Why do people hate catholics

[horselvr]

Well, yes, Serap that is certainly very true. If you notice though, the title of this thread is

“Why do people hate catholics” and NOT why do people hate muslims, jews, yada, yada"

and so that is why we are addressing the dislike for only Catholics here.

I’m still waiting for my answer----That crazy pagan, franny50, because there really, truely are other faiths that believe exactly as you do (or seem to).

Interestingly enough, it is not the Catholic faith and don’t you wonder why??

So, again I must ask, if you don’t believe in the Catholic teachings than why call yourselves Catholic ?

And by the way, you don’t receive communion do you??

 

[Dave_B]

So, again I must ask, if you don’t believe in the Catholic teachings than why call yourselves Catholic ?

I understand the word Catholic is from the Greek means Universal.

i.e. pertaining to the Universal Church.

So thta would include anyone who is a member of the church.

 

[hudson]

Some people here disagree with the most important church teachings yet still consider themselves Catholic. They will not be happy unless the Catholic Church changes to look like liberal protestant churches. They will never change their views but want the Church to change its. I say if you can’t accept the Catholic Churches correct teachings, then you should choose one of the tens of thousands of protestant churches that matches your views. That is what is “great” about the way alot of protestants practice religion. They can interpret the bible to fit whatever social beliefs they may have. Thank the Lord we have the correct teachings from the Catholic Church to lead us in life. Have a great day.

 

[CowardlyLion]

Hello,

I think most hate comes from fear. I am a Christian who has wanted to become a Catholic for a long time. I think many people think religion isinot important in their lives–or that because there are some who do bad things that are Catholic that the religion is bad.
This is obviously not true. It is individuals who do bad things.

I have not told many people about my choice yet–for the very reason that–not so much that people will hate me, but because they will try to talk me out of it.
My mind has been made up for a long time. I just choose not to get into it with people who cannot or will not honor my choices.

Anyway-- be well. There are a lot of misinformed people out there. Too bad for them.

Cowardly Lion

 

[Waiting]

Hello,

I think most hate comes from fear. I am a Christian who has wanted to become a Catholic for a long time. I think many people think religion isinot important in their lives–or that because there are some who do bad things that are Catholic that the religion is bad.
This is obviously not true. It is individuals who do bad things.

I have not told many people about my choice yet–for the very reason that–not so much that people will hate me, but because they will try to talk me out of it.
My mind has been made up for a long time. I just choose not to get into it with people who cannot or will not honor my choices.

Anyway-- be well. There are a lot of misinformed people out there. Too bad for them.

Cowardly Lion

Good luck and God bless you in your quest to become Catholic. You will never be sorry. The joy of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist is worth any price you may have to pay.

 

[horselvr]

Dave said:

“So thta would include anyone who is a member of the church.”

You are missing the point. If one prefers to think like a protestant, that’s fine and dandy, just be the best protestant, be it born again, or anglican, you can be. However, don’t call yourself Catholic.

And Dave everyone knows that catholic means universal—that was established from the very beginning, but then----well, we won’t go there, but we are speaking of it here as our faith.

There is a wealth of knowledge out and about if one has questions or doubts or is fed up with the beliefs of their “born into religion” even searching for another religion/church to join is quite easy to do nowadays with the internet. All you have to do is research the church that makes YOU feel good, the one that gives you that Happy Feeling because an alter call has saved you, or because you can divorce and remarry willy nilly, or because it is an easy faith/church to belong to because of the music they play, or because they have a gay minister or because you don’t really HAVE to go to church because you are not held accountable blah and blah—I mean, your saved!! This should not be a difficult task—finding a church that only makes you happy as there are, what, about 20,000 of them out there maybe more as new ones spring up all the time. You really don’t have to follow anything just sing and be Happy!

While this is all fine and dandy—just please, let’s not pretend you are catholic with all those protestant befiefs. Just be the best protestant you can possibly be. k?

 

[franny50]

I have found this forum to be very helpful in my search to discern whether or not I should stay in the church.Some of you need to understand that even with people who disagree with some of the teachings and are considering leaving to join another church,it is a process and not that easy.There are a number of teachings I do agree with so I still consider myself catholic,until I formally join another church.
And according to the church,I will always be considered catholic until I send a formal letter to my local bishop,asking to be taken off the baptismal register(I read this on another forum)And for the record,disagreeing with something or someone doesn’t mean you hate them.I often felt my mother was too strict,and didn’t agree with her discipline of me,but still loved her.I respect the church for all the good they have done for the sick and poor,but my positive feelings end there.

