Why do people who say they are Catholic continue to say so when they do not follow the teachings of the Catholic church?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Slinger
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Slinger

Guest
This is confusing to me. Nobody forces someone to be part of a particular religion. If you disagree with parts of the teachings why stay in it? I ask this because I am not a supporter of religion because I do not believe in legalism in one’s walk with Christ. However, there are obviously many people who need the guidance of a religion for their walk. That’s their personal choice and I would not condemn or judge it.

But, why chose to remain a Catholic if you disagree or debate the teachings of the Catholic church?

Thanks for any responses!
 
Sometimes these Catholics think they are really with it in regards to updating their beliefs…part of the movement…a misunderstood movement…of Vatican II…

Pope Benedict is working on this …
 
Because as I understand it from a Catholic bishop I once asked, one of the teachings of the Catholic Church is once you are baptized and made a member of the Catholic Church, an indelible mark is upon your soul, and you are always a Catholic in the eyes of the Church. You might be non practicing. But still a Catholic in Her eyes. Even excomunicated Catholics, while they are not to receive the Sacraments without first being reconciled nor can they hold a position in the parish or at Mass such as being a lector, and so forth, are still considered Catholic.

It is interesting. Because you have Catholics not adhering to all the teaching. Yet you have Catholics who adhere yet who might sometimes question whether those in the first group are Catholic, Even though that they are is one of the teachings too.
 
Once we are baptized we are members for life. I think that many believe all of the teachings of the Catholic Church, but simply gave up trying to adhere to them. It isn’t easy to be a Catholic, but it is easy to call yourself one.
 
Some people don’t make Catholic beliefs the primary factor for identifying themselves as Catholic. They identify themselves as Catholic because they always have.
 
The nearer Christ comes to a Heart, the more it becomes Conscious of its Guilt;
it will then either ask for His Mercy and find Peace, or else it will turn against Him because it is not yet ready to give up its Sinfulness.
Click to expand...
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Click to expand...
 
Benadam said:
Some people don’t make Catholic beliefs the primary factor for identifying themselves as Catholic. They identify themselves as Catholic because they always have.
Click to expand...
That might be. But it is the Catholic Church which makes rites of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, as the primary factors for identifying as Catholic. And the Catholic Church too identifies them as Catholic because She always has. .
 
Why do people claim to be followers of Christ when Christ himself tells us there will be those who will claim they did, yet he will say he never knew them?
Why **single out **Catholics when there are logs in eyes everywhere?
 
The Church on earth is not a throne for the saints, but rather a hospital for the spiritually sick.
 
Because they misunderstand the importance of the Magisterium and of the Church as BODY of Christ?

ICXC NIKA
 
Any baptized Christian is a member of the Catholic Church, whether or not they identify themselves as so or not.
 
Slinger said:
This is confusing to me. Nobody forces someone to be part of a particular religion. If you disagree with parts of the teachings why stay in it? I ask this because I am not a supporter of religion because I do not believe in legalism in one’s walk with Christ. However, there are obviously many people who need the guidance of a religion for their walk. That’s their personal choice and I would not condemn or judge it.

But, why chose to remain a Catholic if you disagree or debate the teachings of the Catholic church?

Thanks for any responses!
Click to expand...
Dear Christ follower:
Since you are a self identified Christ follower, I want to pointout that were it not for the Catholic church (aka religion) you would not know about Christ at all. Additionally, a person who says they are Catholic, even if not practicing their faith in accordance with the teachings is correct to say they are still a Catholic, albeit a lapsed, non-practicing or cafeteria catholic. Once Catholic, always Catholic.🙂
 
CMatt25 said:
That might be. But it is the Catholic Church which makes rites of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, as the primary factors for identifying as Catholic. And the Catholic Church too identifies them as Catholic because She always has. .
Click to expand...
That’s all true, but belief in those truths, isn’t what identifies a catholic to them. That characteristic is second or third down the list if it’s even there at all. Many of them run to the Sacraments in times of crisis.
 
Slinger said:
This is confusing to me. Nobody forces someone to be part of a particular religion. If you disagree with parts of the teachings why stay in it? I ask this because I am not a supporter of religion because I do not believe in legalism in one’s walk with Christ. However, there are obviously many people who need the guidance of a religion for their walk. That’s their personal choice and I would not condemn or judge it.

