Faulty Anti-Catholic List

In searching for information to explain Catholicism to non-Catholic Christians, I came across a ridiculous webpage that tried to equate Mormonism to Catholicism. The absurd claim that Mormonism and Catholicism are equally bad or evil or not Christian is on the rise again. The author made a list of supposed points of similarity between "Mormonism" and "Roman Catholicism." While I cannot speak to the veracity of the Mormon list, I can sift through the truths, half-truths, and innuendo on the Catholic list. The anti-Catholic's statements are in italics.

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep (the Church) #

Claims itself to uniquely be "the Church."

While the Catholic Church does claim to be "the Church," this is "claim" is well founded.  It can be traced back from the present time to Jesus Christ Himself. He is the one who wished His followers to be one in Him, just as He said, "Holy Father, keep in thy name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one even as we are" (John 17: 11). During the first couple of centuries of the Church, Christians followed the teachings of the Apostles and their disciples, and those appointed by them.  For the most part communities of Christians did not meet in the open, lest they suffer persecution or death.  St. Ignatius is the one who first called the Christian Church Catholic.  Catholic means universal.  Since that time the name has stuck.  The early Church  was one and called Catholic.  That is why we "claim" to be "the Church." Our history and heritage indicate that we are descended from the original Church founded by Christ. This is not the same claim as the Mormon Church; their claim is founded on a very different foundation, a man other than Christ and a book outside the bible, more than eighteen centuries after Christ.

Christ and Sheep (Priest and Laity) #

Claims a unique and authoritative priesthood, thereby denying the priesthood of all Christians.

Yes, the Church does claim a unique and authoritative priesthood, but she does not deny the priesthood of all believers.  These two priesthoods are not mutually exclusive.  The priest in the Church brings us Christ in person; he consecrates the Holy Eucharist. He takes care of the day to day running of the church, and is the earthy shepherd of Christ's flock. The layman has a share in Christ's priesthood by virtue of being the "Body of Christ." We are there at the altar. We bring our children and others to Christ. We participate in the Mass and consume communion bread in "remembrance of Him".

Accepts multiple Satanic visions as being from God.

I am not sure what the author meant here.  Is he saying that all visions are "Satanic"? Is he saying all ("multiple") visions that are Catholic are therefore "Satanic"?  Because I am 100% certain that the Church does not accept any "Satanic visions as being from God." Visions accepted by Church authority are not satanic. Accepted visions tell us something about God, or how we can head off tragedies through prayer, or how to bring certain communities to Christ. Not a single vision accepted as worthy of belief by Church authority honors or glorifies Satan, and no accepted vision is contrary to the Gospel. But let us get one thing straight and out there--ALL visions are considered by the Church to be private revelation. Visions are not doctrine. Many visions may have changed our view of some doctrines, but none have changed the central doctrines of the Church.

Undermines the power of Jesus' blood by its view of personal suffering for the expiation of sins.

This statement shows a complete lack of understanding of the Church's teaching on suffering.  The Church never undermines the "power of Jesus' blood." The only thing of equal value is Christ's Resurrection.  Suffering on the other hand has value in helping us make up for sins. We caused Christ to suffer for our sins. Our sufferings help us take a tiny sliver of that suffering on ourselves. Suffering makes us closer to Christ and helps us understand His suffering. Our suffering neither replaces His suffering nor does it expiate sin on its own. We do not, despite what silly men like this author would have people believe, advocate our own suffering as a replacement of Christ's suffering.

The Annunciation #

Sings praise songs about Mary.

I'm not really sure why this is a bad thing but what the author fails to understand that songs and music in church are appropriate for the season.  My point being that songs in praise of Mary are sung only a few days during the entire year.  That doesn't mean the songs in worship of God, Christ, or Christian doctrines aren't also sung and are sung exclusively at the vast majority of other Masses during the year.  I fail to see the offense in this now, though I could have at one time. The thing is that Catholics honor Christ's mother for her part in salvation history. It is not any different than kids in other churches singing about Noah's Arky or the B-i-b-l-e.  If it is wrong to sing about the Mother of the Son of God, it would be wrong to sing about the Bible or David or Noah also.

Has strange doctrines regarding marriage (celibacy still practiced among its clergy).

