Do you agree many, if not most, Catholics are the biggest hypocrites?

Question

I am not Catholic, so the way I understand how the religion works is: 1) you go to confession to confess your sins, 2) the Priest tells you to say a # of Hail Mary's and Our Father's) and when you do these things, you will be forgiven.

However, the way I see it work in San Antonio, Texas, is Catholics think if they do these things they are forgiven and can do these same sins again.

It is MY belief that you ONLY receive forgiveness if you are TRULY sorry that you commited them and you promise not to repeat the sin. If you continue to repeat the same sin, God says, "Hey, you don't really mean what you say, so NO--you are NOT forgiven."

Your comments?

Answer 1

The way you're phrasing your question, you make it sound like the only price a Catholic pays for sin is to say some words and they will be forgiven and absolved of sin. Then they are free to commit another or even the same sin again and hope they don't die before the next confession, and that makes them hypocrites. That is a gross oversimplification of the whole process, my friend.
I don't know who you ran into in San Antonio, but I find it hard to believe that all Catholics in San Antonio think this way. Confession is a holy sacrement that involves more than just confessing, saying a few hail Mary's then dancing out the door. It involves prayer, an act of contrition, performing a penance, and understanding the meaning behind the whole process. Basically, admitting and confessing your sins, being sincerely sorry for your sins, and making an effort not to continue to sin. God knows the difference between true confession and lip service. The church can only provide so much in the way of guidance and providing a means of making peace with God. The rest is up to the individual.

Answer 2

O.k. since I was raised Catholic in a very strong religious family I will explain this too you.

You go to a priest to confess your sins. True

You have to really be sorry for your sins in order to be forgiven (it is part of confession)

Afterwards the priest normally gives you some prayers like you said # of Hail Mary's and Our Fathers. true

However these prayers are not exactly to forgive your sins as most people think. It's more of a punishment tool, if you can follow that logic.

See at the end of confession the priest absolves you of your sins, so the prayers are irrelavant to that process. However if you are praying for a while others will know you did something very bad. This makes you less likely to commit the sins again.

Think about it, if your priest gave you 100 Hail Mary's and 20 Our Fathers how long would you be praying for? How many others would see you and judge you. No, I never had to confess anything :), but I did have to go through the process as one of the sacraments (First Holy Communion, first confession, baptism, confirmation, ect ect).

Answer 3

I am a practicing catholic. There is no surprise with your question. been it in my mind and finally resolved it.

No, they are not hyprocrites, rather, pathetics. Even blasphemous..yet I pity them since they do not know exactly the meaning of reconciliation.

Now I may ask, who is more pathetic?
The one who goes to confession and admit his sin before a human being within the vows of secrecy, yet, for that penitent, human as he is weak try to make mends with his God or the one who knows he sinned yet talked directly to God and asked forgiveness and instantly believing that he is forgiven and like the same person above falls and do the same practice?

Can you tell honestly your sin to your minister without fear?

The bottomline is "humility".

Now if you see there is no improvement in there ways of life even if they will spend the whole day confessing and sinning the rest of the week, you should be glad you are not of them, because you know, you are more humble before your GOD.

Being a Catholic, even as a Protestant is a journey my friend, we fall but we need to stand in order not to fall the same way, if still, then you need HIM to carry you.

Answer 4

My experience with the catholic faith has been quite the journey. My mom was protestant and dad catholic. She endure alot of unnecessary hardship from this. Like going away to get married...nuns coming to the house to try and convert her....not being able to attend the baptisms of my brother and myself...family members giving her a cold shoulder. My mother was the most amazing, kind, beautiful person in the world and did not deserve this. Now...in my own life...when I was married I endured the same treatment as my now ex-husband was catholic and I was protestant. I had to have a priest and minister at my wedding...had to endure hearing a priest comment "Let's hope your children do better than she did" because I was baptized catholic and raised in the protestant church. And when I divorced knowing my mother in-law commented "See what happens when you marry outside the faith?" UNBELIEVABLE. I also remember going to a priest and questioning him with the following.... Why do I have to confess to you what is going on in my life when I have a direct "prayer line" to God and why is it that I am a practicing "CHRISTIAN" and unable to take communion in your church...and what gives you the right to deny anyone communion? Well....the shocked priest couldn't answer my question and so now as I raise my sons I am raising them with the believe that there are no differences in which "christian" church you choose and have even taken it to a higher level to say...for as many cultural difference there are within this world...there are cultural differences in the way we express our faith to a higher-being....which in my culture I choose to call God.

Answer 5

All true. But Catholics are just like the rest of Christianity in that regard. Almost every Christian sect has some sort of ritual to forgive people of their sins. Which from a counseling and psychology perspective isn't bad, but it can lead to delusions that a person can do whatever they want and have no real remorse.

Answer 6

You are exactly right. I have a friend who always boasts about how he is "forgiven", yet repeats the same sins over and over and over and over.

My parents are Catholic, and lead lives I would consider exemplar, so clearly not every Catholic is like this. But I think for many, they pay lip service to "penance", and basically just consider it a "get out of jail free" card.

Answer 7

No I disagree.

Most don't know any better because they have not studied God's Word. Traditions of men is steeped in their religion, but this is true of many faiths. To me a hypocrite is a play actor and most are not play acting but biblical illiterates.

Isa 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
Isa 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Isa 29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
Isa 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Answer 8

I guess it depends on the sin. I mean if someone has a bad temper and just goes to confess that he yelled at someone it would be different than if someone went to confess he stole something and would just go on with that.

Answer 9

It's not just Catholics that do this. A very large number of Christians view Jesus as a "get out of Hell free card."

Answer 10

Well would it be more hypocritical to say you sinned and said 10 Hail Mary's to atone or is it more hypocritical to just say who cares Jesus died for that one anyway?