What's 'wrong' with Catholicism (dare we try to discuss without debate?)

[Spinning]

My biggest beef
I am not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. If I am at a wedding, funeral or any other service that takes place inside the catholic church it has been frowned upon. Granted I can take it and say nothing but I respect their rules.
Other than that I have no problems. To each their own. But the holy communion table is for everyone it is the place setting Jesus put out for us in rememberance of him! Not a catholic right.

 

[dennis99ss]

Why is there so much animosity toward the religion from other Christians?

Because, deep down, they know that the catholic faith is the true faith, and all the other "christian" churches came from the catholic church when the leader decided he did not like the teachings because of some personal desire. I.E. Anglican -- divorce, etc. Martin Luther, .......

The one way to attempt to get members is to attack the true faith. It is a sign of weakness.

 

[bananiem]

I've always been fascinated with Catholicism and its traditions, but there are several things that I just don't fundamentally believe in (Mary being holy and remaining a virgin forever, the concept of confessing sins to a priest, and the idea that communion is *literally* the flesh and blood of Christ). I do have respect for the church, but some of those concepts are just too strange and unfamiliar for me to embrace myself. (I married a non-practicing Catholic-- we've agreed that any future kids will be raised in a Presbyterian or Lutheran church).

Many practicing Catholics struggle with those same thoughts. My parents generation was very "blind faith"- They believed because their parents told them too. I think in the last few decades there is more questioning. Our last priest had some very interesting interpretations of gospel readings that I'm sure the priests I had growing up would NEVER have said aloud.

 

[sodaseller]

Speaking to the general subject of the thread, I find these boards very hospitable to Catholicism. There are large number of practicing Catholics (the exchanges during the Conclave were enjoyable and edifying), and nearly all non-Catholics on the boards are very respectful - there's just one provocateur who thrives on *******, There are some very knowledgeable Catholics (6 Time Momma, Lisa loves Pooh, septbride2002 - sure I am forgetting some) who add a lot. I have been on other boards that were much less welcoming and very hostile

 

[Bob Slydell]

Because, deep down, they know that the catholic faith is the true faith, and all the other "christian" churches came from the catholic church when the leader decided he did not like the teachings because of some personal desire. I.E. Anglican -- divorce, etc. Martin Luther, .......

The one way to attempt to get members is to attack the true faith. It is a sign of weakness.

Time for the popcorn...

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Dude, that is just... wrong. I'm a Yankee fan AND I have a beautiful, thick, head of healthy hair. Not my fault or problem that you... well... but if you wanted to marry a bald Cubs fan, I wouldn't stop you. As long as you don't rub it in my face and make it part of my life.

Dude, that is just more wrong...my wife is a Cubs fan (I'm raising my son in the light of the World Champion White Sox) but she has a full head of hair.

 

[RickinNYC]

Because, deep down, they know that the catholic faith is the true faith, and all the other "christian" churches came from the catholic church when the leader decided he did not like the teachings because of some personal desire. I.E. Anglican -- divorce, etc. Martin Luther, .......

The one way to attempt to get members is to attack the true faith. It is a sign of weakness.

Wha....

 

[JennyMominRI]

My biggest beef
I am not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. If I am at a wedding, funeral or any other service that takes place inside the catholic church it has been frowned upon. Granted I can take it and say nothing but I respect their rules.
Other than that I have no problems. To each their own. But the holy communion table is for everyone it is the place setting Jesus put out for us in rememberance of him! Not a catholic right.

The reason for this is because to Catholic communion is not symbolic.It is literal...Catholics believe they are partaking of the ACTUAL body and blood of Christ
Communion is notopen to all Catholics either..Children go through classes and have a ceremony before they can participe in the Eucharist..There are rules around communion such as not having eaten for a certain amount of hours beforehand. Not having already had communion that day..If one has unconfessed sins on their soul they are not supposed to recieve communion.I could not recieve communion for years because I'm *living in sin*(Not that there are communion police to stop me*
Communion is a privelage,even to Catholics

 

[RickinNYC]

Dude, that is just more wrong...my wife is a Cubs fan (I'm raising my son in the light of the World Champion White Sox) but she has a full head of hair.

that's cool man. chill. don't need to know the details.

