Or, more sadly, there used to be plenty of stories of people hearing things from priests who had gone off the rails. “Father so and so said pornography wasn’t a sin” etc, etc.

All of those things are scandalous. So, one way of dealing with that is explaining to people that a dichotomy exists. There are faithful Catholics, and then there are some people who are wolves in sheep’s clothing in the Church. Then there are many people who just don’t know much at all about their own faith, nor do they seem to want to know. These people are not Catholic in the same way that I am, and most of the people on this forum are. They are different from faithful, orthodox, practicing Catholics. So, labels are appropriate for them.

 

[Rob2]

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[Scott84]

Listening to this discussion, I cannot help but chime in and think:

Let us not forget that the early apostles often had disagreements and squabbled. In fact, the only recorded event in the Bible where they all acted collegially was at the Garden of Gethsemane; When they all fled.

 

[DisorientingSneeze]

There are faithful Catholics, and then there are some people who are wolves in sheep’s clothing in the Church. Then there are many people who just don’t know much at all about their own faith, nor do they seem to want to know.

Seems to me like those descriptions you offer are more accurate and less polarizing than the labels being discussed here.

 

[DisorientingSneeze]

Jesus said follow me and that includes following Him into the desert to do battle. Some might be squeamish and that is fine but don’t hinder those who recognize the battle for what it is and are willing to fight.

Is the battle to follow Him into the desert with a label-maker? If I understand the spirit of the OP correctly, it is not opposed to exposing error. It is pointing out how language and tone matter in how we interact (a tricky trick to be sure on this platform without voice or facial cues.)

Exposing error will always be important, but so is evangelizing even our own. It is worth looking into if our language alienates someone before their heart can hear the truth and correct its error.

 

[Joe_5859]

How bout saving lives? Liberals who say they are Catholic and go about the evil work of promoting abortion and infanticide thereby causing confusion.

I still think there are better, more theologically accurate ways to go about it. We might call them “fallen away Catholics” or “Catholics who don’t believe in what the Church actually teaches.” We might even call them “bad Catholics.” But calling them “non-Catholics” isn’t accurate in light of their Baptism.

 

[yankeesouth]

I think we already have a more theologically accurate way for what you describe…heretic.

 

[Fets]

Seems to me like those descriptions you offer are more accurate and less polarizing than the labels being discussed here.

Well, labels can be taken many different ways. Whereas explaining the situation can’t. Perhaps labels are somewhat a product of the internet, “sound-bytes” (even sounds like such a 90’s term), memes, etc. I think there’s a lot wrong with the ways we communicate now. But then again, all the people on this thread wouldn’t be able to talk to each other. So, there are pros and cons.

As you said in your other post, we are called to evangelize even in the Church, and expose error. So, I’m on the same page with you there. You must be a faithful orthodox Catholic. lol.
Yeah, I think to some extent labels also function to put people into camps. And not engage each other. Which is probably made worse by using the internet as the ONLY or main source of communication.

The last point I want to make is that even if we don’t use labels, it doesn’t stop the situation as I described it from existing. Some sentiments on this thread seemed a little naive to me. “We’re all Catholics after all”. Yeah, everyone’s family at Thanksgiving too. It doesn’t mean a lot of them aren’t wrong about things and have crazy views.