Is the Roman catholic religion evil?

Question

Ok this si'nt loaded but lately I've been thinking about this
Most religions do have some very bad points but I've noticed the roman catholic church seems almost evil
It is so rich but doesn't share
You pay to save your soul!
it has only recently stopped discriminating people like the jews
It supported Hitler!
it causes overpopulation

However to be fair it has helped ppl

LOOK I AM JUST GIVING MY VIEW YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE WITH IT BUT IF YOU DO OR DON'T GIVE A REASON BUT PICK ON THE JEWS OR SOMETHING

Answer 1

How can the Church that Jesus Christ himself established be Evil? The Church of Rome has carried out the commandments of Christ from the very beginning.
We know that Our Lord established a Church before He ascended into Heaven. He made St Peter the head of that Church. But does that Church still exist? There are so many Churches that call themselves Christian ... are they all the true Church? Is only one of them? Which one?

Most true Christians accept as the basis of their faith those truths set forth in the Nicene Creed. It is in that Creed that we learn the true marks (or indicia) of the True Church of Christ.

The True Church is ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC.

Only the Roman Catholic Church can validly claim all four marks. It is the Roman Catholic Church which has always been and continues to be that Church which Jesus Himself established almost 2000 years ago.

The Catholic Church is ONE
There is only one Christian Church, united in faith, in worship and in in succession from the Apostles themselves. For the Church is the Body of Christ Himself, and so is whole and one as Christ's Body is whole and one. Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church promulgated by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, states that:

"The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Saviour, after His Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it .... This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that:

"The Church is one: she acknowledges one Lord, confesses one faith, is born of one Baptism, forms only one Body, is given life by one Spirit, for the sake of one hope, at whose fulfilment all divisions will be overcome."
Of course, it is a sad fact that in the course of its history, rifts have arisen in the Church, sometimes leading whole groups of the faithful to separate from the Church. This is a scandal, unpleasing to God. Our Lord wishes that "all may be one" and it is the duty of all Christians to strive towards and pray earnestly for that day when all Christians will be united in the Lord.

This does not, however, mean that a proliferation of denominations means the Catholic Church is not one. In fact, all those separated from the Catholic Church remain part of her, in a mysterious way. All those who receive Christian baptism belong to the Catholic Church!

We all look forward with hope to the day when we will share a meal together at the one banquet table in the presence of Our Lord.

The Catholic Church is HOLY
Lumen Gentium states further that:

"The Church ... is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as "alone holy", loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God."
The Church, then, is perfect and holy, the spotless bride of Christ, the undefiled Body of Christ Himself, filled with the Holy Spirit.

The mysterious paradox is that the Church is holy and perfect, even though she is made of imperfect sinners!

The Church is holy: the Most Holy God is her author; Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make her holy; the Spirit of holiness gives her life. Since she still includes sinners, she is "the sinless one made up of sinners". Her holiness shines in the saints; in Mary she is already all-holy."
--Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is CATHOLIC
"Catholic" in this sense is the "small-c" "catholic", which means "universal". The Church can be found in St Peter's Basilica, in a suburban parish church, in a group of faithful in the Amazon Jungle. But being one in faith and communion with the Church in Rome makes this Church a universal collection of those "particular Churches". Particular Churches fall to the care of Bishops, the pastors of the faithful and successors of the Apostles. Their communion with each other and with the Bishop of Rome makes the Catholic Church truly universal.

Pope Paul VI in his encyclical, Evangelii Nuntiandi, states:

"Let us be very careful not to conceive of the universal Church as the simple sum, or ... the more or less anomolous federation of essentially different particular churches. In the mind of the Lord the Church is universal by vocation and mission, but when she puts down her roots in a variety of cultural, social, and human terrains, she takes on different external expressions and appearances in each part of the world."
"The Church is catholic: she proclaims the fulness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times. She is "missionary by her very nature".
--Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is APOSTOLIC
The Catholic Church validly claims succession from the Apostles themselves. All bishops of the Catholic Church are ordained by bishops who themselves were ordained by bishops who themselves were ordained ... and so on ... who themselves were ordained by the Apostles. This passing on of the authority and mission of the Apostles throughout time is guided by the Holy Spirit who descended on the Apostles at Pentecost and remains with the Church guiding Her until the Lord comes again.

Other Churches, no longer in communion with the Church of Rome, have also maintained Apostolic Succession. The Orthodox Churches, certain of the bishops of the Anglican Communion and the bishops of the Society of St Pius X, although not in communion with Rome, have maintained this succession from the Apostles by ensuring that only bishops in the Apostolic Succession may ordain other bishops after the group has separated from Rome.