 

[bananiem]

My biggest beef
I am not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. If I am at a wedding, funeral or any other service that takes place inside the catholic church it has been frowned upon. Granted I can take it and say nothing but I respect their rules.
Other than that I have no problems. To each their own. But the holy communion table is for everyone it is the place setting Jesus put out for us in rememberance of him! Not a catholic right.

Actuallly, it depends on the priest or diocese. Our priest at our wedding in 1989 let my dh's family take communion if they wanted.
Our last priest's view was "Who am I to judge what's in a person's heart?" and would let anyone have communion.
IT's not like non-Catholics have a big stamp on their forehead anyway. How would the person distributing communion know if you're Catholic or not?

 

[Deb in IA]

My biggest beef
I am not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. If I am at a wedding, funeral or any other service that takes place inside the catholic church it has been frowned upon. Granted I can take it and say nothing but I respect their rules.
Other than that I have no problems. To each their own. But the holy communion table is for everyone it is the place setting Jesus put out for us in rememberance of him! Not a catholic right.

I totally agree with this.

We are practicising Episcopalians. Our children attend Catholic school. When they have Mass in school, our kids have to cross their arms and get a "blessing" from the priest.

Our DD asked us just last night if we believe that only Catholics go to heaven. I said no, and told her that I believe that anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior will go to heaven. I told her that I personally feel that the Catholic Church, while it has done a lot of good things, puts too many "rules" on people.

 

[CheshireVal]

My biggest beef
I am not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. If I am at a wedding, funeral or any other service that takes place inside the catholic church it has been frowned upon. Granted I can take it and say nothing but I respect their rules.
Other than that I have no problems. To each their own. But the holy communion table is for everyone it is the place setting Jesus put out for us in rememberance of him! Not a catholic right.

That's another good point. I remember when I was looking into wedding options, I discovered that we wouldn't be able to get married in a Catholic church (not that I really wanted a church wedding) because I'm Protestant! It kinda made me feel dirty, like I"m not good enough....

I don't think it's only Catholics who have that kind of restriction on wedding ceremonies, though.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Because, deep down, they know that the catholic faith is the true faith, and all the other "christian" churches came from the catholic church when the leader decided he did not like the teachings because of some personal desire. I.E. Anglican -- divorce, etc. Martin Luther, .......

The one way to attempt to get members is to attack the true faith. It is a sign of weakness.

This is an interesting turn...

Yep, Bob, pass the popcorn.

 

[golfgal]

Well said. It's sometimes embarrassing to admit that I'm a Christian because it carries with it all sorts of negative connotations. I don't go to Church anymore either (was raised in a very liberal and tolerant Presbyterian church) but I still consider myself Christian.

I've always been fascinated with Catholicism and its traditions, but there are several things that I just don't fundamentally believe in (Mary being holy and remaining a virgin forever, the concept of confessing sins to a priest, and the idea that communion is *literally* the flesh and blood of Christ). I do have respect for the church, but some of those concepts are just too strange and unfamiliar for me to embrace myself. (I married a non-practicing Catholic-- we've agreed that any future kids will be raised in a Presbyterian or Lutheran church).

The Catholics don't believe that Mary was a virgin for ever, although they do refer to her that way I guess, they believe that Jesus was "born of the virgin Mary" meaning she was a virgin when she was blessed with Jesus. Yes, the Catholics do place a higher "value" on Mary then other Christian churches but heck, she was Jesus' mom, she was chosen to do that for a reason don't you think?

Also, a Christian believes is Jesus Christ plain and simple. How is one "Christian" religion better then another? Like someone else said, the protestant religions are offshoots of the Catholic Church, which was the first Christian church.

