Okay, I am a Catholic, but a 'converted' one who lives in a moderate to extremely liberal diocese. I love the 'openness' of the Catholic church here ... even our Cathedral has 'members' of EVERY RELIGION ... some are atheists, some are Muslim, some are Jewish. We don't really CARE what you say you are ... if you find something at our church, you are welcome here ... but you CAN NOT take the Eucharist (Communion) unless you are a Catholic, or have 'dispensation' and are an Episcopalian.
2. I was baptized a Methodist when I was 16. I went to 'other than Chrisitan churches' after I turned 19 ... I was a Vedantist (a sub-cult of the Hindu church that recognizes Jesus as an 'avatar' of God), a Vietnamese Buddhist, went to a Unity church (monotheistic), then became an Episcopalian. I was that for many years, until one night (after 9 p.m.) I had a crisis of faith. I called EVERY Episcopal church in the city, and got all kinds of recorded messages ... then 'something' said 'Call a Catholic church ... but if a PRIEST answers, you will have to BECOME a Catholic.' I did, and it WAS a priest who answered (weird, because he had six other people in his office, all of whom were 'used to answering the phone' for him) ... and now I'm a very HAPPY Catholic.
3/4 The ONLY thing that I don't like about the Catholic church is that they REFUSE to even consider ordaining women ... but they do have some 'married Priests' now who WERE first Episcopalian (they can marry) who 'converted' and carried their 'ordination' over to the Catholic church. Maybe someday, but NOT IN MY LIFETIME ...
2007-08-15 09:04:24
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answer #1
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answered by Kris L 7
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1- everything the grace via confession and the eurchrist, the joy and cost of being a part of the oiving body of christ, being part of the churchthat christ founded. I could go on and on.
2-the catholic church is the church that chritst founded all protest denominations either broke of fromt he catholic churhc as the lutherans, anglicans, orhtodox etc. or broke off from a church that broke off from one of these. there is one vine and branches upon brances upon branches, until we get to the so clled eveangelicals or fundies, who are nothing more than bible studying fellowships. As that they are fine, but they are not churches. there is no eurchirist, there is no apostolic succession (a doumented chain of memebrs and hierachry going all the back to those who walked with Jesus). They also do not have reverence for the Blessed Mother. BTW today is the fieast or celebration of her assumption (or if you like rapture) into heaven. In addtiton to the Bible which we put together and gave to the world (it did not just fall out of the sky) we alos have the church's tradiiton we were actually there when the New testement events took place. As an analogy, why would I settle for a tuna sandwich (as much as I like tuna) when I could have the full 7 course banquet that Jesus himself instituted. Oh, the church came first, then came the bible not the other way around.
3- I don't really struggle with anything, except as we all from time to time struggle with faith. I don't have to read the bible and struggle with what it means to me, we have the chruch's tradition and the pronouncements of the Popes to tell us we were there we don't struggle with it's meaning for ourselves we know. Now there are mysteries like the Eurchist which as it says in St. John's gospel was a hard teachign and many left the fold at that time -- the first protestants when Jesus was still among us. But we accept it as a mystery and do it the way He taught us, why? because He said so, and that is good enoiugh for us. "if you eat my body and drink my blood you will have eternal life" "take eat this is my body, take drink this is my blood" The Mas repets this. That is what he said and that is what He did, who do we know -- because we study greek and aramaic and find the earlies known written version ... NO!!!!! ... BECAUSE WE WERE THERE when He said and did it.
4. I don't know that I would change anything. Goid did not choose me to be part of the hierarchy a decsion maker, He chose me to be a follower.
I am not pleased by some of the things that have happened, and I'm not completely pleased with the way things have been dealt with. As an incest survivor not at the hands of a priest, in fact, it was my parish priest who helped me when no one would, who stoud up for me when my whole famile, save for dad, betrayed me. But anyway with that expereinc I have a depper understanding of these things. And while I am proud the way the church has stud up and taken the hits, I am not completly happy about the therapy provided to the survivors nor some of the explanation for occurence. But agian don't get me wrong I am very proud the way the church has stud up and taken responsiblilty. But I think there is better therapy available. The state of art of thereapy lags behind and the churfch's understanding of threapy lags behind even the state of the art. the key would be some sort of tranferrence where the perpatoators take the guilt ans shame which is rightfully theirs and remove it from the survivor who will other wise carry it around for hte rest of their lives. This is key. However current state of PTSD threapy, ie jhealing truama is moving in the right direction but slowly. The church could be a contributor to this, but the best therapy remains secular. This is a frustartion. However, God is good and the Church progress at our Lords pace. It is certainly more enlightened then the protestant expecially evangialical churches I have associated with where the modaility is to deny and blame the victim whenever I've seen this occur. Also, one more thing punishing the perpatrator does not help the survivor.
