What is your definition of Fanatical Catholic?

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distracted said:
I don’t think there is such a thing. 😃
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A fanatical Catholic is one who takes his faith so seriously that it puts the religious practices of others to shame and reveals them for the shallow efforts that they are.
 
distracted said:
I don’t think there is such a thing. 😃
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There are a couple of dozen of those nuts who used to be found howling and screaming outside my local Planned Parenthood – harassing and threatening people who were going for medical advice. They were standing shoulder to shoulder with the handful of “fanatical Mormons” and the fifty or so “fanatical evangelicals”.

Those of us who volunteered inside the building were the normal Catholics, Mormons, and Evangelical Christians, and we often chuckled at our less stable brothers and sisters with the Catholic doctor and Jewish nurse who volunteered to help these women and young families.

That’s just one example.
 
A fanatical Catholic is one who identifies themselves as a Catholic before they identify themselves as a Christian and do not have a well developed moral conscience outside of what the church teaches. In other words, the understanding of what Jesus meant is measured against what the church teaches rather than on the consideration of what Jesus actually would have done.

This is not to disparage the goodness and truth of the churches’ teachings, rather it is to point out that as Catholics we are called to embrace principles and apply them to life, not just blindly follow rules…which leads to fanaticism.
 
Any fanatic will lie to themselve and to others in order to maintain their rigid belief system.

Fanatics need to follow blindly. Even when their leader is proved wrong and/or morally corrupt, they will continue to follow that leader.

Fanatics are not found only in religion. Fanatics are found in all walks of society.
 
can’t say I’ve ever known a Catholic i would actaully consider to be a “fanatical Catholic.” Maybe it is all in the definition you accept of “fanatic.”

LaMar’s definition doesn’t match my own experience as one who has done duty outside of a PP clinic. Seems to me the fanatics were the ones driving by shooting the finger at us and throwing debris, while all we were doing was standing on the sidewalk praying the Rosary. I have never observd the “howling and screaming” and certainly never any “harrassing and threatening” on the part of us protesters. maybe this is a utah thing. And BTW I have never known a mormon anti abortion demonstartor. Been looking for them, too. Never seen one. It’s been all Catholics and protestants. Mostly Catholics.
 
distracted said:
I don’t think there is such a thing. 😃
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A fanatic is someone who disregards reason and natural law in obedience to what he or she considers to be divinely revealed truth. Whenever someone says, “Yes, that would normally be wrong, but God has told me to do it, so it is OK”–that person is a fanatic.

Because Catholicism emphasizes natural law, it is relatively less likely to produce fanatics than, say, fundamentalist Protestantism. But it’s produced a good few none the less.

Edwin
 
A fanatical Catholic is one who identifies themselves as a Catholic before they identify themselves as a Christian and do not have a well developed moral conscience outside of what the church teaches. In other words, the understanding of what Jesus meant is measured against what the church teaches rather than on the consideration of what Jesus actually would have done.
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I never identify myself as a Christian - always as a Catholic. The reason I do this is because I am aware that my Catholic faith is the fullest, truest expression of the Christian faith. I am a Christian, but I am part of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church headed by the successor of St Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. For this reason, I always identify myself with this faith. “Christian” is a broad generic term that is shared by many faiths including non-trinitarians such as the Mormons and JW’s. I am part of the wider Christian community but I am a Catholic first and foremost prayerfully waiting for the day when all Christians will be united under the leadership of the Roman Pontiff.

Also,

The way to achieve a “well developed moral conscience” is by having faith in what the Church teaches. I believe that the Church is infallably correct in matters of faith and morals. I know that my “moral conscience” is incorrect when it conflicts with the teachings of the Church. By submitting through faith to the teaching authority of the Magisterium, I know that I will continue to develop a good moral conscience.

That being said, I agree that we should always consider what Jesus would have done. However, we should measure our decisions by what the Church teaches. For example, Jesus would never have told a woman to get an abortion, no matter how much my individual conscience tries to convince me that he would have. The teachings of the Church show us what Jesus would have done.
A fanatical Catholic is one who follows the teachings of the Church to the letter but neglects other important aspects of the faith such as love. A fanatic will fight against the evils of abortion but will behave in a hateful manner towards the abortionist and his staff. This is not the way Christ would have behaved. If Christ were physically present in the world today, there is a strong chance that he would be sitting having dinner with an abortionist right now. I think fanatical Catholics are a lot like the Pharisees. They tried to follow the Torah to the letter but did so without love. Just like many fanatical Catholics.
 
LaMar said:
There are a couple of dozen of those nuts who used to be found howling and screaming outside my local Planned Parenthood – harassing and threatening people who were going for medical advice. They were standing shoulder to shoulder with the handful of “fanatical Mormons” and the fifty or so “fanatical evangelicals”.

