I feel better. I don’t “hate” the Catholic Church, never have “hated” the Church.Straw man. The OP isn’t about ridding the Church of sinners. It is specifically about people who hate the Catholic Church, people who say the Church has a “war on women”, is bigoted, etc…
Yes. There was a group of dissident religious sisters who gathered to pray for the death of the Pope.
Then the OP isn’t about you.
And the Church goes on and on…that speaks volumes. So what are worried about? The Church is not going to cave…it’s not. No matter how many “going to hell in handbasket, scare tactics, canon law, doctrine, dogma”, you toss into the fan of someone who either “hates” the Church but stays, or those who “disagree” with the Church and stays.I never said I hope the ones who hate the Catholic Church leave. I said I hope they repent so they can be saved**.Because it’s been that way all through the history of the Church ever since the time of Christ.**
It is very foreign to me to see it on a Catholic board.I don’t know if the OP is reading minds. His question was based on complaints that were expressed in words, out loud, to the OP. Perhaps the word hate is overstated but I don’t think the OP imagined that these people were complaining about the Church. I hear it as well. Sometimes complaints are petty. Fr’s homilies are too long or too short or boring. The EM’s dress like they are going to a picnic (bugs me to death…). But his comments were with respect to some real dissent regarding Church teaching. Thus the question why stay in a church where you fundamentally disagree with her foundations?
We can’t see into the hearts of the Westboro Baptists, but they seem to be hateful. In the same way, when people accuse the Catholic Church of being evil it would seem that they hate the Catholic Church. And saying that the Catholic Church has a “war on women” or calling the Catholic Church bigoted is the same as calling her evil. I know that I don’t take it as a loving gesture when people accuse me of being a bigot for following the teachings of Christ. And it’s scandalous when these accusations against the Church come from a politician who claims to be a Catholic in good standing.
Are you suggesting the Westboro Baptists are ‘plotting against the leadership of the Church from within?’We can’t see into the hearts of the Westboro Baptists, but they seem to be hateful. In the same way, when people accuse the Catholic Church of being evil it would seem that they hate the Catholic Church. And saying that the Catholic Church has a “war on women” or calling the Catholic Church bigoted is the same as calling her evil. I know that I don’t take it as a loving gesture when people accuse me of being a bigot for following the teachings of Christ. And it’s scandalous when these accusations against the Church come from a politician who claims to be a Catholic in good standing.
I used them as an example of how most people can agree that it’s possible for a group of people to seem hateful by judging their actions and words even though we don’t claim to see into their hearts. Now apply that basic principle to the OP.
The OP specifically said Catholics ‘seeming’ to hate the Church with all their being.I used them as an example of how most people can agree that it’s possible for a group of people to seem hateful by judging their actions and words even though we don’t claim to see into their hearts. Now apply that basic principle to the OP.
Yes. Claiming that the Catholic Church has a “war on women” and calling the Church and those in it inflammatory things like “bigot” does make it seem that way. I never claimed to see into anyone’s heart. You have made a judgment about the motivation of my heart based on what I did not say. At least I make my judgments based on what people actually do say.
Ok, this is the third time I asked this question.Yes. Claiming that the Catholic Church has a “war on women” and calling the Church and those in it inflammatory things like “bigot” does make it seem that way. I never claimed to see into anyone’s heart. You have made a judgment about the motivation of my heart based on what I did not say. At least I make my judgments based on what people actually do say.
My mentioned my suggestion on page one of this thread in post #9. I do not hope that they leave but instead I hope everyone of them will repent and be saved.
Where would be the best place for the chance of repentance?My mentioned my suggestion on page one of this thread in post #9. I do not hope that they leave but instead I hope everyone of them will repent and be saved.
I realize the LWU was asked but my belief is they will be most likely to repent if the know and understand the Church’s teaching. I don’t think they will get this from sitting in a pew and listening to the homily.Where would be the best place for the chance of repentance?
What tone would you recommend to explain the Church’s teachings to those misinformed people? And until they come around what would you suggest the Church do with these people?
I would say a tone that is somewhere between the extreme of the Westboro Baptist approach and the other extreme of never letting them know that some things are a sin. And in these online forums I use a smiley face
so that no one will accuse me of being uncharitable. Dispassionate and scholarly. We have many incredible apologists. I was even thinking about how much I have learned from EWTN and Catholic Radio. We have the resources for learning the faith from the USCCB website to Catholic TV and radio to books to study groups. I have been hearing about a number of organized Catholic Bible studies being published. Evangelicals have a number of excellent presenters and we could learn much from this model. Beth Moore for example. Her studies are in depth and tailored to groups. We are developing our own top presenters.
I would personally invite them to read the catechism of their faith and pray for them. That’s all I think one can do.