This Question Has Probably Been Asked Before (Converts)

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Hey there! If anyone can point me to other threads relating to this, please redirect me. I couldn’t find any. Maybe I didn’t know what to search for…? Could be that combined with Finals Week Brain… I’m sorry if I’ve cause any annoyance… But anyway…

How many converts out there got negative replies from family/friends you care about regarding your conversion? How did you deal with them? How are things now? I’m anticipating some kick back… I know I shouldn’t jump the gun, but hearing some advice now will help to calm me down…lol
 
I lost a few “friends” when I converted because they were very much against Catholics for some reason (lack of understanding of the truth would be my guess), and there was an incident when my ex-husband came by one night to tell me how disappointed he was in me converting to a “religion that condones child abuse” (again, lack of understanding of the facts). The bottom line is, there will always be people who don’t understand or don’t approve for whatever reason. Pray for them. This conversion is the best thing you will ever do and it is between you and God. There is only one Truth. 🙂 When dealing with loved ones and friends who express negative attitudes toward your conversion, just remember you’re doing this for YOU, not for them, and that people who truly love you will always want you to do what you feel is right in your heart. 🙂 Now, having said that, hopefully you won’t ever have to deal with any of that! 😉
 
I got no negative feedback from anyone, with the exception of one distant cousin. However, if my mother had still been alive . . . well, let’s say we would have had some interesting discussions.
 
My father is non-denominational Evangelical Christian. When I first told him my wife and I had decided to join a church(we had no denomination prior to starting RCIA), be was ecstatic. I then told him it was the Catholic Church and, I could hear his disappointment. I asked him what were his. On Erne and it was the typical, “Catholics worship Mary” or “only Jesus can absolve sins, not a mortal man(i.e. our priest)”. I continued to talk to him and alleviated his fears, mostly.

He is still a little hesitant but, has agreed to come up for our Baptism at Easter Vigil. We have continued to talk and, as I have become more familiar with the teachings of the Church, I have made him a little more comfortable and hope, with the Lords help, he will convert someday himself.

Just be prepared for this type of misunderstanding. It may be difficult at first but, it is SO worth it. Welcome home!
 
My family threatened to disown me and I told them that God would take care of me and be my Father now and wandered around as a homeless person for a while. When I returned they realized that they cannot emotionally black mail me.

My friends thought I went insane because I was such an outspoken atheist and it just changed the night I gave myself to God. I don’t talk to many of them any more, since my conservative values are opposed to their liberal values and I suspect they secretly resent it. I remember the type of things we used to say about conservative politics when we were chatting online everyday before.

Now my friends and family accept it but there are so many things that I cannot share with them.
 
I just let the comments go but oh my, my brother, my brother…

Catholics are woshipping a dead woman (Mary) and there is no value in being in a church this old and it’s way too legalistic and I need to find another church and Papal infallibility is silly and there were some awful awful popes and he will never believe in Catholicism and on and on and on.

My mother has gotten to where she actually attends Mass with me sometimes, but she has to hide it, because her best friend is shocked and horrified that she is doing so.

😦
 
Yeah, my boyfriend’s mom is already starting with the anti-Catholic stuff. She thinks that you have to get circumcised to join the Church… along with the standard complaints. But that one really threw me… lol
I also have some friends who I already know won’t be thrilled, but hopefully I can get them to understand. If not… well, I guess I’ll deal with that when it comes. The one lady in my old bible study has said that she thinks the Pope may be the anti-Christ, and another one has said that “some” Catholics are “saved” (to “comfort” me when I told her my Dad had converted). So… that will be an interesting day when they find out. 🤷
 
First, not everyone may need to know that you have become Catholic. When my husband and I came into the Church, we decided not to tell his mother we had become Catholic. Since we were living in another state, we didn’t feel she needed to know, as we knew she wouldn’t understand and would be hurt. We also decided if asked directly where we were going to church, we would tell the truth. All she ever asked was if we were going to church. She never asked where. Someone else told her we had become Catholic, then they reported to us that she said she disowned my husband. Unfortunately, she passed a few months later. Which means she understands now, and is quite okay with our being Catholic.😃

When my parents became Catholic, my response was decidedly less than enthusiastic. In short, it was, “That’s okay for you,(:eek: )but I’ll never be Catholic.” Clearly God had a good laugh about that.😉
Kris
 
We keep a natural respect for one another. My mom had the hardest time, but she quickly said I should go where I’m happy and learning the most. In reality though, I had to join because it was right to me.
 
Oh my goodness. I officially became Catholic at Easter Vigil of 2006 and I would’ve thought it would have passed by now, but I’m still getting emotional manipulations and accusations from my mother (note there’s a lot of raging guanopsychosis there anyway). Any time she thinks I’ve done something mean to her (I live two hours away and have almost no direct contact outside of FaceBook, so usually the things I do are, um … imaginary…) it comes down to being Catholic. Lately it’s “You’re putting me down because you’re Catholic” or the blatantly false emotional power play “I was thinking of converting until you [something I didn’t actually do or know about her concocting] but now I see what being Catholic is really about!”

In my case it’s mostly an emotional attack system. If it wasn’t me being Catholic, it would be something else (as I’ve experienced the same attacks from a teenager onward, from dabbling in Wicca to becoming Christian, then Pentecostal, and then (worst of the worst) Catholic).