So, I hope that answers your question. I am a catholic because it is the church that be Lord and savior through the word of His father and with the help and guidance of the Holy spirit founded. there is no other church period.
2007-08-15 16:18:04
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answer #2
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answered by johnnydepp1118 5
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I enjoy the Catholic style of worship, and am honored to be in a Church that respects the Holy Eucharist. Also, Catholics have a good record of fighting for social justice, and have a long-standing record of charitable contributions.
I was born into an Italian Catholic family, but aside from that, I have remained Catholic by choice after researching many different religions. However, there are certain Protestant groups that I respect, such as the Episcopalians.
I have always had a tough time understanding the Church's stance on female clergy, homosexuality, and birth control. I struggle with these greatly. I've read the arguments for these positions, but I'll have to be honest and admit that they don't make much sense to me.
I'd like to see the Church become increasingly more progressive and inclusive, but retain its uniquely Catholic liturgy.
2007-08-15 15:58:25
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answer #3
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answered by solarius 7
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1. I’m new to the Faith so I’m learning about the Church more and more each day. The more I learn, the more I love Her.
2. I was a protestant, so I can tell anyone who never was to be ever so grateful for the beauty and wonder we have in the Church. Trust me, the protties don’t have it.
3. I struggle with my sins. I’m trying to get over them; confession and PRAYER help tremendously. I doubt I’d even have the desire to face my sins if not for the strength of prayer.
I can’t really name a belief I struggle with believing in (I accept all the Church’s teachings; those I don’t understand I take on faith and then STUDY and PRAY). I think my biggest hurdle is how well I’ll live up to what She teaches.
4. Change? Don’t think I’d change anything. The Faith is perfect because the Faith came from Jesus. What needs changing is we little sinners :D.
2007-08-16 23:48:35
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answer #4
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answered by Danny H 6
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Chesterton I believe said that Catholic means "here comes everybody". I enjoy my Catholic identity the most because in some way everybody is supposed to fit in. At her best moments the Church is a welcoming Mother embracing all her children with all their faults and foibles. Some groups only want the all stars. I'll stick with the group that extends back to Jesus and has profoundly transformed for the better every culture to which it has been exposed. There are moments when the Church is not at its best.I believe Jesus' promise to remain with us till the end of the age. I like it because we have only one Pope. In the Protestant denominations everybody is pope declaring what to believe, what the Bible really teaches, and how to govern your behavior according to the preferences of the local minister.
At least in the Catholic Church one voice is meant to speak for the whole family. There are lots of beliefs that I struggle with of course. Basically I resist the Church failing to remain true to its real identity and becoming a power focused organization. God decided the best way to understand God is through a Person. The best way to understand what the Church is is through a person. Persons are what matter not power.
What I would change about the church is merely the emphasis. The unordained people are just as important as the ordained maybe even more so since they outnumber the others. I believe the unordained should have a greater voice in formulating the practice of the Church. The Catholics have emphsized the importance of clergy ever since the Protestants denied there was any difference between laity and clergy. The stress on ordination has put the lay folk at a disadvantage. They are almost expected to be passive. Pray, Pay and Obey as one priest has put it. I think that a greater emphsis on lay people would allow more balance in the total life of the Church. The wheat and the weeds grow together until the final harvest. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly are in the Church and in me. When you read Church history you find that much of what people take for granted as part of the identity of the Church is mere cultural baggage. It sometimes gets in the way of the Mission and Service which Jesus requires of his followers. Changes in a lot of the cultural stuff is threatening to some but usually life giving to a lot more. For example the Mass was not celebrated in the Chinese Language until 1989, twenty-five years after the rest of the Church. The government authorities and the traditionalists want it to stay in Latin basically because people do not understand what is being said. That is true in every country. The language of the common people used in the Mass has the power to transform lives effectively. That's why it is dangerous. The cultural baggage of preserving Latin actually got in the way of people experiencing the power of the Mass. Often they turned to personal devotions like novenas and rosaries during the Eucharist. Latin gave the clergy a prominent position but starved the laity who could just as well read and pray to God in their own language. So it was good to go. China now is facing a crisis because Christian faith is growing especially in areas where the Gospel is being preached and prayed in the native languages. Catholic Faith in China has sadly remained proportionate to the status it had before the Communists took over in 1949. The Church needs to embrace the culture of China to become more fully Catholic. What is holding us back?
2007-08-16 00:34:21
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answer #5
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answered by ndorphynbear@sbcglobal.net 2
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1. Everything~ the Mass, the sacraments, well~Everything.
