Is it possible to be a very liberal roman catholic?

Question

what does that even mean?

Answer 1

Sure. I'm one. It just means that I stand for many (but not necessarily all) so-called leftist or liberal causes. I believe that there's no good reason, least of all religion, for denying people basic rights and liberties. There are many Catholics who actively fight for social justice.

Answer 2

I'm Catholic, and I consider myself to be moderately liberal. By that, I mean I don't get my knickers in a knot over evolution and some of the other "push button" issues that get everyone so upset.

But very liberal -- no, I don't even think that's possible and still be within the boundaries of what the Church teaches. If you accept the leadership of the Magisterium (and I do), there are a lot of areas where you really couldn't have liberal views.

I know that's about as clear as mud, but it's the best I can do to explain why I don't think a "very liberal" Catholic would, strictly speaking, be possible. You're either faithful to the teachings of the Church or else you hold very liberal views. The two things just don't seem compatible to me.

Answer 3

Well, for one thing, polarization -- dividing people into either "liberal" or "conservative" camps, politically speaking -- doesn't reflect reality for any but the edges on both sides. There's a huge area in the middle where the majority of people fall.

If we sub-divide our political leanings into social, moral, and economic issues, that begins to clarify things a bit. If one is a faithful, observant Catholic, then they will tend to be socially liberal ... morally conservative ... and somewhere in the middle of the road economically. Their votes usually reflect this (as much as possible given the field of candidates). Personal politics are something we carry around with us, though; they color our decision-making much more often than once every couple of years at the polls.

On that basis it's certainly possible to be liberal and also Catholic, although not necessarily wearing the label "I'm a liberal". If someone else's pet cause is a moral one then they would certainly slap a "conservative" label on our devout Catholic up there.

Of course, there are nominal Catholics who already pick and choose among the doctrines of the Church. These are the "cafeteria" Catholics: "I don't agree with the Church on this issue and that issue, and so I'm not going to/going to do it and I don't care what the priest thinks. So will you be at Midnight Mass? Save me a seat". They may see themselves as liberated, perhaps even liberal ... but they like to keep one foot in the door of the Church, just in case.

Answer 4

Semantics cloud the meaning of a lot of things.

Liberal (a loose definition) - someone who believes in individual freedoms rather than a central authority telling people what to do.

Roman Catholic - someone who says they belong to the Roman Catholic religion.

Humans are a walking mass of contradictions, so yes it is entirely possible to be a liberal roman catholic.
[ Liberals and catholics will disagree with that of course ;) ]

Answer 5

Yes. I am Roman Catholic but I also look to other belief systems as a means of finding what morals fit mine. So maybe you couldn't say I'm a pure Roman Catholic but that what I label myself. I think that if a Roman Catholic excludes other religions than that's just ignorant. Especially when Catholics are supposed to be open to everything. New Age beliefs are interesting. As well as India and Chinese belief systems.

Answer 6

In the sense that liberalism in the US is often associated with care of the poor, equal rights for all, peace rather than war, social responsibility, progressivism, etc., absolutely possible!

Jesus was a "liberal". We can be too.

Mind you, there are some planks in the liberal platform, like euthanasia, that are incompatible with Catholic theology. However, there's no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just as it's possible for Catholics to be conservative without supporting capital punishment, it's also possible for us to be liberal without supporting euthanasia.

Answer 7

Absolutely. The word "catholic" itself means "universal", i.e., the church for everyone, regardless of viewpoint. The social issues that people link with the church (homosexuality, birth control, etc.) are just teachings, not doctrines that communicants are required to believe. Read the literature from a progressive Jesuit church and you'll be shocked, even more so if you talk to some parishioners. As some Catholics say, the mother church is very promiscuous.

Answer 8

Yes it is.

What it means depends on in what context you are asking the question.
Politically liberal?(which most RCs are Democrats because they stand more on Churches teachings in preferential treatment for the poor, antideath penalty, antiwar, limited economic redistribution, solidarity, workers rights, protection of the environment),

Socially liberal?(should be because of Catholic Social teaching),

Liturgically liberal? (Women's ordination, authorized lay preachers and ministers, vernacular language, local customs, music and dance in Mass)

Religously liberal Ecumenical? (Remember the last pope prayed with everyone and invited all religions to meet at Assisi. John XXIII invited reps of all religions as observers and lobbyists to the Vatican II Council).

How do you mean "liberal"?

either way Liberalism is completely inline with Catholic teaching and doctrine.

Answer 9

sort .... a religion is based on beliefs not just the church u go 2.. so if u disagree with that religions beliefs ...
how can u be that religion?

the catholic church is notorious for being THE church of god that jesus wanted and that peter started..

according to the catholich church ... only the church can interpret the bible... so therefore u can't realli disagree...

by disagreeing in theory your not a catholic...

liberal means to be free basically as long its not hurting some1 else...

beleiving its ok to be gay...its okay to masturbate exc...u dont need to go to confession... these would be liberal beleifes....meaning u are freee to ur own beliefs despite what the church say s..this conflicts with catholicism....

you can go to a catholic church every sunday and have your own beleifs to yourself... the priest isnt gonna put the hammer on u....
technically i would say there is no such thing as a liberal catholic... but technically doenst matter.... if u wanna go to catholic church and disagree... GO RIGHT AHEAD...

however devout catholics wont be happy to hear ur thoughts....

Answer 10

My US Senator is about as liberal as you can get and he's supposed to be Catholic. Peace