I grew up in and have pretty much lived in areas that were predominantly Catholic and until I started venturing into groups such as this never really knew that the "world hates Catholics".

 

[castleview]

I was raised by an Episcopalian and a Catholic which are very similar. My early years were mostly at the Episcopalian church because my Dad hadn't gotten over the indoctrination of 1950's Catholic schooling (his words, not mine). In high school I started going to the Catholic church because Saturday night was easier than Sunday morning for a teenager. That continued into college where there was a wonderful Friar. Now I'm a mom of three and have decided to raise them Episcopalian.

I love Catholicism, but I can't take the rules that come with it. Episcopalianish has rules also, but I don't find them as "in your face".

The Catholic stance on birth control is ridiculous, the idea that one man is infallible is hard for me to believe, and the fact that my dad and step-mother can't be buried in a Catholic cemetary unless my dad gets an annullment really ticks me off. I also grew to dislike confession because I found that it was simply cleaning the slate for the week and going back to the old ways for many people.

Most of my friends are Catholic and they don't believe in much of the Catholic doctrine either. They tell me "just ignore it". I'd love to but how can I teach my kids to believe in something but not really?

Maybe it's not so much the religion as it is the leaders of the Church that bother me. Don't get me wrong, I had great admiration for Pope John Paul II - we should all live like that. I also love Catholic Charities and a small organization near me that houses pregnant girls who don't want to get abortions.

Yet, the church secretary and the Deacon who told me the Catholic church wouldn't recognize my marriage if I didn't get married there (who BTW, left his wife and 5 daughters for another woman) is just one example of the hypocracy I loathe.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the theology of Catholicism. I would really like to go back to that church. But I can't. They would have to change their stance on birth control and divorce first for me to consider.

That's just my opinion. I hope I haven't offended anyone, but that's just my "crisis". For the record, I never heard the "catholics are christians" thing.

 

[dennis99ss]

Just trying to answer the question

Maybe a little to blunt, but, my history book is pretty clear...

can I have some butter on that popcorn

 

[CheshireVal]

The Catholics don't believe that Mary was a virgin for ever, although they do refer to her that way I guess, they believe that Jesus was "born of the virgin Mary" meaning she was a virgin when she was blessed with Jesus. Yes, the Catholics do place a higher "value" on Mary then other Christian churches but heck, she was Jesus' mom, she was chosen to do that for a reason don't you think?

Does it vary from church to church maybe? I know I read somewhere recently of a church denying that Mary and Joseph could have had other children (Jesus' half brothers I guess) because she supposedly remained a virgin....

 

[sodaseller]

My very devout and pious SIL is really enduring a crisis of faith right now. Her beloved daughter is marrying a nonCatholic and the Bishop will not permit a wedding Mass, even with the groom going through preCana, agreeing to raise children in the Church and to be open to conversion, and of course not taking Communion himself. The Bishop claims some new direction from Rome to strictly adhere to this guideline, of which I was not aware, and I follow such things pretty closely. While we cannot retain identity and be too compromising, this strikes me as very wrong. It really pains my niece to imagine marrying without a full Mass.

 

[RickinNYC]

Just trying to answer the question

Maybe a little to blunt, but, my history book is pretty clear...

can I have some butter on that popcorn

Blunt isn't exactly the word I'd have chosen.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's another good point. I remember when I was looking into wedding options, I discovered that we wouldn't be able to get married in a Catholic church (not that I really wanted a church wedding) because I'm Protestant! It kinda made me feel dirty, like I"m not good enough....

I don't think it's only Catholics who have that kind of restriction on wedding ceremonies, though.

Didn't you just get married??? If your fiance is Catholic--then no problem...if neither of you are Catholic...why a catholic church?

You should not have been turned away specifically if one person isn't Catholic. This is post-Vatican II afterall.