Why is the Catholic Religion....?

Question

so strict with their members? Why enforse such harsh rules than banish someone from the chruch entirely when he/she cannot conform to such strict regulations? For example, marriage. If you get divorced you are excommunicated. If God can forgive our sins if we ask for forgivness, than why can't the Catholic Chruch?

I'm obviously not Catholic, I was raised Lutheran,so take it easy and be nice. I wouldn't ask the question if I did know what I was talking about. This is what I mean. Catholics are so quick to judge people. The can be down right mean.

You know, now that I think about it (I know a little, my cousin is Catholic), there are many rules. You cannot get married in the Catholic Chruch unless you take their "classes" in marriage. You have to go through years of CCD classes to be confirmed. Yes, there are a lot of rules. And who are all those people and what do they do (Cardnals,etc)? My question is basic, why not just skip all of that and just believe in God?

I don't have a problem, just asking a question. BE NICE for goodness sakes. Not everything is about you so don't take it so personally!

Answer 1

The Catholic Church cares about God, what God has revealed, and the souls of its members.

+ Divorce +

Divorced persons are not excommunicated. They can even receive the sacraments.

The Catholic Church believes that God does not recognize civil divorces because Jesus said, "Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." (Mark 10:9)

However there may be hope of a declaration of nullity.

The term "annulment" is a misnomer because the Church does not undo or erase a marriage bond.

Rather the Church issues a declaration of nullity when it discovers that the parties were not truly joined by God and hence a full spiritual sacramental marriage as understood by the Church was not present.

Then the parties are free to marry for the first time.

+ Religious Education +

The Church does not want people to follow blindly. Therefore classes are required to be completed before the reception of all Sacraments except the Anointing of the Sick.

The Church wants its members to understand what they are doing and why.

+ Why not just skip all of that and just believe in God? +

Jesus and the Apostles left us a beautiful treasure in Christian faith and practice including among other things, Baptism and Eucharist (Holy Communion).

We do not want to leave any of these treasures behind.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Hello everybody good thing Pastor Billy showed up I can see all the usuals are here misinforming ours about what the Catholic Church teaches. First off darling divorce is not a Christian practise so why would you think it acceptable in the first place? The entire reason Protestantism exists today in American is because of.......divorce! Henry VIII in England wanted an annulment from his legal wife Catherine and the Pope said "no way sonny" the rest is history. If you believe in something you have to stick to your guns and that's what the teaching authority of the Catholic Church does and has been doing for 2000 years as the voice of Christianity. Truth never changes and just like Jesus instructed (which is in the bible for the 'in-the-bible folks') divorce is not okay or allowable for Christians. Now many Catholics do it but many Catholic also go ahead and have non-sacramental marriages, marriages which are not valid in the eyes of the Church to begin with. Contrary to want you post about no-forgiveness, the Church is constantly forgiving asking people to return to God's ways.

As for that Heir Heil goof just ignore the nerd, he needs a less hateful stick before people will take him seriously as a messenger of God.

Answer 3

Divorced people are not separated or excommunicated from the church, in any way.

The Catholic Church is a 2000 year old theological bureaucracy with churches, monasteries, and associated offices in countries all over the world, not to mention heaven.

The Catholic Church operates using some 200 different languages, in every time zone (including eternity) and on every continent, 24/7 and 365.

There's no way a universal, worlwide church could operate without at least some rules.

For the faithful, the "essentials" boil down to ten commandments and six church precepts.

The local bishop is the key person in the government of the church.

Answer 4

A Catholic is NOT excommunicated for going through a divorce! Since a divorce does nothing whatsoever where a valid Christian marriage is concerned, how could "doing nothing" result in excommunication? Even if a Catholic goes through the motions of a divorce, and then "remarries", he/she is not excommunicated; however in that case he/she would not be able to receive the Eucharist, since such an arrangement would constitute an objective ongoing, unrepentent state of adultery.

