Why do people always put down the Catholic religion?

Question

How come nobody checks to see if the "facts" they have on the Catholic Church are true? What do people have against Catholics, and why?

Okay, people. There are people who do bad things in other religions too, the media just choses to publicize the Catholic bad people, and Beano4areason, yes Catholic does mean universal, but Christianity itself is not universal. All branches of protesantism have slightly different beliefs. The Catholic Church on the other hand, is universal. You go to any other Catholic church around the world and it's going to be the same. universal. And Mandy, the Pope is just human. He's not infalliable all the time, just when he makes important decisions regarding the faith from the chair of St. Peter, which he doesn't do very often. The late Pope John Paul II went to confession every day. He was certainly human. AdoptiveFather, you'd better check your sources on Purgatory. It's mentioned in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1030-1032.

Answer 1

It's pretty obvious. Protestants know that their tradition came into existence through a rebellion against the Catholic Church. When you rebel against something, you bear the burden of demonstrating that what you rebelled against was BAD. Because if what you rebelled against was GOOD, then your rebellion itself was BAD. So, Protestants have the unpleasant burden of trying to justify their own existence by showing how BAD the Catholic Church is/was. This burden is intensified by the fact that denominationalism is a direct violation of the stated will of God Himself, "that they all may be ONE, even as You Father and I are ONE". So, since Christ Himself spoke strongly against division in the Church, and the history of Protestantism is one of constant division and g\fragmentation, Protestants have to demonstrate that the Catholic Church was just SO BAD that rebelling against it in direct violation of God's Word was justified. That's a pretty tall order. Which is why there is so much absolute nonsense brought against the Catholic Church (note the two silly points someone attempted to make in the post above this one). There just isn't enough valid criticism to make a case at all, let alone a case for direct disobedience to God.

Answer 2

Catholic simply means Universal. So when you say Catholic religion, you are really saying Universal Religion (that being Christianity)

I don't think that most people have a huge problem with Christianity and the belief in Jesus.

What you mean to say is The Roman Catholic Church. The reason why people always put them down is the track record between petophilia and crimes between those men in the church and the poor altar boys that are sexually abused.

People look at the traditions of the Roman Church and because they go back centuries, they feel that it is the purest and closest to Gods Words and Scriptures. The problem and the reasons that people see for puting the Roman Catholic Church down are more literal problems such as the petophilia and other problems too.

People don't necessarily check the facts to see if the things are true is because the proof of molestation by Roman Catholic Priests is proven. The Pope and other higher up Cardinals find out that these things have been going on in a church parish and then they simply transfer the priest that has been messing around and put him in a different state. The reason why they don't just can them and tell them they can no longer preach is because they are in huge demand because they can't get priests!

I don't have anything against a Roman Catholic. I believe the same things that they believe. Usually it is a Roman Catholic that has a problem with me, because I don't believe that praying to anybody else than Jesus is valid. I don't believe that praying to Mary or other Saints is something necessary to do. Also, I don't practice the Rosarie.

I don't have any problems with people who are Roman Catholic, but I am not personally because I wasn't raised that way and I see that it is too ritualistic. Such is life and people don't always agree. Hope you understand the difference between Catholic and Roman Catholic now and hope I haven't insulted you at all.

Answer 3

Let me start by saying that I was raised Catholic. I do not consider myself very religious but my wife, mother and mother-in-law are very strict.

To be honest, there have been many scandals recently. As a Catholic, a man, and a father, I dare say I am more embarrassed and POed by the sex abuse scandals than others are.

The Catholic church is huge, therefore it is easy to pick on. Same idea that McDonald's is easy to make fun of in the movie Supersize Me. There is the whole celibate Priest doctrine, every time a Priest is arrested with a prostitute it makes the newspapers.

I think the single biggest reason others put down Catholics is misunderstanding and/or a purposeful twisting of Catholic doctrine. We Catholics do not worship the Pope, we do not really drink blood and we do not say that the Jews killed Jesus, no matter how many times others say we do.

Some of our beliefs are different than other Christian denominations. The Pope is infallible on theological matters. Therefore when the Pope says that abortion is murder, there is no room for debate. Catholics believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, although most Catholics misunderstand this point. We also believe in and pray to Saints.

PS - Purgatory is not official Catholic doctrine

Answer 4

I am not catholic, I am protestant, I don't have anything against Catholic people, I just don't agree with the doctrine of the church. The practices and beliefs, and such. But my boyfriend was raised catholic. My grandfather was actually a missionary for the Nazarene Church to Guam, and my dad went to the only school on the island, a catholic school, and the nuns beat him for being different, and he was only 7. But that only makes those people bad, not the whole church. A lot of things that go around are just jokes though. I guess people might have a reason to be bitter, or they can be prejudice. Or joking.

I personally don't think the pope is infallible, he is just a man. The bible and Jesus are what's infallible. Nothing or no one else.

Answer 5

In the UK? Have you looked at the census questions? The religion question is optional, has no 'Catholic' option, and has a 'no religion' option. If you consider yourself Christian, tick the Christian box. If you consider yourself no religion, tick the no religion box. If you don't want to answer it, don't. More broadly: if you don't believe in baptism permanently marking your soul, then the baptism hasn't made you Catholic in your own eyes. So, to yourself, you are already not Catholic. The Catholic Church's teaching that 'once a Catholic, always a Catholic' only has to affect your view if you believe it! There is no list!

Answer 6

I have found that many people form opinions from what they hear other people talk about, without knowing the facts.
I grew up catholic, went to a catholic grade school, and was an altar boy, for several years. I know many priests, deacons, and parishioners were are truly men and women of God.
But their are a lot of doctrinal issues and practices that are not quite biblical but have developed over the centuries within the catholic church.
The core beliefs of Catholicism are biblical. (Nicene Creed) It is some of the other practices (venerating saints, transubstantiation, and purgatory, just to name a few) that are suspect. But we all are brothers and sister in Christ.

Answer 7

Since when did Catholics care about "facts"?

Isn't it a standard rule of catholicism that it can only be true if its entirely faith-based and thus devoid of any kind of reason or sense whatsoever?

People put down catholicism not only because its a load of nonsensical mumbo-jumbo and idol-worship ..... but because throughout the centuries it has been responsible for the deaths of more people than any other religion WHILE maintaining that life is sacred.

Enjoy.

Answer 8

What does the Bible say about that? let's examine 1 Timothy 4:1-4--"But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving:"

The Catholic faith has forbidden certain meats to be eaten on certain days and they do not allow priests to marry---

Answer 9

Any religion is open to criticism. I don't think the catholic religion gets put down any more than others. It may seem that way to you but ive seem others of different religions saying the same thing also.

Answer 10

Tell us what good things the Catholic Church has done?
What are the "facts"?