Those of us who volunteered inside the building were the normal Catholics, Mormons, and Evangelical Christians, and we often chuckled at our less stable brothers and sisters with the Catholic doctor and Jewish nurse who volunteered to help these women and young families.

That’s just one example.
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Um…I’m Jewish and I regularly volunteer outside the local abortuary to try to dissuade women from abortions. Its not only “fanatical Catholics” who oppose abortion. Many non-Catholics do too…jewsforlife.org

(PS: I wrote a few of the articles on that site. 😉
 
I have never heard of the term, but if I can define a fanatical Catholic, We all are to the world. For one We eat the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, now to the world that is fanatical, Some of our saints even went to their deaths professing their belief in the true presence. How fanatical is the Catholic who goes to his death singing and joyful for his Catholic beliefs to be martyred for them. How fanatical is the Catholic who joyfully sacrifices his or her life for another, even though the Catholic did no wrong. I can answer why these Catholics are fanatics, because they have the promise from God himself life Eternal, so what is this life, but to proclaim Jesus and live as Christ. How fanatical is the Catholic who dies to himself in baptismal waters and changes live for others as Jesus Christ commands us. How fanatical is the Catholic who gets shot, from someone with intent to kill him, and then, go visit his murder attempter in prison and forgive him, love him and pray for him, hug and kiss him. How much more of a fanatical Catholic are we to love our enemies as our master loved us. Yes I am a fanatical Catholic thank you.
 
CarolsDaughter said:
Um…I’m Jewish and I regularly volunteer outside the local abortuary to try to dissuade women from abortions. Its not only “fanatical Catholics” who oppose abortion. Many non-Catholics do too…jewsforlife.org

(PS: I wrote a few of the articles on that site. 😉
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It’s not just abortions. Most of the people seen in the clinic (at least when I was there) were kids and young families, who didn’t have medical insurance, and needed prescriptions.

In any event, I respect differing opinions. I just didn’t like the phony threats that were phoned in and shouted, or the harassment of people who were doing nothing more than going to see their gynecologist. I’m sure you’re probably respectful, but many are quite hateful and downright frightening.
 
LaMar said:
It’s not just abortions. Most of the people seen in the clinic (at least when I was there) were kids and young families, who didn’t have medical insurance, and needed prescriptions.

In any event, I respect differing opinions. I just didn’t like the phony threats that were phoned in and shouted, or the harassment of people who were doing nothing more than going to see their gynecologist. I’m sure you’re probably respectful, but many are quite hateful and downright frightening.
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The problem is, its hard to know what someone is going in for. At the abortuary near me, abortions are done on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so we can be reasonably sure if someone goes in then, that’s what its for since routine medical care is done on other days. The timing is important too—the earlier in the AM they go in, the more likely its for an abortion.

Those of us who have been sidewalk counselors outside abortuaries get to know this kind of thing after a long time doing it. Newbies might make mistakes, but we rarely do.
 
CarolsDaughter said:
The problem is, its hard to know what someone is going in for. At the abortuary near me, abortions are done on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so we can be reasonably sure if someone goes in then, that’s what its for since routine medical care is done on other days. The timing is important too—the earlier in the AM they go in, the more likely its for an abortion.

Those of us who have been sidewalk counselors outside abortuaries get to know this kind of thing after a long time doing it. Newbies might make mistakes, but we rarely do.
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Come on. Calling it “abortuary” is not fair. You know that.

Don’t you think the women, including Catholic, Jewish and Mormon women, can go see a doctor without being bothered?

I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t like the concept of abortion. At the same time, it’s the end result of living in a society which is so riddled with social and economic injustice.

It’s really a horrible, heart wrenching choice. The women who are forced to get an abortion have, to the very last one, considered all their options and have come to their own conclusions. They aren’t doing it in a manner which is cavalier, or simply using it as birth control. They already know what they’re doing. People who scream at them on the street, or phone in bomb threats, are not living in the compassionate way that Jesus would have taught. Jesus loved the individual.

If you really want to end all abortions, then the thing to do is institute a guarantee of a good life for children. People talk about “right to life”, but until we agree that it needs to be a “right to a great life” then we are in no position to judge.
 
LaMar said:
Come on. Calling it “abortuary” is not fair. You know that.

Don’t you think the women, including Catholic, Jewish and Mormon women, can go see a doctor without being bothered?

I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t like the concept of abortion. At the same time, it’s the end result of living in a society which is so riddled with social and economic injustice.

