Any Catholics here?

[Grace Seeker]

However, I'm not a Protestant pastor, and I've had very little education on Catholicism.

I know/knew that. I am. So, I was saying that even though you've asked a question about Catholicism, that this isn't a hard question even for [me] a protestant pastor to answer. But I wanted you to realize that it wasn't a Catholic answering it if that makes a difference to you. Sorry that I didn't make myself clear -- apparently several times unclear.

 

[Amadeus85]

What catholics should think about some important things (from pope's encyclicals) :


Pius VII "Post Tam Diuturnitas" (1814)

"

The new source of pain, given to our heart, which we admit, brings us most burden and suffering, is 22nd article of (french) constitution. It does not only allow freedom of religion and conscience, but also promise support and protection to that freedoms, and to the ministers of so called cults. We dont have to write much words, to express how deadly wound has been done to Catholic religion in France with this article. By fact of establishing a freedom of all faiths without , the truth is mistaken with false, and saint bride of Christ, The Church,outside which there is no savlatio, is equaled with heretical sects and even with jewish unfaithfulness. Moreover, promising support and favourableness to the heretics' sects and its ministers, tolerates and aproves not only those persons, but also their mistakes. It is definitely tragic and always con**** worthy heresy, which St Augustin expressed these words " It says that all heretics are on right way and speak truth, which is such a enormous absurd, that I cant believe that any sect ever believe in this.

"



Gregory XVI "Mirari vos" (1832)


"

From this poisoned source of indifferentism, comes the false and absurd sentence, or rather a delirium, that the freedom of conscience should be guaranteed to everyone. This mistake belongs to one of the most infectious, and its road is prepared by the freedom of making opinions, absolute and without limits, which for the destruction of state and Church, everywhere is preached, and which some people dont dare to show as positive to a religion. "Which death is worse for a soul than a freedom of a mistake" said St Augustin. Indeed, people left without any limits,which bans them from leaving the roads of truth, to their nature inclined to evil, will put them into the abyss (...) This is the source of the lack of stability of minds,the source of depravity of youths, source of scorn for Church' laws, the most sacred laws and things, the source of biggest plague capable to destroy the states, because from experience we know that, from the oldest times, states known of power, rich and glory, by this one plague, the unlimited freedom of opinion, freedom of gatherings, and the need of novelty, were brought to fall

."


Pius IX "Quanta Cura" + "Syllabus (of errors)"

"Syllabus" contains of ideas, doctrines condemned by Church :

1)
- pantheism
- deism
- absolute rationalism
2)
- rationalism moderate
3)
- indiferentism
- Latitudinarism
4)
- socialism
- communism
- secret associations
- biblical associations
- liberal- clerical associations
5)
- the rights proper to Church
6)
- civil society and its relations with Church
7)
- mistakes about natural ethics and christian ethics
8)
- mistakes about christian marriage
9)
- mistakes about secular power of the bishop of Rome
10)
- modern liberalism.


Read the whole text, something necessary to a christian living in nowadays world and wanted to find out the crisis of christianity and our world.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P9SYLL.HTM


Leon XIII "Immortale Dei" (1885) (about christian state)


http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/l.../hf_l-xiii_enc_01111885_immortale-dei_en.html


Pius X "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" (1907) (about christian modernism heresy).

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/p...enc_19070908_pascendi-dominici-gregis_en.html


Pius XI

"Quas primas" 1925 ("Pax Christi in Regno Christi")

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/p...ents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas_en.html

"Mortalium Animos" (1928) (about true and false ecumenism)

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/p...hf_p-xi_enc_19280106_mortalium-animos_en.html

 

[Supreme]

Ah, a genuine Catholic!

Have you ever been on a pilgrimage to the Vatican and St Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world? Or any trips to the countless Catholic churches in the Holy Land?

 

[Amadeus85]

Ah, a genuine Catholic!

Have you ever been on a pilgrimage to the Vatican and St Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world? Or any trips to the countless Catholic churches in the Holy Land?

Unfortunately not, but I'm hoping to travel to Vatican one day. I saw churches in Austria, Lithuania, Slovakia and (orthodox) in Greece.

 

[Supreme]

Unfortunately not, but I'm hoping to travel to Vatican one day. I saw churches in Austria, Lithuania, Slovakia and (orthodox) in Greece.

I'd love to too. Also, Greek Orthodox churches pretty much beat any architecture of any religion ever. You just see them on hilltops with Meditteranean plants around them and the ocean behind them. Wonderful.

