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glencor63
Guest
Thank you! I am more at peace, now that a decision has been made. Truthfully, I left the Church in spirit years ago.
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Montrose
Guest
As long as you realise that you are still a Catholic and will remain a Catholic forever.
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glencor63
Guest
No, I am no longer Catholic. I am an independent Christian. I am not bound to the Catholic Church. I entered freely and can leave freely. I was Confirmed Catholic, but baptized in a Protestant church, by choice.
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Montrose
Guest
If you are confirmed in the Catholic Church you are officially Catholic. Where you were baptised does not matter.
I was a baptised Methodist but converted and confirmed in the Catholic Church. That makes me, like you, a Catholic forever.
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Viki63
Guest
This happened, in Japan, I believe – March 1865, while Christianity was still banned in Japan, a French missionary discovered hidden Catholics in Nagasaki. For more than 200 years they had kept their faith in secret and lived without any priests.
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sealabeag
Guest
No, because firstly the Church cannot fall into error, so none of the examples you give are possible, and if a church identifying itself as the Catholic Church, at some point in the future, were to fall into some of the errors you mention, we would know that it was not in fact the true Church, and look elsewhere.
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glencor63
Guest
We disagree. I am a Christian, not Protestant, not Catholic, not Eastern Orthodox, but just a Christian. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. It’s enough.
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blackforest
Well-known member
Is the Church’s duty to “build and reinforce” your faith by pandering to your architectural tastes? Or could our faith be about something much deeper?
Some of the most inspiring churches I’ve visited in Europe were pre-Renaissance, and I found their austerity both moving and inspiring. We’re each entitled to our tastes and preferences.
But to consider abandoning the faith over personal artistic preferences strikes me as shallow. I grunt my way through Oregon Catholic Press hymns every Sunday - music that I frankly can’t stand. But it makes other Catholics happy, and in the end I’m there for the Eucharist.
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PennyinCanada
Guest
Even if we should see these things happen, they don’t impact me. I’m not about to go present myself for ordination as a woman, present myself with a same sex partner for a wedding, or have an abortion. Where you and I stand, we are soldiers for Christ in a battle. Every morning, do a morning offering of your day. At bedtime, review your day and do an act of contrition. Offer your prayers and struggles for the conversion of sinners and peace in this world as Our Lady of Fatima asked of us.
We have our part to do. Like a soldier, we hear the bombs going off, the planes flying over head. Stay focused on what’s yours to take care of. We don’t have control over what’s happening in the world, so pay attention to your own tasks and do those well. That really is how we impact the world for good.
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goout
Guest
I am not sure what the fascination is with bad-faith hypothetical scenarios.
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MNathaniel
Guest
I don’t honestly see that in this question.
I more see a question about whether people are open-minded to the possibility of Catholicism being untrue (and are therefore in it because they’re persuaded it’s true), or whether people claim there’s literally nothing that could make them question the Church (in which case one might think such a person’s faith is mere coincidence of birth or having ‘stopped thinking’ after conversion, and if they were already Muslim they’d never question that either, etc).
Frankly I think it’s a perfectly fair question. Again, it’s a question I know priests are unafraid to answer (in the affirmative: as in, “yes, [Jesus’ dug-up bones] would make me question it.”) So I don’t see why we should be afraid of that.
In fact, I think it helps atheists and some folks who are struggling with faith, to realize that people of faith aren’t just ‘blind’ about it, and are as open to sincere questions and truth as we expect non-Catholics to be.
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goout
Guest
Skepticism and discernment are a healthy part of being human. The Church has a firm philosophical grounding and tradition without resorting to hypothetical and basically impossible “what ifs”. The Church’s thought and belief is anything but blind and we ought to have the ability to express it in ways that don’t veer off into wandering hypotheticals.
Ask an astrophysicist how he would proceed if someone says the sun revolves around the earth. Should he show himself open to this hypothetical possibility, just so he can be seen as a thinking and tolerant person?
Ask an astrophysicist how he would proceed if someone says the sun revolves around the earth. Should he show himself open to this hypothetical possibility, just so he can be seen as a thinking and tolerant person?
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Dovekin
Guest
Everything makes me seriously question the Catholic Church. I constantly wonder if my understanding of the church is the same as the Church’s understanding. I want to know how I can come to a better understanding of who I am and what I believe, and even what I should believe. What can I do to become better, more closely aligned with Christ?
If I did not hope, how could I have faith?
If I did not hope, how could I have faith?
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Raxus
Guest
That’s not what Jesus said.
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Raxus
Guest
Actually, as faithful Catholics, we can question all that we want, provided that we look for answers in the appropriate places. (And those answers always stack up against anything non-Catholic sources will tell you.)
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Pattylt
Guest
I’m surprised some are so resistant to thinking about this question!
Aren’t you expecting every other religion to suppose theirs is wrong and to question it?
Aren’t you expecting every other religion to suppose theirs is wrong and to question it?
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Montrose
Guest
It’s not enough. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Invincible ignorance doesn’t cover a Catholic who walks away from the Church.
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Raxus
Guest
It’s the same kind of question as “Could God make a square circle?”, in essence. God is logical and to make logical impossibilities is antithetical to His nature; in the same way, it’s illogical to question the Church in the way that the OP implies.
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Shakuhachi
Guest
That was major. The institution lost moral authority. Going to tell us no birth control while they harbor sexual predators.
But that is not teaching. I know. Still we place our trust in thes epeople.
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ThomasMT
Guest
Yes. However, if an infallible teaching rooted in infallible doctrine were directly contradicted by a novel teaching, that novel teaching could arguably be denied recognition as a “Church” teaching, even if it is implemented through the Church.
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