Why are people so quick to criticise the Catholic Church?

[ronki23]

Why do people point their finger at Catholics and say the Catholics are the sinners or the 'stupid' denomination?

Anything Catholic individuals do wrong is blamed on the Church as a whole. That is wrong.

Catholics could also laugh at the Protestants: the Anglican church was set up so Henry VIII could remarry and Mormonism's Joseph Smith couldn't read the same plates twice. Westboro Baptist Church is also a Protestant Church.

 

[SomeRandom]

Whilst I do agree that it is "bad form" to blame the entirety of the CC for the deeds of some random jerks within their congregation, they're not above reproach. And how they handle criticism publicly doesn't do them any PR favours. Sucks for the regular Catholics though. Also pretty sure the WBC is loudly disavowed by any Church not affiliated with the KKK.

 

[crossfire]

Why is this in Same-Faith Debates?

 

[tayla]

Anything Catholic individuals do wrong is blamed on the Church as a whole. That is wrong.

Protestantism was a revolution against and a rejection of Catholicism. Sadly, this attitude still persists.

Protestants often think Catholic belief and practice is bad, non-Biblical, paganistic, immoral, and etc. Catholic teaching is the problem for them too, not just immoral and unrighteous Catholics (who even may be priests, bishops, and even popes).

 

[Frater Sisyphus]

Their constant censorship of everything they see fit since the beginning of Christianity and substantial hypocrisy and crime within the Catholic Church, really infuriates me.

I am very fond of the Mass though (as an occultist)

 

[shunyadragon]

Why do people point their finger at Catholics and say the Catholics are the sinners or the 'stupid' denomination?

Anything Catholic individuals do wrong is blamed on the Church as a whole. That is wrong.

Catholics could also laugh at the Protestants: the Anglican church was set up so Henry VIII could remarry and Mormonism's Joseph Smith couldn't read the same plates twice. Westboro Baptist Church is also a Protestant Church.

It was not quick for me, but decidedly purposeful. I am not only critical of the Roman Church I grew up with, but with Christianity in general.

 

[JacobK]

Why do people point their finger at Catholics and say the Catholics are the sinners or the 'stupid' denomination?

Anything Catholic individuals do wrong is blamed on the Church as a whole. That is wrong.

Catholics could also laugh at the Protestants: the Anglican church was set up so Henry VIII could remarry and Mormonism's Joseph Smith couldn't read the same plates twice. Westboro Baptist Church is also a Protestant Church.

I agree. I do humbly point out that any religion that does not follow the Bible is a deception designed to point people in to confusion and frustration. There is only 1 religion that follows the Bible and the Bible only.

 

[shunyadragon]

I agree. I do humbly point out that any religion that does not follow the Bible is a deception designed to point people in to confusion and frustration. There is only 1 religion that follows the Bible and the Bible only.

. . . and so says the Roman Church. and a number of other churches that claim they are the one and only church.

A whole lot of black crows and black kettles.

 

[Estro Felino]

Catholics could also laugh at the Protestants

As person who received a very traditional Catholic upbringing, the answer is no; we are not taught to look down on other Christian denominations. We don't even talk about them.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Why do people point their finger at Catholics and say the Catholics are the sinners or the 'stupid' denomination?

Anything Catholic individuals do wrong is blamed on the Church as a whole. That is wrong.

Catholics could also laugh at the Protestants: the Anglican church was set up so Henry VIII could remarry and Mormonism's Joseph Smith couldn't read the same plates twice. Westboro Baptist Church is also a Protestant Church.

To be fair, there are elements of the Catholic Church that deserve criticism. That said, have you ever noticed how easy it is for outsiders to demonise and ridicule groups they don't belong to?

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

As person who received a very traditional Catholic upbringing, the answer is no; we are not taught to look down on other Christian denominations.

Maybe where you come from. I guess it depends what you consider a "traditional Catholic upbringing ".

 

[Estro Felino]

Maybe where you come from. I guess it depends what you consider a "traditional Catholic upbringing ".

Fair point, as always. Well...maybe you mean that in countries where Catholics are a minority, confrontation and criticism of other groups are more frequent?

Religious Upbringing (Catholic)

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Fair point, as always. Well...maybe you mean that in countries where Catholics are a minority, confrontation and criticism of other groups are more frequent?

