I don’t know how to stand for my faith while also being charitable. My identity is tied to the Church, so those words all hurt me a lot. I’m often red with anger, but never say anything.
With respect, he is a grown, married adult. Why is it so hard for him to tell his family, “Those remarks/ that joke is inappropriate, hurtful, and disrespectful to me, my wife and our faith. I would ask that you please don’t make those kinds of remarks, and if you continue, my wife and I will be leaving early (or if they’re the hosts, not hosting any more family gatherings).”
It’s hard to stand up for your faith when so many people casually attack it, including close family members.
Rather than getting into the specifics of the faith (unless they drop the hostility / flippant nastiness), I would just say something like “well that was rude.” Or, “are you that rude to everyone, or just me?”
I would just focus on the rudeness, rather than the potentially controversial specifics.
I’ve even had these kind of comments in a work meeting - everyone casually dissing the Church, when they know that I’m the only Catholic in the room.
I kind of worry about this for future events, like my kids’ weddings, which are probably far in the future. But my In-laws (former Catholics that they are) hate the Church and I almost don’t want to “expose” ourselves emotionally to their hatred at such a personal moment.
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