 

[Serap]

Abortion is not a 'Catholic rule". It is a basic HUMAN RIGHT. The right to life.

As for ‘definition of marriage’. . . in what way? What Catholic leader is forcing his non-Catholic followers into being married in a Catholic Church?

Oh wait, sorry, I was having a ‘duh moment’ (would like to blame flu but hey, no excuse). You mean ‘gay marriage’.

Well, first of all, in the U.S. anyway, 38 of the 50 states have either a DOMA act (Defense of Marriage Act) which stipulates that marriage is between one man and one woman, and I think a couple of others have similar statements that are now in the process of being argued in court.

So, um, it’s not exactly a "Catholic view of marriage’, right? 38 of 50 states appear to think that one man/one woman is a SECULAR point of view as well.

Also, there are not only Catholics but Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and even atheists and pagans, who believe in one man/ one woman marriage and not in ‘gay marriage’.

In actual legal fact, all current definitions of marriage in the U.S. and in most of the rest of the countries of the world state that marriage is one man/one woman. And these countries are not all Catholic. . .

deleted…

 

[Serap]

I have found this forum to be very helpful in my search to discern whether or not I should stay in the church.Some of you need to understand that even with people who disagree with some of the teachings and are considering leaving to join another church,it is a process and not that easy.There are a number of teachings I do agree with so I still consider myself catholic,until I formally join another church.
And according to the church,I will always be considered catholic until I send a formal letter to my local bishop,asking to be taken off the baptismal register(I read this on another forum)And for the record,disagreeing with something or someone doesn’t mean you hate them.I often felt my mother was too strict,and didn’t agree with her discipline of me,but still loved her.I respect the church for all the good they have done for the sick and poor,but my positive feelings end there.

I respect your desire; how come you wanna leave? What’s bothering you about the church? Just curious.

 

[presidentjlh]

The comments on Yahoo News about Pope John Paul II beatification are beyond terrible.

Cindy, that’s just Yahoo! Buzz for you. It’s filled with trolls, the uneducated, and the bored. If they represented the general consensus of humanity, we’d all have killed each other by now. Do not pay them any attention.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

I have found this forum to be very helpful in my search to discern whether or not I should stay in the church.Some of you need to understand that even with people who disagree with some of the teachings and are considering leaving to join another church,it is a process and not that easy.There are a number of teachings I do agree with so I still consider myself catholic,until I formally join another church.
And according to the church,I will always be considered catholic until I send a formal letter to my local bishop,asking to be taken off the baptismal register(I read this on another forum)And for the record,disagreeing with something or someone doesn’t mean you hate them.I often felt my mother was too strict,and didn’t agree with her discipline of me,but still loved her.I respect the church for all the good they have done for the sick and poor,but my positive feelings end there.

It’s not about ‘feelings.’ Love is NOT a feeling. Love is desiring the best for the beloved. And this is for them to end up in Heaven.

The world gets it wrong. What popular culture calls love has nothing to do with Christian love.

This is something I’ve had the hardest time with, but I might be on the road to understanding. Maybe.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

I have found this forum to be very helpful in my search to discern whether or not I should stay in the church.Some of you need to understand that even with people who disagree with some of the teachings and are considering leaving to join another church,it is a process and not that easy.There are a number of teachings I do agree with so I still consider myself catholic,until I formally join another church.
And according to the church,I will always be considered catholic until I send a formal letter to my local bishop,asking to be taken off the baptismal register(I read this on another forum)And for the record,disagreeing with something or someone doesn’t mean you hate them.I often felt my mother was too strict,and didn’t agree with her discipline of me,but still loved her.I respect the church for all the good they have done for the sick and poor,but my positive feelings end there.

I’ll try to find the official documentation but I believe that the formal letter is no longer an option. There was only a very short period of time, less than 30 years, where this was even considered in the U.S. and apparently it shouldn’t have been.

I’m really sorry you’re having trouble now. I know it’s hard when it seems like people are jumping at you and being judgmental, and I also know it’s hard not to try to ‘give the right information’ when you believe somebody has been given the wrong information. . .

But franny, the Catholic Church is truly a wonderful institution even if its people, like me, fall short.
When I consider the gifts Jesus gave us --and I consider the Church a gift, and its teachings gifts–I want to cry with joy for the love that I feel for Him and for everybody --and I consider all people to be part of that Church.

