Why so many Catholics offended by authentic Church teaching?

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felra

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I am curious as to why all the emphasis by many fellow Catholics that Church teaching and doctrine be delivered in a warm fuzzy wrapping in order to be accepted or seriously considered? I am not talking about mean spirited delivery, but of a matter of fact, confident, non-embellished presentation of orthodox Church teaching and thoughts that are in line with the mind of the Church.

The focus of the receiver goes to how the messenger is offensive, instead of what the message (Church teaching/dogma/doctrine…) is and why the person finds the message offensive. Have so many Catholics become intolerant of sound, authoritative Church teaching?
 
I think there is a difference between legitimate offense and illegitimate offense. Just like suffering there is legitimate and illegitimate suffering. That many, or few, take offense at something does not mean they should be offended. If they are offended perhaps they should look at the reasons why they feel offended rather than think the presenter is in error. That does not mean the presenter is never in error, only that our culture has come to a point where any pointed discussion is often characterized as uncharitable.
 
What would be an “offensive” Church Teaching? I know some of the teachings are difficult to follow, but doing the “right thing IS USUALLY the harder thing” – isn’t it?
Blessings,
Joanie
 
Most people do not want to hear the Truth.
Look at the story about the fat lady who filed a complaint against her doctor for insulting her. The doctor told her she was overweight and needed to lose the pounds. This offended her. :confused:

Good Grief!!!
People do not want to hear the truth about anything. They prefer live in dream world or be angry with the messenger rather than fess up.
 
Because they really do not accept the authority of the Pope and magisterium, they feel that what they think is more important than the Church doctrine and teachings. In effect, such people are their own “Pope”. So while they may claim they are Catholic, they really aren’t because they reject one of the most fundamental aspects of being Catholic–the authority of the Church.
 
The truth hurts. You should have seen my boyfriend’s face when I told him masturbation is a sin. :bigyikes:
 
We have all known the discomfort of discovering our own sins. The more humility we have the more apt we are to accept the Truth.
 
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contemplative:
People do not want to hear the truth about anything. They prefer live in dream world or be angry with the messenger rather than fess up.
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I think some things are obvious. Being obese is obvious. Having BO is obvious. Any time I’ve heard comments on these two has been gratuitous. So I suspect the obese and BO people of the world are sick of complete strangers saying, “Just between you and me, you stink and are too fat.”

I realize a doctor can be a different case, but a person might react as if the doctor were just one of those people off the street who like to comment on these things. I don’t find an anger reaction to be surprising.
 
If we accept the Truth, we have to acknowledge our own sinful ways and change them.

Focusing on “how” the message is delivered is an excuse for ignoring the contents of the message.
 
People are arrogant & don’t want to be told what to do. They don’t want to have any rules or restrictions on their behavior. They don’t care about the difference between right and wrong. They labor under the illusion that they are their own private gods in charge of their own little worlds.

I work at a Catholic university where the faculty just voted to allow a student group that claims it is sort of a liberal advocacy thing, but it turns out that some of the things they promote are gay rights and abortion rights. That means that in my particular job, it’s conceivable that I would have to help them organize rallies or events to support these activities that are in direct opposition to the teachings of the Church, and the thought of it makes me sick. On top of that, I was told by a colleague that I should just keep quiet & not make trouble because the people in charge decided to allow this and we can’t do anything about it (short of quit, I suppose). So it seems that the cafeteria Catholics have won the day. Perhaps we should just cave in & become Episcopalians…
 
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felra:
I am curious as to why all the emphasis by many fellow Catholics that Church teaching and doctrine be delivered in a warm fuzzy wrapping in order to be accepted or seriously considered? I am not talking about mean spirited delivery, but of a matter of fact, confident, non-embellished presentation of orthodox Church teaching and thoughts that are in line with the mind of the Church.