My brother gives me some grief but it’s a totally different strain. He is genuinely trying to understand and learn why we’re so weird (much to his surprise when he hears a teaching straightened out he’ll say “That’s what I’ve said all along!”) but has got some bats in the belfry and gets things mixed up that cause serious theological discussions that escalate to shouting matches. All comes out in the wash, though, when we get calmed down and explain differences. I’ve placed the Green Scapular in his home and am praying to Mary for his conversion. It’s been fascinating watching him grow and change over the last two or three years, since I put it there, and I do believe she’s working on him.

If you run into it, determine whether it’s really a problem with Catholicism itself (or what the person thinks it is), as was the case with my brother, which can be discussed like adults (if loudly sometimes), or whether it’s an attempt to grab at any loose thread with which to unravel you, as with my mother. Either way, prayer for that person especially, and also for yourself to bear up under it and deal with it with patience and love. (I’m still working on this.)

Haha sorry for the rant. It just popped up again this week so it’s been heavy on my mind.
 
Ginger I will recommend a site to research it is gotquestions.org you will find much info on what people will be asking you about the catholic traditions.
 
I have faced some hostility at first, but it tapered of to passive-aggressive remarks.
 
rellanor said:
Ginger I will recommend a site to research it is gotquestions.org you will find much info on what people will be asking you about the catholic traditions.
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This site is not a good place to find out about anything Catholic. The question wasn’t what people will be asking but how people reacted to conversion. I guess you can see this reaction is to direct you to a site that can give you the truth. You might expect that to be the reaction of some. The site doesn’t consider Catholic Christians.
 
GingerWarrior said:
Hey there! If anyone can point me to other threads relating to this, please redirect me. I couldn’t find any. Maybe I didn’t know what to search for…? Could be that combined with Finals Week Brain… I’m sorry if I’ve cause any annoyance… But anyway…

How many converts out there got negative replies from family/friends you care about regarding your conversion? How did you deal with them? How are things now? I’m anticipating some kick back… I know I shouldn’t jump the gun, but hearing some advice now will help to calm me down…lol
Click to expand...
Oh I’m so glad you posted this because I’m going through the same thing. My parents lean more to the charismatic, although they don’t actually belong to a church. I was thinking about my daughter’s baptism, she’s only 2. I don’t think I’ll invite my parents because I know my mother will stand up during mass and start talking in tongues and it won’t be because she’s filled with the Holy Spirit. It will be because she will somehow have to make it about her and get attention. I can’t invite her and it saddens me. I started my RCIA classes just last week and yes people can be negative. I’m doing it because my husband is catholic and I feel that it would help our marriage stay stronger. It’s not a decision I’m taking lightly and it is a very personal one, so why can’t people just back off if they’re not going to be supportive? It’s not like we’re devil worshippers or sacrificing people. Some of the people that are most critical don’t even attend any church or read the Bible. I refuse to let them influence me. It’s between me and God. My soul is nobody else’s business. Hang in there…
 
I received tremendous hostility from my family of origin when I revealed that our daughters would be raised Catholic. My parents vowed to disinherit me if I proceeded and although I have not seen them for many years I am sure that they carried out the threat. I no longer see them and have since also converted but without their knowledge which was a relief. I think that the reaction of my family of origin is very sad and I try to pray for them every day. I am truly blessed to be Catholic and thank God for my conversion.
 
I haven’t gotten any theological grief from friends and family (that I could cope with, there’s plenty of apologetics for that!), most of my friends and family are atheists. They’re not mean, they just don’t get it.

I was an atheist until I converted at 20. I was baptized and confirmed last Easter.

I was never an “angry atheist” (maybe one a few shameful occasions in my teens). My father is, he’s a great guy but basically he’s Bill Maher when it comes to faith. He was baptized and confirmed, but only to please his mother. He would never stop loving me or anything but it hurts when your dad thinks you’re strange or weird. He did go to mass with me once without my even asking to try to understand. He just…doesn’t get it.

My girlfriend was baptized but never confirmed. I can’t really blame her for leaving the church her experiences as a kid. She went to a Catholic high school that exposed her to a lot of hypocrisy among the clergy, including molesting students. She is more understanding of having faith but just sees the Catholic church through her own experiences.

I’m a Catholic because I found God in the Catholic church. If someone has never found God (like me a few years ago) then they won’t understand. It hurts sometimes, to be so misunderstood by those you love.

If you have a second, I would appreciate a prayer for my family and girlfriend to discover God in his church. Thanks.
 
My parents were, and are, rabidly anti-Catholic. I tried to alleviate their concerns by talking about them together, and my mother literally put her fingers in her ears and sang to block my voice out. My mother is rather domineering, so whatever my mother’s opinion is, that also becomes my father’s opinion.

If I tried to suggest resources or people to talk to, they would flat out refuse to consider them. Their reasoning was that any pro-Catholic people or resources must obviously be skewed and biased. Yet they demanded I sit through lengthy lectures from them about the evils of the Catholic Church, complete with leaflets and Chick tracts.

This was all when I was growing up and still living at home. It did not get better once I started living on my own. I have given up trying.
 
My parents were fine with it although my dad was slightly worried that i would be treat differently by other people ,my friends especially the catholic ones were encouraging,the only negativity i got was from a distant relative that was a catholic and told one of my friends he thought i was an idiot for doing it.So dont worry about it god is calling you so it is the right thing to do ,i am quite surprised to see how many people have been treated with hostility though.

BTW:all my family are anglican or nothing so im the only catholic.
 
I am still dealing with this with my mother. I don’t know that she’s even doing it on purpose, but she is very unsupportive and at times passive agressive about it.
 
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