What do you think about these words?

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I found this picture on Facebook while I kept on doing normal FB stuff down and down. Its title was called false ecumenism (by the way I’m not trying to be rude I just want your opinion.)

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Can you see it now I just edited it
 
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In my opinion the sentence is both right and wrong because there are religions that still follows the will of God even if they have not being exposed to the teachings of Catholic faith yet. There are other religions that are heresy against God. For example, Lutherans, Paganism, etc.
 
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Well, there is a lot of truth in the reflection. At the same time consider the time of the Priest and the age of the photo. However, I always keep in mind the words of Jesus, “In my Fathers House There Are Many Mansions”(rooms).
 
Maxwell03 said:
I found this picture on Facebook while script lling down and down. Its title was called false ecumenism (by the way I’m not trying to be rude I just want your opinion.)
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To respect means to have a good opinion of the character or ideas. At least goodness and truth found in these religions is given respect, although the Catholic Church holds that the fullness of truth subsists in itself.

Catechism
819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth"273 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."274 Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him,275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."276

843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as “a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.” 332
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273 LG 8 § 2.
274 UR 3 § 2; cf. LG 15.
275 Cf. UR 3.
276 Cf. LG 8.
332 LG 16; cf. NA 2; EN 53.
LG Lumen gentium
UR Unitatis redintegratio
NA Nostra aetate
EN Evangelii nuntiandi
 
Maxwell03 said:
I found this picture on Facebook while I kept on doing normal FB stuff down and down. Its title was called false ecumenism (by the way I’m not trying to be rude I just want your opinion.)
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It depends on what you mean by respect. If by respect one means it in the sense that you think a false belief has as much good as the truth, then Fr. Micheal Muller is correct, because to give respect, in this sense, is to give glory to what is good. That is to say, to have respect is the very act of recognizing the value of something good. We cannot give glory to a false religion because it is not the truth and only in what is true can we find what is good…

But there is a different kind of respect. You respect a formidable foe because you know the harm it could do. Respect in this sense, is to recognize your limitations. It is good to be cautious because you do not want to lose what you find to be good.

Then there is respect in the sense of recognizing that a human beings ability to express what they believe to be true is good. It is the recognition that people can get it wrong but they have a right to seek what they think is true, even if it turns out to be something contrary to the truth. We cannot punish ignorance or innocence, because there is still a kind of good in what they are doing insomuch as they are seeking what they believe to be true. The truth must be presented to them and the possibility of them knowing the truth must never be intentionally hindered. Also, in the sense of religious expression, one recognizes that what he believes to be true is what is held by faith, and thus there is a possibility that you could be wrong.

The reason we allow falsehoods to exist is because the beings that believe in them are intrinsically valuable. That is true. And since our goal is the truth we must recognize that any attempt to suppress or oppress them could push them further away from the truth because they have not been convinced that what they believe to be true is false. Therefore you would be causing them harm by forcing them to your idea of things. Thus forcing them to believe what you believe to be true is wrong.because it is against their dignity to freely seek what is true.

Of cause, if what is false becomes dangerous to other peoples lives then people have a right to protect themselves. But we can never force people to believe what we believe. That is respect. And it respects what is good - the dignity of other people… Thus it is right to respect the existence of other religions but only insomuch as we respect people’s freedom to think for themselves. If Michael Muller rejects that idea, the freedom of the individual to seek what he or she believes to be true, then his comment is wrong.
 
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You just read my mind! Are you sure you weren’t spying on me when I was trying to reason this out last night?
 
Maxwell03 said:
I found this picture on Facebook while I kept on doing normal FB stuff down and down. Its title was called false ecumenism (by the way I’m not trying to be rude I just want your opinion.)

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
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This is one of the reasons why I give Facebook a wide berth .
 
It’s important, I think, to understand his words in the context in which he wrote them:
We have seen that there is no salvation possible out of the Roman Catholic Church. It is therefore very impious for one to think and to say that “every religion is good.” To say every religion is good, is as much as to say: The devil is as good as God. Hell is as good as Heaven. Falsehood is as good as truth. Sin is as good as virtue. It is impious to say, “I respect every religion.” This is as much as to say: I respect the devil as much as God, vice as much as virtue, falsehood as much as truth, dishonesty as much as honesty, Hell as much as Heaven. It is impious to say, “It matters very little what a man believes, provided he be an honest man.” Let such a one be asked whether or not he believes that his honesty and justice are as great as the honesty and justice of the Scribes and Pharisees. These were constant in prayer, they paid tithes according to the law, gave great alms, fasted twice in every week, and compassed sea and land to make a convert, and bring him to the knowledge of the true God. Now, what did Jesus Christ say of this justice of the Pharisees? “Unless,” he says, “your justice shall exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” ( Matt. 6: 20. )
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Muller held to the view (later explicitly rejected by the Church) that “extra ecclesiam nulla salus” meant that only Catholics could be saved. You can see a bit of that opinion in this essay.

However, you can also see something that the Church still does teach: it’s not the case that “every religion leads to heaven on its own merits” – all salvation is through the Catholic Church, even for those who are saved but are not explicitly Catholic!

Moreover, his next sentence “It matters very little what a man believes, provided he be an honest man” really is part of what today’s culture wants to tell us… and it’s an idea that the Church rejects, too!

One last thought: this wasn’t written last month… it was written in the 1800s. When he says “respect every religion”, I think I would take it to mean something somewhat different than what we’d mean, if we said it today. It’s not saying that he doesn’t respect believers of other religions; it’s saying that he doesn’t respect what other religions teach, since he holds to the truth as taught by the Catholic Church.
 
Wow thank you for the great explanation! Some people in this website are very wise.
 
1 Corinthians 8:5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
 
However, you can also see something that the Church still does teach: it’s not the case that “every religion leads to heaven on its own merits” – all salvation is through the Catholic Church, even for those who are saved but are not explicitly Catholic!
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This is what scares me and confuses me about the church.
 
Since I’m a Cradle Catholic,
I never had the true wonder and happiness -
over discovering Jesus - that others have had.
I more delight over well written Catholic books - gems - etc

I don’t want to spread my butter thin - over worldly philosophies toast.
My time is much too precious -
 
Nelka said:
However, you can also see something that the Church still does teach: it’s not the case that “every religion leads to heaven on its own merits” – all salvation is through the Catholic Church, even for those who are saved but are not explicitly Catholic!
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Why’s that?
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