"The Church is apostolic. She is built on a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the Lamb". She is indestructible. She is upheld infallibly in the truth: Christ governs her through Peter and the other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops.
--Catechism of the Catholic Church

Answer 2

There is so much ignorance in this question, it's hard to know where to start. First off, this isn't an opinion, you are making an accusation. You are listing facts that are invalid and without sources, your ignorance of the subject is astounding and yet you claim the Roman Catholic Church is evil.

"It's so rich but doesn't share" um...yeah. Have you heard of the soup kitchens, the orphanages, the sick houses? Covents? All these are Catholic run organizations to which the Catholic Church gives and does not receive back. Have you heard of the Christian ban in China? Where if you're a Christian, you could be killed? The Catholic Church funds those who are in hiding, even sending their priests there so those people can receive the Eucharist (it's a volunteer job as well) even at the risk of their own lives.

They set up churches in Africa, they are actually the lead benefactor for the AIDS treatment in Africa, thank you very much.

"You pay to save your soul!" I'm guessing this is refering to indulgences. The idea behind indulgences was to make a sacrifice for those you love, but back in the 'dark ages' there were many priests who took advantage of this, but it WASN'T the Catholic Church. Actually, any time it was known to be done, it was stopped, but back then there wasn't really any way to know quickly. Everything was letters carried on horseback, not exactly the fastest.

"It has only recently stopped discriminating people like the jews" Oh really, so that's why we rescued them from the Muslims three or more times? That's why we gave them sanction and help when they were being persecuted?

Let's move to the next one as it ties in with the one above it. "It supported Hitler", now this one is always misunderstood. Many people think because the Pope didn't sign the Allies treaty that it meant he must've been in league with Hitler. Truth is, the Pope was the lone voice speaking out against Hitler and the atrosities that were happening to the Jews. Even Times Magazine said that and they are certainly not Catholic.

Go to the Houlocaust Muesam and you'll see the truth. The Pope saved thousands of Jews lives by opening Rome's boarders and taking them in. The reason he didn't sign the treaty was because he told the Allies they needed to include Russia in the document for the atrosities found there as well. But since Russia was an ally--at the moment--they didn't want to upset them and refused. So the Pope refused to sign as well, saying he couldn't as a religous leader, ignore one atrosity for another.

That is why the rumor goes around that we supported Hitler. Doesn't matter if it's true or not, which it isn't.

"It causes overpopulation" this must go towards our stand on contraception of all kinds. Did you know that Natural Family Planning (NFP) is 99.9% effective if done correctly? Did you know that a condom is only 67% effective and birth control is only 42% effective? Research NFP and you'll find that the countries that have overpopulation problems that are using NFP are steadily decreasing. The birth rate is so low in these countries, it's almost non-existant 0.0013.

We don't say "Pop out a child every year! Go!" We do say though "Be open to life and God." We believe that using birth control is against God because you are making an act of God into a god. People who use NFP actually have better marriages and the divorce rate for those who use it is maybe 2%.

The problem with you 'opinion' is you've formed one without even researching it. You said you've been thinking about it, but I can think the sky is green and form an opinion on it, but it is nothing without the research.

Look into things before you decide an answer to it.

Answer 3

Don't you dare say the Catholic church supported Hitler because it did NOT! That is a BIG FAT LIE! He took control over many of those european churches and the people lived in fear because once he was finished with the jews, Catholics were next. The Catholic church is always helping the poor of the world it just there actions only seen and not heard. Cause over population? are you saying abortion is okay? Look at the pictures on the link and I'm sure you'll be saddened and see how evil it is!

Answer 4

The Roman Catholic Church so did not support Hitler...hmmm...who else died in the concentration camps? Nuns, priests, & other religious.
Oh, FYI, Catholic means 'universal,' which means u don't have 2 have certain requirments 2 be part of the Church. Overpopulation? Where r u getting this stuff? & what do u mean u 'pay' 2 save ur soul?
& another thing, the Church has had a lot of horrible leaders, I'll admit that, but that was how long ago?

Answer 5

No! of course it isn't. Read the Gospels, Jesus founded a Church on the rock of Peter. The Apostle Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, i.e. the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is the Church that Jesus Himself founded, all other Christian churches are simply breakaway sects, many of them broke away because they disagreed with the teachings of the Church Jesus founded and are therefore heretical. As for the list of accusations you make against the Catholic Church, there are two sides to every story, but for reasons of anti-Catholic propaganda we usually only hear one side. Just to tackle one of your accusations, it is a complete lie that the Catholic Church supported Hitler. This lie has been repeated so often that people now believe it as a fact. The truth is that Hitler actually persecuted the Catholic Church, and there is much contemporary evidence of this. This evidence is freely available, to anyone who truly wishes to tell the truth about this period of history, the trouble is there seems an industry dedicated to besmirching Catholicism, and those involved in are not interested in the truth or in presenting genuine evidence.