It’s really a horrible, heart wrenching choice.
Yeah too bad the child doesn’t get that choice.
The women who are forced to get an abortion have, to the very last one, considered all their options and have come to their own conclusions.
The women who make these choices to KILL their child is uninformed and those who work or volenteer at the Abortion Mills (like PP) are all to eger to help them down that horrible road. They aren’t doing it in a manner which is cavalier, or simply using it as birth control.
That is not what the stats say. The majority of muders happen to white middle class married women with children. They already know what they’re doing. People who scream at them on the street, or phone in bomb threats, are not living in the compassionate way that Jesus would have taught. Jesus loved the individual.
You keep saying that people are shouting to them on the phone and threating bombs? We both know that this is not true.
If you really want to end all abortions, then the thing to do is institute a guarantee of a good life for children.
Come on how old are you? Has your life been perfect? If not should we opt to kill you? Life is not perfect, and anyone who is trying to sell you that bag of cr** is lying.People talk about “right to life”, but until we agree that it needs to be a “right to a great life” then we are in no position to judge.
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What ever that means.
 
St. Lucy,

I appreciate your opinions, but very little about your response is true.

I volunteered at a women’s clinic for almost two years, but it was not regular. I was on a list of people who would be called in about once a month, so that nobody had to do too much “duty” in such a negative atmosphere. In total, I probably did no more than 100 hours.

At no time did I ever see anyone counseled or encouraged to do anything they didn’t want to do, and I do not for a second accept the notion that women are forced to get abortions. In every case, the individuals and families were given all the facts and encouraged to take their time and come to decisions for themselves.

One of the physicians who volunteered during the time I volunteered was a devout and believing Roman Catholic, and I can not believe that he would ever have encouraged someone to get an abortion she didn’t feel was absolutely necessary. Neither as a doctor, nor as a Catholic. He simply respected the wishes of his patients and put his own ethics and respect for the humanity of the people he served above the dogma of the people outside.

I’m a big guy and at that time I lifted weights and I guess I looked a little scary. Most of my volunteer time was as an escort, dealing directly with the demonstrators. I could simply not believe the behavior of the “Christians” and “Mormons” who would congregate outside, behaving in some of the most vile and horrible ways.

I simply can not conceive of Jesus, St. Paul, Mother Theresa or Dr. Maimonides doing and saying what was commonly done and said outside my local clinic. It was an absolutely incredible experience. Most pathetic was the fact that my clinic was in one of the most liberal parts of the country, and people doing my job in the American South had to deal with their own children being assaulted at school, being shot at, or being fired from their regular jobs, or any number of other acts of terrorism.

In a way it was a very valuable experience, in that it let me see the dark side of religion, and was motivation for me to reconstruct my own traditions into something that puts human beings above dogma.
 
LaMar said:
St. Lucy,

I appreciate your opinions, but very little about your response is true.
And very little of what you say is true about what goes on during the sidewalk counseling
I volunteered at a women’s clinic for almost two years, but it was not regular. I was on a list of people who would be called in about once a month, so that nobody had to do too much “duty” in such a negative atmosphere. In total, I probably did no more than 100 hours.

At no time did I ever see anyone counseled or encouraged to do anything they didn’t want to do, and I do not for a second accept the notion that women are forced to get abortions. In every case, the individuals and families were given all the facts and encouraged to take their time and come to decisions for themselves.

One of the physicians who volunteered during the time I volunteered was a devout and believing Roman Catholic, and I can not believe that he would ever have encouraged someone to get an abortion she didn’t feel was absolutely necessary. Neither as a doctor, nor as a Catholic. He simply respected the wishes of his patients and put his own ethics and respect for the humanity of the people he served above the dogma of the people outside.
No real devote Catholic or Christain would ever think it “absolutely necessary” to rip a childs limbs apart. You could never respects someones wishes to do this and than claim to be devote.
I’m a big guy and at that time I lifted weights and I guess I looked a little scary. Most of my volunteer time was as an escort, dealing directly with the demonstrators. I could simply not believe the behavior of the “Christians” and “Mormons” who would congregate outside, behaving in some of the most vile and horrible ways.
I am sorry but I have seen how those who are "pro-choice would yell horrid words to women and children or give horrd gestures to those who will pray for end to the horrid murder of children. And YES abortion is murder.
I simply can not conceive of Jesus, St. Paul, Mother Theresa or Dr. Maimonides doing and saying what was commonly done and said outside my local clinic. It was an absolutely incredible experience. Most pathetic was the fact that my clinic was in one of the most liberal parts of the country, and people doing my job in the American South had to deal with their own children being assaulted at school, being shot at, or being fired from their regular jobs, or any number of other acts of terrorism.

In a way it was a very valuable experience, in that it let me see the dark side of religion, and was motivation for me to reconstruct my own traditions into something that puts human beings above dogma.
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LaMar said:
St. Lucy,

I appreciate your opinions, but very little about your response is true.

I volunteered at a women’s clinic for almost two years, but it was not regular. I was on a list of people who would be called in about once a month, so that nobody had to do too much “duty” in such a negative atmosphere. In total, I probably did no more than 100 hours.