The author fails to connect the two.  The vow of celibacy for the majority of Catholic priests (there actually are married priests in at least one Eastern rite in the Catholic Church) has very little to do with the doctrines regarding marriage.  Since these celibate priests don't marry, their unmarried state has nothing to do with marriage doctrines.  Marriage doctrines have been developed from Christ's blessing on marriage.  It is a Sacrament of the Church, instituted by Christ. Holy Orders (priesthood) is a completely separate Sacrament. Celibacy is a discipline developed over time for the benefit of both the Church and the priest. Christ was not married and could devote his whole life to teaching, preaching, and taking care of others. That is the priest's whole life as well--teaching, preaching, and taking care of others. Many are the times I've seen preachers kids (any one seen a show to this affect?) growing up to become absolutely awful people. Their dad was not around; there are certain expectations of a minister and they always come before his own family.

Diego Valazquez, Queen of Heaven @

Although both Sacraments involve solemn vows before God, they are separate doctrines and neither cancel each other out nor replace each other. They are both important to the Church. Both provide life to the Church.

Believes in the mother of God (who is the sinless queen of Heaven).

Of course, we "believe" in the mother of God.  She exists; we believe in her. Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, God the Son. If her Son is God, she is His mother.  Christ is universally regarded as the King of Heaven and Earth.  His mother, therefore, would be queen mother.  We call her queen just as Bathsheba was the queen in Solomon's court. Mary IS sinless; she's in Heaven. Even protestants believe that people can no longer sin in Heaven. It is as simple as that.

Christ gave St. Peter charge of His Church #

Claims the head of their group speaks infallibly at times.

The "head of [our] group" is the pope. He is the vicar (ambassador) of Christ. He is like the viceroy, the representative of the king, in the old testament.  The viceroy was given the keys of the kingdom as a symbol of his authority; his authority was second only to the king. In the same way, the pope (papa) is the king's (Jesus') second in command. Yes, we claim that he "speaks infallibly at times." Not only are these "times" extremely rare, but they have happened. The conditions for infallibility are that the pope is speaking on a matter of doctrine, it is a matter for the whole church, and the he speaks of it from the authority of the See of Peter. One such infallible statement is contained in the document Ineffabilis Deus (The Immaculate Conception) issued by Pope Pius IX in 1854.  The infallible statement's prologue begins,

"Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own:"

The actual infallible statement is this part:

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

It seems no matter how many times you explain this, however, there are people out there who either don't want to listen or wish to remain ignorant of the facts.

Rev. 5:8 "...the prayers of the people" @

Redefines "saint" to mean a physically dead Catholic who was afterwords "canonized," instead of a Bible-defined child of God.

The Church has not "redefined" the word saint.  Saint means what it always has: someone holy. Whether alive or dead--a saint is a saint.  This is not only quite biblical but traditional. Canonization is only a declaration that the Church believes that person to be in Heaven and to be a saint. A person whose life is such an example of holiness that it is necessary to add them to the list (canon) of people we know to be in Heaven. Now are there others in Heaven that are not canonized (listed) by the Church? Of course. We don't know the names of everyone in Heaven, only God knows that, but we can be sure certain people are there. The Church does not deny that their are other, unnamed saints in Heaven which is why there is a celebration of All Souls' Day the day after All Saints' Day. All Souls' Day is for all the dead in Christ.

"Accepts and spreads "another gospel" (Gal 1:8.9)--good works, the sacraments, Mary and church membership.

There is only one Gospel ("Good News") and that is that Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, was sent by God, out of extreme, divine love for us, to die for our sins and that if we believe in Him and follow in His footsteps, we will be in Heaven with Him someday. The Gospel taught by Jesus and His Apostles is the only one the Church preaches. The other things listed are not the "gospel."

Good works are how we show God, ourselves, and the world that we believe in and follow Christ's example. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:17).

Seven Sacraments of Christ @

The Sacraments are visible signs of invisible grace. All of them, each and every one of them was instituted by Christ.

Baptism: Matthew 3:16; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:8; Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 1:4-5; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 11:16; Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33; Acts 18:8; Acts 19:3-6; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 5:25-26; Col. 2:12; 1 Peter 3:20-21, and many others.

Confirmation: In Acts 19:3-6, especially, it is clear that John's baptism, Christian baptism and Confirmation are all distinct realities. Also, in Hebrews 6:2 baptizing and laying on of hands are distinguished. Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28; John 14:16; Acts 2:4; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 19:3-6; Hebrews 6:2.

 Confession: Matthew 16:19; John 20:21-23; Rev. 1:18.

Eucharist: Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 24:35; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:24-27

Marriage:  Mt. 19:10-11; Eph. 5:31-32.

