Silent Catholics

Question 1 (To our non-Catholic listeners): do your Catholic friends regularly approach you to share their faith with you?

Question 2 (To our Catholic listeners): If the answer to question 1 is "no", then why not?

Listen in for a discussion of the topic.

 

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Comments

[Colleen Martin]

I just found your blog through The Pioneer Woman's blog. SO happy to find another Catholic mom of four...pretty rare around here.

[Sara]

I really enjoyed this conversation. As a converted Catholic, I do find other Catholics very faithful, but also very private about their faith. I never would have learned anything I did in RCIA if I hadn't married a Catholic.

[Molly]

Whenever somebody has approached me to talk about their religion it's felt a little like a sales pitch and that's a huge turn off. Also, a lot of people have misconceptions about Catholic people and many times you end up defending yourself and the whole Church.

[Laura]

I try, every day, to LIVE the faith. I always pray and hope that one day we will all be united...I have brought a few non-Catholic friends to the church, just to TOUR it, and have had friends just come to Mass (I've also sponsored about 8 people over the years in RCIA). Like Deacon Tim explains, the Mass needs a lot of explanation before a person would feel comfortable going there. RCIA is pretty sketchy in some parishes. I wish there were some way to do a "home RCIA" for a friend and then they could do an interview with Father to maybe get the sacraments that invite them into the Church. It's a tough one, because I never want to be salesman-y or pitch-y about religion! It's such a turn-off when people do that!

[Leslie]

I joined the catholic church at the age of 18. I was thrilled to spread my new faith around. Yet every corner I turned I received nothing but criticism. It got to the point where they were not even letting me answer the questions they had about my new faith. I did give up and decided to live my life by example instead.

[Susan]

I also found this through a link on Pioneer Woman (met you in Atlanta at the book signing - along with a thousand other people!). Love what I have seen so far. I don't know if you are familiar with the Familia program? I am in my third year facilitating a Familia group and I think our group would really enjoy these podcasts as they tie in nicely with some of our discussions.

[Annie]

I don't know any Catholics who are open to talking about their faith. I would be open to learning more, because a lot of what I know (as a recovering fundamentalist Protestant) about Catholicism is pretty negative. I don't understand how ordinary Catholics can continue to support an institution that has done so much damage. I watched an interesting Frontline documentary called the Hand of God, and many of the Catholics involved in the online discussion seemed to be in pretty deep denial about the abuse and the cover-up. I found the Pope's comments on AIDS in Africa where he discouraged the use of condoms to be disturbing, and the Catholic Bishops' involvement in the Stupak Amendment to be disheartening, to say the least. So, I guess any religion as involved in politics and scandal as the Catholic Church has some serious image issues, and hearing what your average Catholic has to say might help (also- women should have more of a say in the church, and a place in the church's leadership.)

[Rae]

Great conversation! This is by far the best discussion of this issue that I have heard.

I am very open about my faith when asked, but do not see the point of trying to push it onto others. I recently posted about why I don't try to "convert" others ( http://nowealthbutlife.com/love-catholic-conversio ) but Deacon Tim's discussion of the mystery of Catholicism helped me understand this in a new way.

A fundamentalist protestant can make the case for their religion through argument. In order for me to really share my faith with a non-Catholic I would have to get them to go to adoration and mass etc. And even that would not really be sharing it all as Catholicism builds truth upon truth and one cannot really understand it all at once. While I believe that Catholicism is ultimately reasonable, faith is not the result of isolated argument.

I would be happy to dialogue with people like Annie of the last comment. But discussing the Church's stance on condoms or abortion is not going to make anyone understand the heart of Catholicism.

[Cyndi]

Wow, thanks guys, for a great discussion. Rae, you're right - the political issues are not the heart of the Church. Unfortunately, though, that's all Annie and others know about Catholicism, which is such a highly-charged, often divisive, introduction to the Catholic Church.

[Annie]

Is it okay for the Pope and the Bishops to decide how non-Catholics should live their lives, or are their instructions for Catholics only? I am curious- after reading some of the comments I feel like there are a lot of decent Catholics out there, but I think the politics and scandals really overshadow them. Also- why don't Nuns play more of a leadership role in the church?

[Snafu]

To Annie: this podcast wasn't about the Pope telling people how to live their lives- it was about evangelization, which is a very different thing. You may be right that "politics & scandals" have caused some Catholics to retreat from a loving dialogue with others but I doubt it is a major motivator or unmotivator towards most of the faithful. As to the place for women in the Church: fine topic for another podcast, no?

[Annie]

Hi Snafu- I think perhaps my reasoning was that some of these issues might be why Catholics might choose to remain silent. I find many people choose to deflect the difficult questions regarding scandal or misconduct in a church or faith- not just Catholics. I was once in a place where questions were frowned on, and that's not a state of spirituality I'd like to return to. Thank you- this discussion and the podcasts did give me some food for thought.

[Molly]

Annie, I think a lot of Catholics feel really conflicted. At the very least, I am. For me there's enough of the "good stuff" that keeps my heart in the Church.

[Laura B]

Hi Annie!

The positions of the Catholic Church on birth control and abortion are part of the culture of life that the Church wants to instill in us. Listen to podcasts #29-31 to get a better understanding of the Theology of the Body from Deacon Tim.

Fr. Roderick addresses the position of the Pope on Aids in Africa in this podcast. http://sqpn.com/2009/11/03/daily-breakfast-700-courage-to-speak/
He says it a lot better than I could!

Women do have a large role in the Church, however, it is not as priests. We don't feel that women are called to that role. However, there are many women who have leadership roles such as School Principals, Mother Superiors (Mother Teresa springs to mind), and lots of other ministries. Why aren't women priests? Because Jesus didn't choose any women among his apostles, and we figure he knew what he was doing :-)

I hope you will continue to dialog with us. Catholicism isn't an easy faith, but it is definitely worth learning about.