2. Cradle Catholic at first, remained Catholic by choice. Protestants don't have the Eucharist, they do not receive Christ every Sunday quite the same way we do.
3. I used to struggle with the stance on birth control, and sex before marriage, but after finding out the reasons why, I've realized that my feelings were just a way of justifying my sins.
4. Obviously, the scandals, unfortunately, even though it was only 1% of our Priests it was enough for lukewarm Catholics to have a reason to leave. We also need to learn how to evangalize more effectively where we live.
2007-08-15 16:00:17
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answer #6
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answered by marriedw/children 3
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1. I enjoy the security that comes with the knowledge that the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Jesus Christ, and guided by the Holy Spirit. A Catholic who isn't sure what to think about a matter of faith and morals can look to the Church and get the answer he needs.
Moreover, the Church gives us the sacraments as supernatural help in our journey toward God. When a priest says, "I absolve you from your sins", you know that your sins are forgiven. When a priest takes bread and says, "This is my body", then you know that it is the Body of Christ. What other religion can claim such intimacy with God, and such guarantees of said intimacy?
2. I was raised Catholic, and my parents were both Catholic, but I really do believe that the Catholic Church is the right Church to belong to. If I didn't believe it, I'd leave, regardless of my past.
3. By God's grace, I don't have a lot of trouble accepting the teachings of the Church. (I've studied the faith in depth.) I do struggle with being able to explain them sometimes. Sometimes they are hard to explain, but, more commonly, people aren't open to hearing them because they are so incredibly contrary to the modern world.
4. I wish that some of the practices and traditions of old were more common. I mean such things as First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart, sodalities, the Holy Name Society, Catholic schools, the Confraternity of Catholic Doctrine, and so on, and so on.
2007-08-15 15:59:21
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answer #7
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answered by kcchaplain 4
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1. actually I enjoy just having faith. when I didn't my life was in complete chaos 24/7. I didn't trust anyone, nor myself. Now I have trust in the Lord and I'm content.
2. I was raised Catholic and left the Church when I was 17. I never stopped believe that God existed but I wondered with all the religions in the world, how do I know that Catholicism in the "right" one. after 15 years of wondering and wandering, I returned to the Church. Nothing else made sense to me. Catholicism does.
3. I had a miscarriage 13 yrs ago and my mother told me that my baby was in limbo. I had a hard time with that concept. Then 3 yrs ago I found out that limbo was never dogma nor doctrine. It was a thought yet never stated as truth by the Church. And just recently the Church declared that limbo doesn't exist. But for the past 13 yrs I've asked God to hug my child for me until I can do that myself. I don't have any struggles with the Church as a whole, with Vatican. But I do struggle with some Catholic churches in my area that have gone 'modern' and have allowed nuns to run it instead of the priest. And have taken out kneelers. And have made the homilies more like an entertainment session instead of a moral lesson talk. Our bishop is getting us back on track. I like the orthodox churches instead of the modern, feminist ones.
4. I want to see the altar servers be altar boys again. I am female but I have a hard time with girls being servers. It's the orthodox thing in me. And I would like priests to speak about actual sins, not just sins in general. Like speak on abortion, homosexuality, gossip, lust, cursing, etc. Today they just seem to tell us to be good. At least the young ones do. The orthodox priests are all retired or dead. I want to heard God's word from the pulpit and how it applies to the 21 Century. The Church in itself I would change nothing. It's doing what Jesus told His apostles to do. I think the problems lie in the west being more laid back. I like to watch Mass from the Vatican and churches in the east on TV.
Thank YOU very much! Peace! and God bless!
2007-08-16 07:18:47
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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First off, I would like to thank you for the respectful way in which you asked your question. So many here attack Catholics, so it very rare to read a question like this. I am Catholic, so to answer your questions:
1. I enjoy the Sacraments, the Holy Mass, our traditions etc..
2. I was born Catholic but as opposed to Prostestants, we have the "whole pie" so to speak, whereas they have only a portion.
3. I struggle with the the teachings on artificial birth control, and remarriage.
4. I think I would change the way in which the sex abuse scandal was handled.
2007-08-15 17:59:49
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answer #9
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answered by patty 2
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1. Everything really.
2. I'm Catholic 'cause my parents are both Catholic and made me do my first communion. But either way I think I still would've been a Catholic.
3. I struggle with the "Immaculate Conception" of Mary
4. I would change the celibacy of priests, the praying of the saints. No disrespect though, I just prefer praying to God. And I would like to see less religious sculptures and religious images in churches.
2007-08-15 15:52:59
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answer #10
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answered by Cardiophobia <3 5
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