Holy Orders, Acts 6:3-6; Acts 13:2-3; 1 Tim. 3:1; 1 Tim. 3:8-9; 1 Tim. 4:14; 1 Tim. 4:16; 1 Tim. 5:17-19; 1 Tim. 5:22.

anointing of the sick. James  5:14-15.

Mary is Christ's mother and honored as such. Do some Catholics go overboard in their expression of devotion to Mary? Of course some do. But one can say something similar about others claiming to be Christians.  I watched a Protestant service on tv once in which they chanted a saying about the Bible and their devotion to it. I'd say that was just as idolatrous as anything they have accused Catholics of doing.

I'm not sure what church membership has to do with "another gospel." As I've said, the Church has always preached one and the same Gospel for the last two millenia. Belonging to Christ's Church is extremely important. We are after all the Body of Christ. It is the belief of several Church theologians and reiterated by the Vatican II Council that Protestants do peripherally belong to the same church.

Prophetic Basis for the Claims of Jesus as Son of God #

Professes itself as Christian; Jesus as God, Savior, Lord and Son of God; Jesus' atoning death and resurrection.

To this "accusation", I would say we could plead guilty. But, I am extremely confused on this one. In my 36 years as a Protestant (Regular Baptist to be precise), I believed in every one of these things, also. The Baptists I know profess themselves as Christian.  They profess Jesus as God, Savior, Lord and Son of God. They profess Jesus' atoning death and resurrection. It makes me wonder at the truth of the author's claim to be a Christian.  What is his definition of Christian? Some of the anti-Catholic rhetoric I've seen lately leads me to wonder what the current definition of Christian could actually be.

Doctrines are sending hundreds of millions to Hell and they need to be openly refuted with Scripture.

This is not so much an accusation as an opinion, an erroneous opinion, but an opinion nonetheless. Since every one of the doctrines of the Church can be "openly" supported with Scripture, refuting Catholics with Scripture would be a pointless endeavor. Catholics are the original evangelicals. No other Christian Church would exist without her.

Teaches and practices bowing before and kissing statues.

"Teaches and practices"? I understand the author has a negative agenda here but the reality is not quite what he implies here. We honor our (God's) family members by having pictures and statues around us, just as people have pictures of their family members (alive and dead) around their house.

I am not aware of anyone "teaching" people to kiss a statue. True, some people "practice" this but that is out of the love a person has for that family member. Bowing is done as a way to honor our loved ones; kissing is something done out of personal feeling. The only thing I've ever actually seen "taught" about kissing is kissing a Cross on the feast of Corpus Cristi or on Good Friday. This is a way for us to kiss Christ and honor His sacrifice for us.

"This is My Body..." @

WORSHIPS the consecrated communion wafer as God.

He is close on this one. We do worship God in the Eucharist. Remember He said, "THIS IS MY BODY". We believe His words. So, if that is His Body, as He plainly said in so, so many places in Scripture, we can worship the actual Christ. However, when we kneel to the Eucharist (or "consecrated communion wafer") we are kneeling before Christ, not a piece of bread or an idol.  We worship Christ, period.

Claims Mary is their life, sweetness, hope, and most gracious advocate (as revealed in the Rosary).

And? Mary is not only the example but is everything we hope for and hope to be. She is alive in Christ. She was not only a sweet person but shares in the sweetness of Heaven. She lives the hope of Salvation with her Savior, just as we hope to do someday.

She is a gracious advocate. This takes nothing away from Christ. If you pray for a friend, you are their advocate. If your pastor, minister, priest prays for you, they are your advocate. Mary prays for us, children of God, she is our advocate.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal-dispensing graces @

Claims Mary was raised bodily into Heaven.

Yes, we do claim that. There is biblical precedent for it. Elijah was taken into Heaven on a chariot; Mary was carried by angels. It is not only entirely plausible from a pragmatic view of Scripture but also probable.  I'd like to ask the author of this statement and any others who despise our belief that St. Mary received this honor, "why wouldn't He?" Why wouldn't Jesus Christ want His mother not to suffer the indignity of the corruption of the grave? Why wouldn't He want to honor the mother that He loves and cherishes? Why wouldn't He use His power as God to honor the woman who bore Him, God, in her womb? To me is it silly not to believe He would do that for her.


Claims they get to Jesus by first going to Mary.

