Honestly? From one of
those evil liberal Catholics?
When you (not you, personally, Liza, but âyouâ in general and Iâve seen this on these forums) go around talking about how â
those liberal Catholics do the church a disservice,â or â
those liberal Catholics should just leaveâ (well hey, here looks like an opportunity!) or â
those liberal Catholics are ignorant/dumb/etc.â or ask them âhow can they call themselves Catholic?â yet turn around and say, âOnce Catholic always Catholic.â That shuts a lot of people out.
You talk about how Catholics have a responsibility to prevent these âsnatching of souls.â Part of that responsibility is INCLUDING them rather than trying to shove them out.
I didnât see any Catholic do that for me, personally. (Maybe thatâs a problem.) I know I get turned off by the ârealâ Catholics here, or those who continue to have a self righteous attitude and how theyâre ârealâ Catholics. I was apalled at one thread on here where some people felt that â
those liberal Catholicsâ âshould just leave.â
One of the things that I really disliked about Catholics (and I admit I can get this attitude on occasion but Iâm working on it) is this arrogance that Catholics have, even within our own ranks. And then thereâs cut down and put down when people find out how â
those liberal Catholicsâ (and thatâs usually used as PUT DOWN and if it were said would probably be said snearingly) then theyâre told theyâre not ârealâ Catholics.
The only thing that brought me back was the Holy Eucharist. That was the only thing. Not the conservative voting block of the Catholic person. Not one of â
those liberal Catholicsâ either. The Holy Eucharist. Sure, we can help each other, teach, educate, help someone come back to the Church. And it certainly wonât be any of them that kick me out. Even though I am one of â
those liberal Catholicsâ who âdo the Church a disservice.â
At some point, while we, as Catholics, are responsible for our own spiritual growth (and as you well know, Americans - regardless of faith - are sorely lacking in personal responsiblity) there is also the responsibility of the Church to educate as well. Right now, the only thing lacking is in the homilies -
maybe. I havenât been back long enough to be able to tell.
Even when I wasnât practicing Catholicism and I was âout there,â I had always believed that the Catholic Church was the One True Church. Which is why I never joined any other Protestant faith. I remember seeing a bumper sticker, I donât remember the exact wording, it said something like I love you Jesus, itâs your followers I canât stand. And I think that hit the nail on the head for me.
The ârealâ Catholics profess to be sinners and trying to humble themselves before God and Christ yet, when you listen to their language, hear what they say, theyâre being quite judgemental of other Catholics who donât think exactly like them. While I can understand that it is a love for Christ and a desire to be obedient to the Church, well⌠you just canât, and wonât, make people âgo your wayâ when you keep alienating like that.
Iâll give you an example. Earlier someone posted that this âreminds themâ of those Catholics who âonlyâ go at Easter and Christmas and they are âlukewarmâ in their faith if they âhad any at all.â If they didnât, uhm, they wouldnât go, period. I think I remember learning that we only have to go to confession at least once a year. Well, do you really think that someone who only participates those times of year is going to want to listen to someone making judgements about them like that? No. Quite frankly, just because someone goes to Mass every Sunday, confesses every 4 to 6 weeks, does this or that, doesnât make them any better of a Catholic that the one who attends Mass once or twice a year. It just means theyâre are doing more in their faith than the other.
I know this isnât all Catholics, but the many of the Catholics with an attitude like this do turn off other Catholics. Which most likely keeps them quiet.
Another thing I am afraid of is that many are simply easily led away and are very trusting. Also, people are, quite simply, willful.
You know, as I write this Iâm thinking âWhy DONâT Catholics do MORE
on their own of what it takes to learn about the faith?â I donât know. I really donât know the answer to that. I think that so many Catholics, because we grow up knowing that the Catholic church is THE church and that theyâre already Catholic simply take it for granted. Itâs unfortunate to be sure. Itâs spiritual laziness.
But in all honesty, I think whatâs going to happen is people will get turned off by
something, whatever that something is, and then act willfully. Until they Get It about the Holy Eucharist, which I know is the draw for a good number of those who come back and converts as well, theyâll go just about anywhere else where they feel included rather than marginalized. Thatâs where we can start being responsible in keeping the flock in.
Just my :twocents: that I was able to scrape together due to the stimulus package.