At no time did I ever see anyone counseled or encouraged to do anything they didn’t want to do, and I do not for a second accept the notion that women are forced to get abortions. In every case, the individuals and families were given all the facts and encouraged to take their time and come to decisions for themselves.

One of the physicians who volunteered during the time I volunteered was a devout and believing Roman Catholic, and I can not believe that he would ever have encouraged someone to get an abortion she didn’t feel was absolutely necessary. Neither as a doctor, nor as a Catholic. He simply respected the wishes of his patients and put his own ethics and respect for the humanity of the people he served above the dogma of the people outside.

I’m a big guy and at that time I lifted weights and I guess I looked a little scary. Most of my volunteer time was as an escort, dealing directly with the demonstrators. I could simply not believe the behavior of the “Christians” and “Mormons” who would congregate outside, behaving in some of the most vile and horrible ways.

I simply can not conceive of Jesus, St. Paul, Mother Theresa or Dr. Maimonides doing and saying what was commonly done and said outside my local clinic. It was an absolutely incredible experience. Most pathetic was the fact that my clinic was in one of the most liberal parts of the country, and people doing my job in the American South had to deal with their own children being assaulted at school, being shot at, or being fired from their regular jobs, or any number of other acts of terrorism.

In a way it was a very valuable experience, in that it let me see the dark side of religion, and was motivation for me to reconstruct my own traditions into something that puts human beings above dogma.
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That is horrific that a person stating to be Catholic would paticipate in such a thing. I would hope and pray he does not attempt to receive any of the sacraments as that would be a sacrilidge and an offense against the Holy Spirit.

To be a Catholic means we are for life not death.

To be a Catholic means we follow Sacred Scripture, sacred teachings, and sacred traditions .

To paticipate to include even drive someone to an abortion mill is called by the Catholic Church and devout Christians all over the world as etrinsically evil. The killing of innocents.

I will pray for that doctors soul and the lives he has murdered.
 
c659smith said:
To paticipate to include even drive someone to an abortion mill is called by the Catholic Church and devout Christians all over the world as etrinsically evil. The killing of innocents.
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Oh please. First it’s “abortuary” and now it’s an “abortion mill”. Abortions were maybe 2 percent of what they did, and that’s being generous.

This is going to be my last contribution to this topic. I’m going to give you some inside information which will allow you to shut down every women’s clinic in the country. Listen carefully. You could shut down planned parenthood next month with this.

What you do is to convince a relatively large number of women to insist on getting abortions at the expense of charities like PP. You guys seem to believe abortions are common, and people approach them with little or no foresight, so this should not be difficult.

Every time a clinic has to arrange an abortion it puts an incredible strain on the budget. It’s a simple matter of economics. Get 10-20 people to demand abortions in a single week, in half the clinics around the country. The organization itself will go broke immediately, and we’ll be back to coathangers directly.

The reality is that 90% of the time, the fanatics are threatening and assaulting a bunch of kids and young couples who are looking for free condoms and pills. 80% of the remainder are patients who need treatment for venereal diseases (many times because they were told by their religious leaders not to use condoms) or else they’re going to be sterile or permanently disabled.

It’s a whole lot of fanaticism about stuff that amounts to sliding scale medical care, in a country where most of the citizens can’t afford it.
 
Planned Parenthood as a whole, makes millions every year off abortions. It is a butcher shop of moral evil.

Lamar,
It is a mortal sin for Catholics to be associated and to work there.
Even though not every center performs abortions, the company itself stands for evil. Catholics are putting their salvation at risk.

Condoms, pills, and other contraception is intrinsically evil. It is even more sick and perverted that kids go in to get that poison. The use and distribution of contraception carries the penalty of mortal sin.
 
Planned Parenthood was and is a racist organization. Their founder, Margaret Sanger, wrote books advocating abortion and birth control for “Negroes” and “Southern Europeans”. Read her book, PIVOT OF CIVILIZATION for proof of what I say.

I have written articles exposing PP’s racist and eugenicist agenda for pro-life magazines, notably Celebrate Life (American Life League).

As a Jewish woman who has lost four stillborn babies, I KNOW that what abortionists are killing are BABIES. After what I have been through no one could ever convince me otherwise.

This, for me, has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with SCIENTIFIC FACT and REALITY. My religion, Judaism, in its more traditional form (Orthodoxy), totally opposes abortion on demand, but that is not why I oppose abortion.

I oppose abortion because I have seen with my own eyes what unborn babies look like. I have heard the heartbeats of the babies I ended up losing, and also I’ve heard the heartbeats of my three living children while preg with them.

No woman who has ever carried a child can support abortion unless she is totally mentally ill or depraved in some way.
 
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