Actually, the Church claims that we can go to Mary first not that we have to go to Mary first.  The difference is subtle but very important. Why would you go to your minister about Jesus? You say you don't need to go to anyone "first." We don't have to go through Mary. It is just that we can. Have you never, ever been ashamed of your actions, you know you must apologize, but were too ashamed? What if you could explain yourself to some one kind and gentle and loving? Then she could go the king for you and explain. Yes, He already knows what you've done, and, yes, you could go directly to Him. But, there is another avenue available to us--His mother. His mother is gentle and kind and loving and will listen to us.

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Anti-Catholics such as the author of this list have been taught so much prejudicial nonsense that they cannot see past it. If they would actually listen to what the Church teaches and not what they've been carefully taught over the years, all Christianity might actually have a chance of putting up a unified front against the snares of the evil one. We, Catholics, are Christians. We do love Christ and follow His teaching. We do love other Christians and pray for them to go to Heaven. We also pray that the blinders of prejudice should come off and that they might see the truth in the real Gospel message.


#Pictures with this symbol are from the book online My Catholic Faith: A Manual of Religion by the Most Reverend Louis Laravoire Morrow, STD. Kenosha, New York, 1949. http://www.catholicbook.com/AgredaCD/MyCatholicFaith/MyCatholicFaith.htm
@Public Domain

Innocents--The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to These

Carl Bloch

"MYTH NUMBER FOUR: If an Annulment is Granted the Children will be Illegitimate"

"The truth is that an ecclesiastical annulment is concerned only with the spouses, and not the children. An annulment has no effect at all on the legitimacy of children, or other arrangements regarding children, such as custody or support. These are all concerns of the civil law, and an ecclesiastical annulment has absolutely no effects under civil law. It is a myth that granting an annulment makes the children illegitimate."   
http://www.hbgdiocese.org/Admin/Uploads/Tribunal%20&%20Annulments/Documents/12_m\yths.pdf

Why is it that anti-Catholics are so angry and bitter that they must bring children into the argument?  After all, Jesus did say, "Suffer not the children to come unto Me."  Why?  Because He would hold them responsible for their parents guilt?  I don't think so.  In fact, He performed many of His miracles just to prove this erroneous notion, held by many Jews, wrong.  Why else would He say, "Your sins are forgiven" to the lame man who then walked.  Being born crippled or blind was seen as punishment for the parents' sins.  Jesus proved that wrong.

"Canon 1137 Children who are conceived or born of a valid or of a putative marriage are legitimate."  http://www.catholicdoors.com/misc/marriage/canonlaw.htm

Now if children are born to parents who later decide that marriage was a mistake--whether their marriage was annulled and/or they divorced--the children are not to blame.  Not only is the notion that these children are illegitimate ridiculous, it flies in the face of Jesus' love and compassion for all children.  No child is considered illegitimate by His Church.  They are children of God on equal ground with you and me, as they should be. 

"Does annulment make our children illegitimate?"

"No — children of a marriage that's determined to be invalid by a Catholic annulment, are still legitimate. (Code of Canon Law, canon 1137)  When a couple marries, they assume the marriage is valid and was entered into in  good faith. Children conceived under this assumption of a valid marriage, are considered to be legitimate.  This fact does not change even if the marriage is later found to be not valid."

"In the United States, Catholic annulment does not affect any state civil laws.  It is unrelated to civil concerns such as illegitimacy, child custody, alimony, visitation rights, or division of property."  http://www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-annulment.html

Maybe people in the church had a different idea about this at one time, but that is not true any more.  I believe we have a better perspective on Christ's love and compassion for humans and their frailty.  We should not be so hard on our fellow Christians.  Gone are the days of making children feel ashamed because their parents didn't or wouldn't do the right thing.

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15 People even brought babies to him, for him to touch them; but when the disciples saw this they scolded them.

16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

17 In truth I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'  Luke 18:15-17

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13 Then people brought little children to him, for him to lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples scolded them,

14 but Jesus said, 'Let the little children alone, and do not stop them from coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs.'