The focus of the receiver goes to how the messenger is offensive, instead of what the message (Church teaching/dogma/doctrine…) is and why the person finds the message offensive. Have so many Catholics become intolerant of sound, authoritative Church teaching?
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While you clarified that you were not writing about mean spirited delivery, people saying things in a matter-of-fact manner must be conscious of the delivery as well. We are called to speak the truth in love. If we simply speak the truth matter of factly, but not with love, we aren’t doing all that we should.

That doesn’t mean we must compromise truth. Some people will never accept Church teachings no matter how they are presented. But how we present the truth doesn’t just matter to them; it matters to God and to our own souls. We must always use love when we speak the truth. (And I know from personally experience and failure, that’s easier to said than done.)
 
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stellina:
People are arrogant & don’t want to be told what to do. They don’t want to have any rules or restrictions on their behavior. They don’t care about the difference between right and wrong. They labor under the illusion that they are their own private gods in charge of their own little worlds.

I work at a Catholic university where the faculty just voted to allow a student group that claims it is sort of a liberal advocacy thing, but it turns out that some of the things they promote are gay rights and abortion rights. That means that in my particular job, it’s conceivable that I would have to help them organize rallies or events to support these activities that are in direct opposition to the teachings of the Church, and the thought of it makes me sick. On top of that, I was told by a colleague that I should just keep quiet & not make trouble because the people in charge decided to allow this and we can’t do anything about it (short of quit, I suppose). So it seems that the cafeteria Catholics have won the day. Perhaps we should just cave in & become Episcopalians…
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Just as it is happening at Santa Clara University in CA, Boston College, Notre Dame and a whole host of other universities which claim to be Catholic. Apart from Ave Maria in Fla, why is it so hard to find a Jesuit run university that doesn’t hold The Vagina Monologues or homosexual and abortion rights, and even Euthanasia advocacy programs?

Here’s something happening at Santa Clara U (Jesuit ran of course) which may make you grumble: www-acc.scu.edu/clubs/GALA/PHOTOS/DRAG2001.htm :banghead: And a link to the thread I have started for it forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=71477
 
Alas, they reject the fundamentals of our faith and are not Catholic if they will not obey the Magisterum. The Church is supreme in all matters, whatsoever.

Viva il Papa, God Save the Queen, The Roman Church is not and never has been in error.
 
Like they said, it’s that they are too proud and arrogant to listen. I guess society has molded them and made them believe that freedom means, “Do whatever you want (spiritually/morally), but don’t break the laws.” You can committ some of the most heinous moral crimes in the comfort of your own home without any retaliation (or so it seems). Don’t worry, they’ll make up for it in purgatory, along with most of the rest of us.
 
I also think people can be too wrapped up in feelings. They want to feel good, and hard teachings don’t feel good.

We recently put our house up for sale. Our realtor was honest about people wanting to have a good feeling when they saw our house. Make it warm and inviting she told us. (we did and it sold)

When we began to look at houses, we didn’t give a hoot about cosmetics. The house we want to buy shows very poorly; it needs lots of cosmetic work. But we saw the potential and didn’t care about feelings. (and it will save us $$ as they lowered the price to make up for the work needed)

People need to get over feelings and look at facts.

—KCT
 
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felra:
I am curious as to why all the emphasis by many fellow Catholics that Church teaching and doctrine be delivered in a warm fuzzy wrapping in order to be accepted or seriously considered? I am not talking about mean spirited delivery, but of a matter of fact, confident, non-embellished presentation of orthodox Church teaching and thoughts that are in line with the mind of the Church.

The focus of the receiver goes to how the messenger is offensive, instead of what the message (Church teaching/dogma/doctrine…) is and why the person finds the message offensive. Have so many Catholics become intolerant of sound, authoritative Church teaching?
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Unfortunately, alot of “so called” Catholics have become intolerant of orthodox and authentic Church teaching. Why? There are multiple reasons but it’s probably largely for their own convenience. People who reject the “hard” teachings of the church such as the forbidding of abortion, same-sex marriage, divorce and women priests don’t want to make the difficult changes necessary in their life to be faithful followers of Christ and His Church. Alas, being a faithful Catholic can be counter-cultural and lead to a degree of suffering but the sacrifice is well worth it.
 
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