I’ve been reading internet articles and listening to people spout their anti-Catholic nonsense for years. Problem is, none of it makes me hate Catholicism, it’s just another form of bullying or prejudice, based on false information, misunderstandings, painful experiences, or simply hateful assumptions. NONE of it is founded in TRUTH. However, there is one truth that cannot be denied that is the real problem with Catholicism today and has been since the dawn of Christianity….
The problem is NOT that Catholics worship Mary.
First of all, they don’t.
They revere her with deep respect and veneration as the human being who was, and will ever remain closest to God. It is completely illogical to believe that she who gave Him 100% of His human DNA, bore Him, raised Him, fed Him, accompanied Him in every moment, every trial and every sorrow, held Him, and buried Him would mean nothing to Him now.
He asked Her permission to be conceived in her womb at the Annunciation (Luke 1:38), subjected Himself to her authority at the finding in the Temple (Luke 2:51) and at the wedding at Cana before beginning His public ministry (John 2:4-5). Even from the cross, He used His precious breath and remaining strength to ensure that she would be taken care of after His death (John 19:26-27). It only makes sense that she would continue to be equally important to Him in Heaven.
Thus, it would almost seem more strange NOT to entrust oneself to her powerful intercession and motherly care than to think that somehow deep devotion to her is idolatrous. Catholics merely seek to treat her with the same respect and regard that heaven itself clearly shows its Queen. (Also, consdering this, please someone, just try to tell me that the Catholic Church is anti-woman, we can have a very lengthy discussion at your leisure)
The problem with Catholicism is NOT that they believe in Tradition (in addition to Scripture)
Scripture itself declares that not everything could possibly be contained in Scripture (John 21:25). The Church that was founded by the Lord when He gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter (Matthew 16:18) was still in its babiest of stages. The apostles were still commissioned to go out make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20), they were commissioned, not to stick to what they had already seen but to “do even greater works than these” (John 14:12-13 ). From His own lips we hear that the Lord came not to destroy the old Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20). He never claimed that rites and rituals were to be done away with or wrong, in fact, the continuation of the above verse says that the apostles “justice [would] need to abound [even] more than that of the scribes and Pharisees” in order for them to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Not one jot or one tittle of the law would pass away” and Christ Himself is the lamb of sacrifice (John 1: 29, 36)
The rites and rituals underwent steady development over the centuries, yes, but everything, is clearly founded in the truths and practices that came before, and everything has been proven, and approved, time and again in miracles. Through them Heaven smiled on the growth of the early Church as it had once smiled on the work of the prophets of old. A great many superfluous traditions of human or cultural origin have faded away into vague memories of a distant past but the timeless have remained strong, fruitful, and very much alive, despite all manner of evil and attempts to destroy them.
Not even Scripture as it exists today could exist without Tradition, for Tradition was how the original compilers of the current Bible compendium knew which books to accept as truth and which did not come from God. This argument against Tradition as a valid and valuable part of Faith, simply does not hold water when taken in context.
The problem with Catholicism is NOT that once upon a time they “sold indulgences”
Or that, once upon a time, “there was corruption within the Church”.
Hello, corruption is everywhere. Our school systems are corrupt, our sports coaches cannot be trusted, politics are basically the definition of greed and corruption incarnate. Sure corruption causes more of a scandal in an institution that bandies about the term “infallibility”. But, the term infallibility is also so desperately misunderstood. In fact, there have only been TWO instances in which the Church has made an actual “ex cathedra” proclamation with the stamp of true “infallibility” since the declaration of infallibility was even defined in 1870. Everything else, well, that’s just human people misusing authority (which is actually extra horrible since it is in His name) and God is more upset with that than you are, so get in line.
As for the selling of indulgences, we must resolve to educate ourselves on what an indulgence really is and what these situations were actually about before we go spouting things that are likely based in prejudice or hearsay.
Were there abuses? Absolutely.
Does that mean the Church thinks they were ok? Absolutely NOT!
The real problem with Catholicism is NOT “Catholic Guilt“
…or an excessive emphasis on sin, confessing sins to a priest, or striving for the impossible goal of self-perfection.
The real problem here is a misunderstanding of Catholic Guilt. Remorse is actually a powerful springboard for transformation and as such is quite a healthy and powerful (not to mention, God given) emotion. As for confession in person ie. to a priest – again, all abuses aside (God forgive them) – on a completely human level is an extremely powerful and cathartic opportunity to practice deep levels of self-reflection and recollection, profound humility and perfect truth before God and ourselves, and a beautiful opportunity for tangible, valuable, and prayerful council, much like therapy. If you think therapy is valuable on a human level than you cannot reasonably have a problem with Confession.
On a spiritual level, the effects of a good confession are truly miraculous as far as breaking attachments to or habits of any sin, and of a tangible increase in a desire for God, holiness, perfection, and transformation of heart.
The real problem of Catholicism is NOT whether or not it is founded in and by the Way, the Truth, and the source of all Life (John 14:6)
The real problem in Catholicism is Bad Catholics!
This is hands down the #1 stumbling block for anyone out there looking for the Truth.
It’s almost impossibly difficult for someone serious about Faith to get past the Uneducated Catholics, Non-Practicing Catholics, Pharisaical Catholics, Selfish, Lazy, and Uninspired Catholics, Hypocritical Catholics, Complaining Catholics, Compromising Catholics…. in short, Catholics who bring scandal to the Faith and essentially give credence to all the falsehoods spread about it (Matthew 18:6).
Bad Catholics are the reason the World has lost its Faith. We alone are to blame for the state of the Church.
Where is the passion, the courage, the intensity of the early Church? The joy of the martyrs? The conviction of the Saints? Where are the miracles?
The Catholic Faith calls for Epic lives destined to go down in History, and we’ve reduced it to another box to check on Sundays. The Catholic faith is a passionate romance with the God of the Universe, a love and a union so intense that they bring forth new life. It is a fertile, abundant life of inexplicable wonders simply because we learned to know, understand and use the tools at our disposal (see Sources of Grace) for grafting ourselves inseparably to the Vine.
We have sacrificed our potential to the God of the “possible” (of “self-care”)…. but our God is the God of the impossible (Matthew 19:26).
Have we forgotten the God who made us? (Deuteronomy 32:18)
In whose image were you made? To whom shall your life bring glory? Anyone? Yourself? Or the God who made you and calls you to an epic love affair of miraculous proportions!
It is time to walk in a manner worthy of the life to which we are called (Ephesians 4:1).
Amen.