15 Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.  Matt. 19:13-15

I Pray Thee



Richard III

Today reading Richard III by Shakespeare, of all things, reminded me of the protestant misunderstanding of the word pray.  Catholics are constantly accused of worshipping the saints in Heaven because we pray to them.  Well, I ask you, was Clarence worshipping the assassin (Act I, scene 4) when he said "Pray tell me"  who asked the man to kill him (Clarence)?  I think not.  And, if a protestant was honest with us and themselves, they would admit that 'pray' in English has more than one meaning (the act of worshipping God).
Merriam-Webster says:  "Definition of PRAY
transitive verb
1: entreat, implore —often used as a function word in introducing a question, request, or plea
[pray be careful]
2: to get or bring by praying

intransitive verb
1: to make a request in a humble manner
2: to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pray

When Catholics or Catholic writings talk about praying to the saints, can't protestants even entertain the possibility that Catholics mean #1 of either the transitive or intransitive forms of this verb?  #2 "to address God" is not the only meaning.  Are they so entrenched in their anti-Catholic bigotry that they can't even make this concession to logic? 

When we pray to a saint we are making a request in a humble manner that they, as our brothers and sisters in Christ, pray to God for us.  Can't we ask God what we need on our own?  Of course we can!  However, you tell me whether or not protestants ask each other to pray for them.  I know my Baptist Church (the church I grew up in) members did it all the time.  We had prayer meetings every Wednesday evening in which we prayed to God for each other's needs.  Our prayers to the saints are the exact same thing.  Even if you don't see it that way, can't you see that we DO see it that way, and give us a tiny bit of the doubt here?  We do not worship saints.  Period.


Christ the King


Are Catholics idolaters?  No, we don't worship idols.  The statues, paintings, and stained glass windows are portraits of our friends and family, just exactly like that picture of your dead Grandmother on your piano or uncle Joe in Texas.  Do we pray to saints as if they we gods?  No, we ask our friends to pray for us, just like protestants do. 

I pray all who are reading, pray for peace in Jesus Christ's Church--His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

My January Rant

Wow!  Being on some of these "discussion" groups where protestants and Catholics are debating, can be so tiresome.  Them repeating the same anti-Catholic propaganda, day after day, forum after forum.  When do they ever listen?  When will it stop?  Even the Scriptures and doctrines that aren't just Catholic are now being denied.  Here is a sampling:

1.  The Body of Jesus is not a miracle.  His body is human like every one else's; only his conception was a miracle.

A:  Really?  So there was NOTHING different about Jesus' body?  Nothing, say, like housing God's soul, right?  Nothing like everything He endured, beating, whipping, torture for hours on end before He was forced to carry His own cross, before He died, nailed to that same cross.  Any body could have done that?

2.  Manna, bread from Heaven, was not the type of Jesus' Body but the type of our faith in Him.

A:  Really?  So, when Jesus talks about manna as the bread from Heaven, then calls Himself the Bread from Heaven, He does not actually mean that comparison.  He's just joking.  He says, "You must eat My Flesh...Drink My Blood...to enter Heaven."  But, He didn't really mean what He said.  One (manna actually eaten in the desert) has nothing to do with the other (Bread from Heaven, His Body, is to be eaten).  Wow!  Are you blind if you can't see that!

3.  Physical baptism isn't "technically necessary."

A:  Really?  So, He didn't really mean it when He told His disciples to "Go, preach and make disciples of all people, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  Guess He was just kidding about that, too?  And there really was no reason, at all, that He was baptized Himself by His cousin St. John.  And they call them selves Bible believers, and/or sola scripturists (Bible alone)?  But when push comes to shove they just completely ignore Christ's own words--His commands--and make up their own doctrine.  "Baptism saves us now."  Obviously that line in the Bible MUST be ignored!

4.  Repetitious prayer is a sin.  Catholics always repeat prayers so they are sinning.

A:  For one thing St. Paul was talking about PAGAN prayers to PAGAN gods.  He was not talking about heartfelt prayer to God.  Isn't Jesus the One Who said the one who asks and asks and asks will be answered?  I do believe it was.  Funny thing is, when I was a protestant we repeated the "Doxology" every Sunday.  That is not repetitious prayer?  Many prot churches repeat The Lord's Prayer.  That is not repetition?  Memorized prayer is for the faithful, especially the young and immature in the faith, to have a way to pray from the heart especially when one cannot find your own words or your own expressions to God.  God wants to hear from us, no matter what the form. 

5.  Praying to saints is a sin.

A:  Number one, Catholics (BTW, Orthodox and other churches pray to saints also) ask the saints to pray for them;  we all know they cannot do anything on their own.  One is erroneous in thinking Catholics do anything but ask a member of the family--God's family--to pray for them.  If you object to this, then you better NOT be asking ANYONE to pray for you--your mother, wife, pastor, friend--ANYONE--because you are doing the EXACT SAME THING you are accusing us of--asking someone else to do your praying for you. 