The state cannot "unbaptize" or "unconfirm" a Christian. It cannot "unordain" an ordained Christian minister. So, by what bizarre logic would you think that the state could "unmarry" a couple joined before God for life through a sacrament of the Church??

.

Answer 5

First, you are overgeneralizing. The Catholic Church is a federation of 23 semi-independent Churches, the largest Patriarchate is the Church of Rome. Each grouping has its own canon law.

Second, remarriage is a sin according to Jesus, but the apostles make exceptions. The Church exceptions for what amount to doomed marriages, marriages that were without God from the start. Otherwise, the Church acknowledges all first marriages but generally no others. That said, even then there are exceptions made on a case by case basis.

Third, you are presuming that person cannot conform. How is it strictly impossible for them to love their neighbor as they love themselves and not conform. If you ex-wife or husband is your enemy and the obligation is to love your enemy, then the obligation is to pray for that enemy and turn their heart isn't it? God forgives sin, but He also said, "Go and sin no more!" It is Jesus' words that continuing in a second marriage is adultery and not a valid marriage. It is the apostles who softened the requirements by deciding there are limited circumstances where the words of Jesus are not binding. Two simple examples are when neither party is Christian (the Petrine Privilege) or a shotgun wedding where one or both parties cannot freely choose to enter a wedding.

Answer 6

I'll just take one of your more blatant misunderstandings:

Holy Matrimony is a Sacrament. It is something that God does...Jesus said it is "two becoming one flesh". Divorce is not a sin. RE-MARRYING, without the benefit of a Sacramental Annulment is the sin. And one is NOT excommunicated for doing that. It takes an act of apostasy or heresy to be excommunicated...and that is an ordeal that can take years...and must be done by a Bishop after an ecclesiastical trial.

Please...read some books before making such ludicrous accusations

Answer 7

A Catholic who gets a divorce is not excommunicated from teh Church. I know quite a few Catholics who are not only divorced, but very active in ministry in hte Church.

A Catholic is not allowed to remarry unless the first marriage is declared null.

Answer 8

What do you mean "enforce"? The Catholic religion has a moral code just like any other religion does. If you don't agree with it, no one is forcing you or anyone else to be Catholic.

I wasn't born Catholic, but I am Catholic by choice. I absolutely love the Catholic faith. With Protestant denominations, you might find a piece of truth here or there among false teachings, but the Catholic faith is the only Christian religion that has real apostolic authority and the fullness of the truth of the Christian faith. When Jesus asked the apostles who He was, only Peter got it right. Our pope is the direct successor to Peter.

No religion is without sinners. From the first scandal of Judas betraying Jesus, the Church has always had saints and sinners. I don't know about you, but I think the bottom line is which Church was founded by Jesus. And if one believes the truth about Jesus, that He is God in the flesh, then one can trust that Jesus knew what He was doing when He founded that one universal (catholic) Church and promised He would give the Holy Spirit to His Church to always guide the Church in all moral and spiritual truth until Jesus returns in glory.

I don't know what your problem is, but I would suggest that you get over it.

Edit:
Catholics are used to constantly being attacked by bigots, and that's exactly the way your question came across. When you spit on someone and then accuse them of being mean it makes you a hypocrite.

Answer 9

Catholics are not excommunicated for divorce.

Some catholic churches - like most denominations- are more strict than others.

The Church does have the view that all can be forgiven... as long as we try not to sin. You can't murder, go to confession, murder, go to confession and expect the slate to be clean.

Answer 10

History teaches us that the Catholic Church may be the most evil cult that has ever befallen mankind. The essence of the Catholic Church is to try to control world views. But the Catholic Church has destroyed itself within. Your list is compelling. But the Catholics deem it OK to have a Nazi pope who hunted down Jews. They deem it as OK for priest to be pedophiles, destroying the lives of many boys. They think they can say Hail Mary and go on about their business when they kill, steal, or destroy innocence with evil popes.

With love in Christ.