Being a Catholic has truly made me love people more. Not the kind of lip-service ‘love’ but the kind of deep down love that will last for eternity and in which I will strive to spend every ounce of my being loving others in order to love God. I think that’s the kind of love you feel, Franny, or at least felt once, in the Church, because if you didn’t have that love before you’d be ‘indifferent’ to the Church, you wouldn’t really care one way or the other about her. It’s because you deep down feel how important she really is that being ‘hurt’ by her members hurts ‘more’ than anything else.

Please stay. We need people who have the kind of deep capacity to feel as much as we need the deep ‘thinkers’. We aren’t in opposition to each other, we need the ‘hands and feet’ of the body equally, one isn’t greater than the other. But oh, we do need you franny. . .we need each and every person who is created by God with His own special plan and His own special love.

 

[Kat127]

I have found this forum to be very helpful in my search to discern whether or not I should stay in the church.Some of you need to understand that even with people who disagree with some of the teachings and are considering leaving to join another church,it is a process and not that easy.There are a number of teachings I do agree with so I still consider myself catholic,until I formally join another church.
And according to the church,I will always be considered catholic until I send a formal letter to my local bishop,asking to be taken off the baptismal register(I read this on another forum)And for the record,disagreeing with something or someone doesn’t mean you hate them.I often felt my mother was too strict,and didn’t agree with her discipline of me,but still loved her.I respect the church for all the good they have done for the sick and poor,but my positive feelings end there.

Please don’t base your decision to leave the faith on an internet forum. The net never brings out the best of people even when they try. We just can’t see how people are reacting to our words to know when to “cool it.”

If you could stand for a little unsolicited advice talk to a Priest before you decide to leave. Tell him about your concerns and why you feel you need to leave the faith. You might be surprised.

 

[ThatKrazyPagan]

I’m still waiting for my answer----That crazy pagan, franny50, because there really, truely are other faiths that believe exactly as you do (or seem to).
…
So, again I must ask, if you don’t believe in the Catholic teachings than why call yourselves Catholic ?

And by the way, you don’t receive communion do you??

I’m not Catholic. I thought my name might be a hint at that. I receive communion at other churches who have, I believe, a healthier view on who gets communion (everyone). I might not believe it is the “body of Christ,” but, like a Hindu, I believe sharing blessed food is a wonderful practice. Since the Catholic church would rather non-Catholics not receive, I respect that and remain seated when I do go to mass.

Please don’t base your decision to leave the faith on an internet forum.

While, as a non-Christian, I would never discourage someone from exploring other religions, I do have to agree with this. Internet forums often attract extremists, and bring out extreme behavior in more moderate people. From personal experience joining an online vegetarian community, other vegetarians tried to convince me that I was no better than a meat-eater and may as well go eat pork - all because I don’t support PeTA or the animal rights movement. I just like my nutroasts. You need to decide on your own if you are truly Catholic or if your beliefs are not fully represented by the title. Don’t let fundamentalists tell you that you have to agree with everything to call yourself Catholic. I’ve met a self-proclaimed “Jewish-Catholic-Wiccan.” She’s still a part of the church, regardless of what those here would tell you.

 

[silentstar]

Please don’t base your decision to leave the faith on an internet forum. The net never brings out the best of people even when they try. We just can’t see how people are reacting to our words to know when to “cool it.”

If you could stand for a little unsolicited advice talk to a Priest before you decide to leave. Tell him about your concerns and why you feel you need to leave the faith. You might be surprised.

I would like to 1,000 times echo this advice. There is a line that should not be crossed imo and telling people they have to leave the Church b/c they are not good enough or don’t believe well enough crosses that line. I was devout for the first 22 or so years of my life and I NEVER heard a priest say anything like that. In fact what I did hear was in rare cases in the past (and now) the Church used to excommunicate people whom they viewed as ‘beyond the pale’ - refuse to give them the Sacraments. This was done so that (ideally) they would repent, confess and be welcomed back into the Church…

The Church has aimed to save souls and convert people and I can’t remember ever hearing of ‘regular’ people being told to leave and not come back, as opposed to change their ways and have the ban of excommunication lifted. It is different in cases of heresy but I would be really careful about accepting the accuracy of a charge that you are a heretic when leveled by someone on the Net, who does not know you, who may be emotionally reacting to a small portion of what you have to say.