But, why chose to remain a Catholic if you disagree or debate the teachings of the Catholic church?

Thanks for any responses!
Click to expand...
Good question, and one that I have asked myself, too.

The Church clearly teaches that you cannot support abortion and be Catholic, yet we have politicans like Pelosi doing just that.

The Church clearly teaches that sex outside of marriage is wrong, yet we have Cuomo in New York living with a girl friend, promoting homosexual “marriage” and giving scandal to faithful believers.

We have theologians like Hans Kung who is so dissenting that he is not allowed to teach theology any more, but of course, the media loves to quote his dissenting views because (somehow) he is still a priest.

I believe they claim to be Catholic when they clearly dissent against Church morals and principles because it pays them in some way to do so. After all, a dissenting Catholic can grab headlines. A dissenting Protestant… uh… well… not news.

And, to be fair, there are a lot of nominal Protestant Christians out there, people who were baptised but are not committed Christians, who identify as “Christians” (as opposed to Jews, Muslims, or atheists) because they adhere to a vague sort of Christian worldview or haven’t really thought through their beliefs. (This was me for a couple of decades).
 
GraceSofia said:
Good question, and one that I have asked myself, too.

The Church clearly teaches that you cannot support abortion and be Catholic, yet we have politicans like Pelosi doing just that.

The Church clearly teaches that sex outside of marriage is wrong, yet we have Cuomo in New York living with a girl friend, promoting homosexual “marriage” and giving scandal to faithful believers.

We have theologians like Hans Kung who is so dissenting that he is not allowed to teach theology any more, but of course, the media loves to quote his dissenting views because (somehow) he is still a priest.

I believe they claim to be Catholic when they clearly dissent against Church morals and principles because it pays them in some way to do so. After all, a dissenting Catholic can grab headlines. A dissenting Protestant… uh… well… not news.

And, to be fair, there are a lot of nominal Protestant Christians out there, people who were baptised but are not committed Christians, who identify as “Christians” (as opposed to Jews, Muslims, or atheists) because they adhere to a vague sort of Christian worldview or haven’t really thought through their beliefs. (This was me for a couple of decades).
Click to expand...
Nancy Pelosi wasn’t baptized?
 
LDNCatholic said:
You cannot support abortion and be a good Catholic. Same as for all other mortal sins.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the clarification. Because that’s not what GraceSofia said nor what I’ve sometimes read here on the forum.
 
Even if they are considered Catholic by name…a “Catholic” who dies in a state of mortal sin, and I believe outright rebellion to our doctrine is so, (and disagreeing with something being mortal sin won’t reduce your imputability I don’t think), will be cast into hell. Not all who call themselves Catholic will be in heaven. Matthew 7 makes this clear…not all who harken Lord Lord shall enter but only those who DO the will of the Father 🙂
 
brand0c0mmand0 said:
Even if they are considered Catholic by name…a “Catholic” who dies in a state of mortal sin, and I believe outright rebellion to our doctrine is so, (and disagreeing with something being mortal sin won’t reduce your imputability I don’t think), will be cast into hell. Not all who call themselves Catholic will be in heaven. Matthew 7 makes this clear…not all who harken Lord Lord shall enter but only those who DO the will of the Father 🙂
Click to expand...
Only God shall know the heart at the moment any of us take our last breaths.
 
CMatt25 said:
Only God shall know the heart at the moment any of us take our last breaths.
Click to expand...
Absolutely true. We cannot know what is in the mind of any person. We can, however, discuss the objective nature of any action.

A person who rapes another, for example, is committing an objectively evil action. Now it is possible that this person’s capacity is blunted or somehow affected. . .perhaps he is drunk, perhaps he was raised by people who taught him that rape was what women ‘expected’ or ‘deserved’, etc. And then again, perhaps he is stone cold sober, was reared by the most careful and loving of parents, and just freely, coldly, and selfishly decided that right now he wanted SEX and that only ‘his’ wants MATTER. We don’t know. But we can certainly describe the objective action of rape as evil. Correct? We might not know the heart but we can ‘judge’ the action itself. Because as I’m sure most women will agree, if we’re raped it really does not make that much difference to US whether the guy was drunk or sober, ‘poorly’ or ‘well’ brought up, etc. The results of the action of rape are the same no matter what the ‘state of mind’ of the man involved are, and are as damaging to the woman whether or not the man is ‘less culpable’. . .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top