What has been the most difficult opposition you've personally face as a Catholic?

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For me, my immediate family. I converted (from Baptist) at age 60 and my parents and sisters are utterly disgusted. My mom actually said “anything but Catholic.” There have been time that it really hurt, but I know that I did the right thing and love the Catholic faith.
 
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My family of origin.
Stuff happened, blah blah blah, I’m the last Catholic standing.
 
My experience is similar, but add family to that. Most of my family grew up Catholic but there were still toxic aspects which showed how superficial the family members seem to be, They don’t even seem to want to TRY being civil or Catholic with each other. They’ve taken each other to court and said the most un-Christian things to each other. My mother was the outcast among her siblings and so I was “guilty” by association with her.

And, about co-workers, the hypocrisy and immaturity of grown adults is unbelievable. It seems like they are so competitive and tribal. They seem to follow Luther’s dualism of a spiritual life dissociated from everyday life filled with all kinds of sin – the premise of the “faith alone” philosophy.
 
Holding onto catholic values at the risk of loosing a relationship.
 
If you lose someone who wants you to drop God they aren’t much of a loss hon.🙂
 
One day somebody judo kicked me in the chest and said that he was going to kill me. Even though this was 40 years ago as far as I know he his still wandering around. I worry about what would happen if he makes his presence known today and what his intentions would be.
 
Other Catholics treating me badly because they don’t agree with my understanding of Church teaching.
 
When I was in graduate school, the paternalistic (sic) eye-rolling from the older generation of feminists who felt “sorry” for me that I still adhered to such anachronistic ideas. As an adult of a certain age, I’m much more confident now, but I have many non-Catholic (no religion at all) co-workers, friends and acquaintances who I am sure roll their eyes and chat behind my back. Among my women friends the main issues would be abortion and “diversity” in all its non-Catholic dimensions.
 
Interesting question.

I think the most difficult opposition has been from my wife, her family, and a couple priests.

My own struggle to be pure is a very difficult battle, however!
 
My family… And myself for letting the opposition affect my spiritual life. I really struggle sometimes with being a good witness to our faith. I do not want others to misunderstand or feel excluded but also do not want to water down or downplay my faith.

Though I am sure many of my friends have disagreements with my beliefs, they are generally respectful.
 
Yes, in America a woman is seen only as “trailblazing” as long as she also subscribes to the accepted positions of left-wing feminism. So if a pro-life, conservative Republican woman were ever elected as President, she would be seen as a sellout to women and not a champion of them.
 
One of the difficulties I see are other Catholics using their faith as a bludgeon to marginalize people, or claim superiority over someone else. I realize that all denominations and religious groups fall into this, but I was disappointed to see Catholics doing it as well.
 
I’m not sure quite where I’d start on this one.

My mother, yes, but I don’t think that really counts. I get the sense that had little to do with Catholicism.

A lot of times the struggle was with other Catholics. I’ve felt a lot of people prejudged situations they really didn’t understand. Sometimes I also feel there’s a lot of pressure to be seen as a representative of this side or that side - for example, if I choose to stay single and pursue a career, it automatically means I must be judging women who stay home with their children. A lot of times it’s just that I’m coming out of a background or situation that others may not be familiar with, and I might not have the same options on the table that other people have (mental illness can really do that to you, as can economics).

Granted some of the latter can be alleviated by closing CAF…
 
In 1989, while at a private, outdoor firing range, a member started harrassing me for wearing a Crucifix. He was a Bible Christian with a reputation for having an intense hatred of Catholics… along with people from among other groups he frequently spouted off about.

He told me to take off my crucifix because it was “making him sick.” When I politely refused, he just snapped. He raised his loaded rifle and pointed it at my face yelling “You Catholics make me sick! I shouldn’t have to look at you!!!” I did not react. I just stood there and looked him directly in the eye.

To his surprise. He looked around to find three other members with their guns now aimed at him. Seeing this, he lowered his gun, started packing his things and quickly left. No one said a word to him during the incident. But we were all very shaken. I was later told he was permanently banned from the range and that if any of us saw him there to call 911. But, thankfully, I never saw him there again.
 
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DarkLight said:
a lot of pressure to be seen as a representative of this side or that side
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Yes–the pressure to be a “poster child” for Catholicism.
I mean, I’m a believer and a practicing Catholic, but that doesn’t mean my life is perfect or I’m perfect, or that I never experience grief and depression.
There is a line of thought, at least in the US among some Christian groups that if you are a believer you will be calm and smiling all the time, and your family will be picture perfect. And the implication is that if things don’t go perfectly or you struggle, that you either aren’t doing the Christian walk “right”, or that unbelievers will look at your problems and attribute them to your belief system, rather than just that we live in a fallen world.
It can be hard to be authentic when you have to be perfect.
 
Yeah. I’ve struggled with trauma and depression, some of it even related to religion. I think for those of us who came out of the more conservative edges of protestantism especially, we can be a bit of an enigma to those who are used to dealing primarily with the more liberal sorts of opposition.
 
this reminds me of two lines I hate hearing: 1. “I was raised Catholic”; 2. “I’m spiritual but not religious”!
 
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