My suggestion is to stay involved at CAF or other places and take the judgment with a grain of salt, or find a priest or other religious to talk to you about these issues and your faith conflicts. However again - I would suggest doing as you think/feel is right, not what I have to say

take care.

 

[franny50]

I am what people call a "cradle catholic"but stayed away from church for years because of my disagreement with a number of church teachings,which can be summarized below.

1)The infallibility of the pope on doctrinal issues
2)The churches stance on birth control
3)The emphasis on intercession of the saints(I most always pray directly to Jesus)
4)Lack of ecumenicism and belief that they are the only"true church"
5)Closed communion
6)Not allowing women Priests,or at least Deacons to serve in the church
7)The stance against gay rights.I believe in full civil rights and in civil unions.
8)The emphasis on ritual,and church dogma

The above is not an Indictment of the catholic church,as they have done much good to reach out and help the poor and third world populations.I do feel that with my beliefs,I’d fit in somewhere else.I did some research and know my beliefs are similar to those of the more liberal Lutheran churches.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

I’m not Catholic. I thought my name might be a hint at that. I receive communion at other churches who have, I believe, a healthier view on who gets communion (everyone). .

Healthy according to whom? The moral relativist? The whim of fashion? The range of the moment?

As stated before, we Catholics take a longer and broader view of what is healthy: obeying the law of God to our best ability so we will be happy with Him in Heaven.

And thank you for re-affirming my faith, because to be frank, it is a struggle. You’ve just provided me with the tipping point I needed.

 

[CowardlyLion]

Good luck and God bless you in your quest to become Catholic. You will never be sorry. The joy of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist is worth any price you may have to pay.

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. It is the right time for myself and my family. My husband and I say our prayers with our four children each night. I feel so much peace and am ready to learn more!!

 

[Kat127]

I am what people call a "cradle catholic"but stayed away from church for years because of my disagreement with a number of church teachings,which can be summarized below.

1)The infallibility of the pope on doctrinal issues
2)The churches stance on birth control
3)The emphasis on intercession of the saints(I most always pray directly to Jesus)
4)Lack of ecumenicism and belief that they are the only"true church"
5)Closed communion
6)Not allowing women Priests,or at least Deacons to serve in the church
7)The stance against gay rights.I believe in full civil rights and in civil unions.
8)The emphasis on ritual,and church dogma

The above is not an Indictment of the catholic church,as they have done much good to reach out and help the poor and third world populations.I do feel that with my beliefs,I’d fit in somewhere else.I did some research and know my beliefs are similar to those of the more liberal Lutheran churches.

I am also a cradle catholic and I’ve had similar issues with the Church in the past. In my experience most issues with the Church is because of lack of understanding of their teachings. It took me a long time to take my concerns to a Priest because I thought I wouldn’t much out of the conversation. To my surprise he listened to all of my concerns and we had a good healthy debate about them. He pulled out the Church’s Canon law and writings of the Popes and Saints to show me that what I thought the Church was saying really wasn’t that simple.

Take Birth Control. I thought the Church was being a bit hypocritical allowing NFP but not allowing BC. In my opinion they were trying to pull a fast one allowing a less effective means of spacing children rather than something we all knew would work. Frankly, I saw it as a way to make sure there are more Catholic babies. But that isn’t the case at all. The priest talked to me about Theology of the Body and the Church’s concerns with the “contraceptive” mindset. It makes sense and with the way social history has played out…the Pope had a very good point. I don’t necessarily “like” the rule. But I understand now why the rule is in place. I understand why the Church thinks it is necessary. I also realized that it was about more than just making my life easier.

You might decide after you talk to a Priest that you really don’t agree with the Church’s core beliefs. But I think you’ll be surprised.

Catholicism is a complicated religion. What gets summed up on CAF, after Mass on Sundays and over drinks with friends is the tip of the iceberg. Before you decide to leave- go talk to the expert.

 

[hudson]

Franny do you really think the Catholic Church is going to change its teachings on the things you mentioned? You have to remember that the Catholic Church is guided by the Holy Spirit in its doctrinal teachings. If you have a problem with all the core teachings you mentioned, then maybe you should seek out a church that fits your beliefs. I was gone for 15 years before I realized what I was missing. Through research I have learned to accept and appreciate all of the teachings of the Catholic Church. One day maybe you will come back with the excitement I now feel. God Bless.