Number two, Catholics do not worship any but the true God.  Never have, never will.  Have there been Catholics and other Christians who have done this wrong?  Of course, there have.  There has never been a Protestant who has had his "flock" kill themselves, follow them out into the desert to wait for Christ on a certain day, follow him to hell?  Of course, there has.  But all Catholics, at all times, must be perfect or the Church is blamed.

Number three, saints are our family.  Statues, paintings, icons, stained glass windows are the EXACT SAME THING as your FAMILY PORTRAITS--EXACTLY THE SAME.  I know that a lot of prots don't want to see it that way.  That is their problem and their error.  If you have a picture of your grandmother on a shelf, stop by it and think of her, you are just as much an idol worship as a Catholic who stops in front of a statue of Our Lady and thinks of her and asks for her prayers.  It is the same thing.

I really get so sick and tired of prots who say, "Show us where it says that in the Bible."  We do.  Then they do their little prot dance, close their eyes, plug their ears, and say, "La, la, la, la, it's not there, it's not there, it's not there."  All Catholic doctrine was developed in the Early Church long before the NT Scriptures were collected by the Church and put into a Bible.  All the beliefs, all traditions,  and all practiced can be seen in the Scriptures and in the writings of the early Church.  We still believe and practice what the 1st century Church did.  Those who cannot and will not believe that, deceive themselves.

I Can't Believe the Hostility



Elijah passing his mantel to Elisha

Wow!  What a beautiful church we visited today.  A beautiful example of Byzantine architecture and art.  Boy, what anti-Catholic hostility we encountered.  We went to a Antiochian (Lebanese) Orthodox Christian Church (yep, that was in the name) today.  I will not mention the name of the parish out of my deep respect and love for our sister--the Orthodox Churches.  But, wow, is the respect and love so far from mutual.   Frankly, why all the open hostility for Catholics and our Faith?  Was it necessary to present us a rewritten, pointedly anti-Catholic, pamphlet on the "history of Christianity" when we entered the 'chapel' for the tour of the Church?  A false picture of how the Catholic Church split away from the "true church" as the pope asserted his "power"?  Was it necessary to point out that they are not Catholic?  Many times?  Was it necessary to falsely claim that the Church 'made up' the name Catholic after "they split from' the Orthodox, who, according to our bigoted tour guide, had to then 'find a name for itself' to distinguish them selves from the newly named Catholic Church?  Was it necessary to laugh at someones question about whether or not Orthodox believed in the Immaculate Conception? 



Theotokos--Mother of God



I was looking forward to a nice tour of a beautiful Church.  I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer.  I was fuming.  But I wanted to be respectful and polite in the house of God despite not receiving respect in kind.  The 'tour guide' was deliberately, knowingly, and pointedly making sure he pointed out not only the differences in our churches but also how the Catholic Church was wrong.  I'm sorry BUT YOU'RE WRONG!!!  I used the excuse that my 5 yo needed the bathroom to leave the group as it went into the sanctuary.  If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all, right?

It makes me wonder why the Catholic Church is trying so hard to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ for unity, only to be spat in the face with such open contempt.  Why do so many of the lay Orthodox feel that Catholics reaching out to them for unity against Satan and all his army is a sign of weakness in Catholics?  Why do they embrace all other religions in the area, call them fellow Christians, but scorn their sister Church?  I just do not understand.  On the one hand they're all 'let's preach love and peace,' but on the other hand spew hatred and bigotry at other Christians?  Really?  That is what Orthodoxy is?  I sure hope not.  Because bigotry and hatred for fellow Christians is not how you persuade your (supposed) foe that you are right, and you're hostility is not going to win converts.  Word to the wise:  Converts to are not attracted to a church that preaches the love of Christ but spews hatred toward their fellow Christians.  It only fuels the flames of the ant-Christian (of any 'flavor' including Orthodox) faction.   I pray that this 'tour guide' was not typical of the attitude of the patriarchy of the several branches of the Orthodox Church--or at least not all of them, as they are NOT in union as (also) falsely claimed by our 'tour guide.' 

It left a very bitter aftertaste in the mouth.  I pray for the restoration of my respect and love for the other "lung of the Church" as Pope Blessed John Paul II called our Orthodox sister churches.  BTW, I still love seeing the art and architecture of the building but I will have a hard time removing the memory of that bitter, bigoted, awful visit to that wonderful house of God.  I will continue to pray the Rosary for the unity Christ so desired for His Church.  If that makes me weak, so be it.