Answer 6

There is trouble and problems in the Roman Catholic Church. However they are not evil. They believe in the Good side of laws that Christ brought on earth. They just go about it differently than other sects. They have done some bad things like destroy all the codicels in South America, trying to wipe out their religion, but also wiping out their culture. I think they have calmed down a lot since then. My church uses Catholic Charities to distribute goods across the world, because 100% of it will get to where it is suppose to go. Some so called Christian Charities put too much in their pockets and not enough for the poor they are feeding. They drive big cars live in 16000 sq ft houses because they distribute the charities. The Priests normally don't die rich unless they have written a book or something like Norman Vincent Peale

Answer 7

It actually does share, but we must pay to support our Chuches and Parishes so that the faith can be continued.

We haven't had indulgences since the 1500's, you nutjob! Even then, it was just a scam. No doubt, it was crooked... ripping off the rich, but I would guess that if your Church existed for as long as ours did, then you would undergo some problems too, so shut your @#$%in' mouth.

(Look below for discrimination...)

WTF!!!! HITLER WAS EXCOMMUNICATED!!! (I think, lol.) -- Either way, he declared himself a non-Catholic. And, P.S. Do you even know how many Catholic went to the Concentration Camps themselves!?! Hitler was by NO MEANS Catholic! He hated us, too.

That last argument is just plain retarded. lol.

Answer 8

Give me a break -- not one of the things you've said about the Catholic church are true.

Catholic-supported charities contribute millions of dollars' worth of food, medicine, clothing, building supplies, etc., to needy people throughout the world. My little church alone raised $25,000 to aid our sister church in Calavera, El Salvador. . .and there are maybe 25 families in our church, tops.

No one can seriously believe that we "pay to save our souls," can they? Salvation is a free gift available to all through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

Despite the lies told about the Pope, Hitler, and the Jews, the truth is that the Catholic Church acted prudently to keep more people from being slaughtered. Many Catholics risked their own lives to hide and protect Jews from the Nazis, as well. The old stories about the Catholic church being in league with the Nazis are just that -- stories made up by those who want to denigrate the Church.

And I'd love to know where you get the "overpopulation" statistics. Catholics practice the rhythm method to limit conception, and it is a very effective means of birth control. Personally, I don't know of a Catholic family that has more than three children, and two is the norm in my parish.

Next time, you might try asking a Catholic what we really believe and practice before you make wild accusations like these.

Edit:

Death from Above, I just read what you wrote, and there are tears in my eyes. Your grandmother was an incredibly brave woman to risk her life in that way. You must be proud of her, and I know she'd be proud of you. It's obvious by your defense of Catholics that you have inherited a large measure of her spirit.

Thanks, bro.

Answer 9

Wow. That is really all i can say to this Question.

Let's face it, all religions are out to make money.
The Catholic Church, believe it or not, is quite generous with it's money.
I converted to Catholicism, and there is no doctrine that says I have to pay money to the Catholic Church to save my soul.
On the Jews, Protestants used the bible to justify slavery in the southern US before the Civil war.
How can overpopulation be considered evil?

We can nitpick at each religion and eventually we will find some wrongdoing, but this exists in every religion. That is reality.

Answer 10

Not evil but cetainly a little misguided sometimes. And it is the people who make the choices not God.....so the whole church cannot be blamed for teh actions of some members. Applies to all religions....what is done in the name of God is often evil in content but does not mean the whole concept is rotten.

Answer 11

Alright so it is rich because many years ago they were granted lands and exemptions from taxation by various governments. to boot people give them money as well.

discriminated against other groups, well not really. it more or less ignored them and did not really try to get along for a long time. yes it did discriminate many years ago but over time that was not necessarily the case.

Supported hitler?? well if you consider silence as automatic support then ok, but no the church did not really support him but worked with the system and refused or procrastinated in complaining about things it knew was happening.

over population... yeah they do have to get upto speed on things as the world has changed and even though the church has changed over the centuries it still lags behind the times.

unfortunately there are some points in the churches ideaology or stands that they will not change as it has been this way since basically the beginning. so for all its faults and troubles it has been around for millenia and has done a lot of good (and bad).