Why is there a lot of misunderstanding in Catholics?

Question

What i mean is, i am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and my best friend is a Catholic. While I do not know much about his religion, I have heard a lot of resentment towards the Catholic religion, just like I hear a lot towards my beliefs. Is it because both are the only relgions (that I can think of at the moment) that claim to be the one true church?

I just don't know why the Catholics get this judgement before anyone actually finds out about their religion. And no one tell me it is the Catholic priests. I don't like it when people base an entire religion when just a few people mess up. Everyone makes mistakes.

**Another note** one of the things that made me think of this is Mitt Romney running for President. A lot of people said he could run being a Mormon, because Kennedy ran and he was a Catholic. I just don't know.

Answer 1

people like to say mean things about things they don't understand

Answer 2

Your best option may be to actually read about Catholicism and determine the basic differences in doctrine. The mormons used to emphasize the the Catholic church was the "Great and Abominable Church", but do you know why? I'm certain you do not, and I'm willing to bet the only "History" of any religion you know is what you're taught in sunday school: mormons are always persecuted for their religion. Have you thought about their socio-economical impact as well? It adds more to history, but is seldom discussed.

Asking questions on Y!A is a start, but you'll need to wean yourself from the sanitized church version to understand the beliefs of the 5-6 billion people in the world.

Answer 3

I think a lot of people dislike Catholics, because the Catholics were the only Church for a very long time and had a fairly oppressive regime in Europe for some of that time, according to some people's opinion. Like Mormonism, I think it is more appropriate to judge a group by what they do now, rather than what some leaders and members did in the past.

Answer 4

I'm a Catholic and I think it's because we're one of the largest and most dominating religious bodies in the world. We've had a lot of control over a lot of things and have, sadly, made quite a few mistakes.
For example, the killings of many Muslims, the manipulation of the Bible, the Catholic vs Jew thing, black slavery etc
We've been linked to a lot of tragic historical events and I guess people have just grown to despise us.
I can't blame them I guess but the reason why I still remain a Catholic is because I don't base my religion on what some immoral Catholics have done.
But it seems we will always be judged on the bad that some of us have done and not on the good in the same way that muslims will be seen by many as terrorists.

Answer 5

I think that it is because many people reject what they think Catholicism is rather than let devout Catholics speak for themselves and reject what Catholicism actually is. They get their information from anti-Catholic websites, anti-Catholic books, or even misinformed/disaffected Catholics. If one priest somewhere told their sister Suzie's cousin not the read the Bible....no matter how many times you show them the official Church documents that specifically and forcefully exhort the faithful to read the Bible and tell them that anyone who says different (even if that person is ordained) is wrong and should (in charity) be brought to the Bishop's attention for correction, they would still rather believe their sister Suzie's cousin. (http://postscripts.blog.com/1616511/)

Being Mormon, I am sure you find the same thing. I have seen some horrible representations of what Mormons believe and I think that Mormons should also be allowed to speak for themselves.

And Primoa1970, in addition to the scriptures we read at Mass, and active encouragement to read the Bible every day, my priest regularly gives us "homework"....extra Bible reading and he expects that we will do it and he follows up the next week. So now you've heard of one. Maybe if you went to the Catholic Church and got to meet and to know devout practicing Catholics you might find we know our Sacred Scripture very well indeed.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

131 "And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life."109 Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful."110

132 "Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of sacred theology. The ministry of the Word, too - pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture."111

133 The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful. . . to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.112

Answer 6

Because people don't do their research before making comments. Catholics no longer claim to be the one true church, you have to go back a long time to see this happening in doctrine, just by virtue of the fact that if you decide to become a Catholic but have already been baptised in your religion they see no need to baptise you again, they accept it, and in their Vatican documents it clearly states that good can be found in all religions and it specifically gives examples such as hinduism buddism etc. The Catholic teaching does not stress that you must be Catholic to be in God's favour or to get to heaven like the Mormons do

Answer 7

I know more about the Catholic faith than I do LDS. But not all Catholics believe the same. Some of my relatives are Catholic and I don't agree with their beliefs, but some of my friends on here are Catholic, and don't believe the same, but believe as I do. So a lot of it is individual, and some of it is the "church".
But the main thing is Jesus is Lord, and you must accept Him as Saviour to get to Heaven.

Answer 8

If you study church history from a non-Catholic and non-Mormon perspective-you will learn a lot about why people do not trust the Catholic church or the Mormons.
You should not remain ignorant forever. There is a tremendous amount of hate towards those two denominations-and it is not unfounded-there is reason for it. They are not called cults because they are innocent-You would do well to learn why.

Answer 9

Many people find fault in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) because they put traditions of man over bible scriptures. It's mostly because of their worship of Mary.
Many people say they have added to the bible for example:
1-they pray TO Mary-not biblical
2-They say Mary was sinless
3-Some bishops have called her co-creator
4-They have many idols that they adorn of her and march her down streets holding this idol up high for all to see on certain holidays
5-they call her Holy when the bible says only God is holy
6- They say Mary never died since she was sinless and was just taken up to heaven.

For the mormon religion it's mainly because of their belief they will become gods of their own planet and they claim that Adam was a god.-false doctrine.
†

Answer 10

You should really search this out for yourself & come to your own conclusion. Ask the Lord to show you His truth.
Do a search on ex catholic testimony & ex mormon testimonies. I assure you will find out some very valid information that you can verify with the Word of God. Search out both sides & pray. Jesus WILL show you His truth.

Answer 11

You mean Roman Catholic. At least learn that your own religion is the most subtle cult of them all.