Religious Upbringing (Catholic)

I don't think it's necessarily dependant on being a minority. Take Ireland, for example. But hey, my upbringing was a little off as I had a very traditionalist Catholic father and an extremely irreverant Anglican mother, so I'm kinda prone to criticising all sides.

 

[Glaurung]

In the English speaking world there's a centuries' old tradition of sectarian bigotry against Catholicism whose remnant hasn't been entirely extricated.

But moreso today it's a combination of the Church's importance and ostensible conservationism which makes it a convenient enemy for many among certain ideological camps.

 

[Estro Felino]

But moreso today it's a combination of the Church's importance and ostensible conservationism which makes it a convenient enemy for many among certain ideological camps.

If I have to be honest, after a thorough analysis , I've reached the conclusion that American Catholicism is a very archaic and conservative form of Catholicism, quite distant from the modernized trends here in Italy.
We find almost unacceptable the use of Latin...to begin with.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

This thread needs to be moved.

There's a strain of anti-Catholicism in Protestant countries like the US but the Catholic church is also criticized because it's so large, as an institution and its hierarchy it has been involved in many crimes and abhorrent actions over a period of centuries, it is politically the most powerful religious institution in the world (the Vatican even has its own state, ffs), it poses as a moral authority and many of its stances (especially as regard sex and gender) are archaic, illogical and harmful. So there's a ton to criticize it over.

 

[Glaurung]

I've reached the conclusion that American Catholicism is a very archaic and conservative form of Catholicism, quite distant from the modernized trends here in Italy.

In neither American or Italian so I'm not informed enough to talk about the state of the Church in those areas. Nevertheless the fact remains that the Catholic Church in her official teachings (if not always in actual practice) remains conservative.

We find almost unacceptable the use of Latin...to begin with.

I attend the Personal Ordinariate which conducts services using a slightly modified version of the liturgy as performed in the Anglican High Church. It's quite close to the Tridentine Mass except that it's in early Modern English. (Think King James Bible). In any case I love Latin and would happily attend Latin services if it were convenient for me to do so.

I am by no means a "rad-trad" but I do resent the watering down of Catholic tradition that has occurred since Vatican II.

 

[Woberts]

I would go with the child molestation. The Catholic church has been involved in a lot of sexual harassment cases lately, with the harassed often being underage.

 

[shunyadragon]

As person who received a very traditional Catholic upbringing, the answer is no; we are not taught to look down on other Christian denominations. We don't even talk about them.

This very very naive concerning what the Roman Church teaches, and what believers believe. I was raised in the Roman Church in a not so traditional Irish upbringing with very traditional relatives. The reality is the more traditional the families the more the negative view toward other religions, particularly Jews, and the more socially closed the families were. It is true that in the mediocrity of many believers in the USA their personal attitudes are eccumenical and very tolerant. I partly grew up in Latin America were the traditional negative views toward Jews was horrendous.

It is true that since Vatican II the church is trying to change and improve relationships with other religions, but it remains exclusive in its claim to be the on and only church for the salvation of humanity. Unfortunately in much of strongly traditional families world wide attitudes have not changed, based in part on personal experience.

 

[shunyadragon]

In neither American or Italian so I'm not informed enough to talk about the state of the Church in those areas. Nevertheless the fact remains that the Catholic Church in her official teachings (if not always in actual practice) remains conservative.


I attend the Personal Ordinariate which conducts services using a slightly modified version of the liturgy as performed in the Anglican High Church. It's quite close to the Tridentine Mass except that it's in early Modern English. (Think King James Bible). In any case I love Latin and would happily attend Latin services if it were convenient for me to do so.

I am by no means a "rad-trad" but I do resent the watering down of Catholic tradition that has occurred since Vatican II.

In reality the Vatican II changed nothing as far as the core doctrines and dogma of the Roman Church. There was a lot of flowery polite language for superficial eccumenism, but always followed by clear statements reaffirming fundamentals of the church. The biggest change was in advocating greater diplomacy and dialogue outside the church to essentially reduce the traditional isolation of the church. There was also some conditional acknowledgment of some of the negative aspects of the relationships with past religions like Judaism.