 

[Amadeus85]

Jan Mosdorf 1938

"We are catholics not only because Poland is catholic, because even if it was muslim country, the truth wouldnt stopped being truth, only harder and more painful would be for us, Poles, acces to it. We are catholics not only because the catholic doctrine solves difficulties better, and the discipline solves conflicts better, also not only because we are impressed by hierarchical organization of the Church, victorious over centuries, also not only because the Church saved and passed us everything what in ancient civilization was healthy and not degraded, but because we believe that it is church established by God".

 

[mediadave]

Unfortunately not, but I'm hoping to travel to Vatican one day. I saw churches in Austria, Lithuania, Slovakia and (orthodox) in Greece.

Have you ever been to London, or seen Westminster Cathedral in London? (Mother church of the Catholic church in Britain) Its a fantastic, grand, Byzantine revival church. Inside its still incomplete, but the chapels at the sides show how gorgeous it will be when it is finished (whenever that will be). Certainly worth seeing.

 

[o_ahmad]

Peace Eric
Why do you pray to the saints and Mary? I know you don't worship them, but they aren't divine like Jesus, and they can't answer prayers.

The Bible makes it clear in Romans 1:25 that the worship of creation is wrong and a "lie," which means worshiping Mary is against Bible. Also, since Jesus was creation like his mother, so you also cannot worship Jesus since it goes against Romans 1:25. Jesus also wasn't divine, since he didn't even want people to even call him "good," in Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19, leave aside being called divine.

 

[Woodrow]

Jan Mosdorf 1938

"We are catholics not only because Poland is catholic, because even if it was muslim country, the truth wouldnt stopped being truth, only harder and more painful would be for us, Poles, acces to it. We are catholics not only because the catholic doctrine solves difficulties better, and the discipline solves conflicts better, also not only because we are impressed by hierarchical organization of the Church, victorious over centuries, also not only because the Church saved and passed us everything what in ancient civilization was healthy and not degraded, but because we believe that it is church established by God".

And you forgot the Islamic heritage of Poland, before the Teutonic knights forced you into Catholocism. You have as much Lipkas heritage as us Lithuanians and some of us are returning to what was stolen from us during the Northern Crusades.

 

[Amadeus85]

Have you ever been to London, or seen Westminster Cathedral in London? (Mother church of the Catholic church in Britain) Its a fantastic, grand, Byzantine revival church. Inside its still incomplete, but the chapels at the sides show how gorgeous it will be when it is finished (whenever that will be). Certainly worth seeing.

Unfortunately I have never been to UK so far. Is Westminster Cathedral still being used, or is it just a museum nowadays?

 

[Amadeus85]

And you forgot the Islamic heritage of Poland, before the Teutonic knights forced you into Catholocism. You have as much Lipkas heritage as us Lithuanians and some of us are returning to what was stolen from us during the Northern Crusades.

Hi, I believe that we did discuss that a few years ago . The time goes fast.
We still have Tatars who are our citizens, but they came here and got citizenship during the times of king Jan III Sobieski so it was in the end of XVII century. Poland was baptised in year 966, the teutonic knights came to Poland in 1226 I suppose, invited by Kondrad Massovien. Teutonic knights did convert by force the citizens of Prussien, the Lithuanians got baptised from the hands of our king Władysław Jagiełło.

 

[Woodrow]

Hi, I believe that we did discuss that a few years ago . The time goes fast.
We still have Tatars who are our citizens, but they came here and got citizenship during the times of king Jan III Sobieski so it was in the end of XVII century. Poland was baptised in year 966, the teutonic knights came to Poland in 1226 I suppose, invited by Kondrad Massovien. Teutonic knights did convert by force the citizens of Prussien, the Lithuanians got baptised from the hands of our king Władysław Jagiełło.

Yes, time does go fast. We did discuss this a few years back. We do share a very interesting history. Hard to believe at one point the Duchy of Poland and Lithuania was the oldest and most powerful nation in Europe.

 

[Amadeus85]

Yes, time does go fast. We did discuss this a few years back. We do share a very interesting history. Hard to believe at one point the Duchy of Poland and Lithuania was the oldest and most powerful nation in Europe.

 

[Grace Seeker]

The Bible makes it clear in Romans 1:25 that the worship of creation is wrong and a "lie," which means worshiping Mary is against Bible. Also, since Jesus was creation like his mother, so you also cannot worship Jesus since it goes against Romans 1:25. Jesus also wasn't divine, since he didn't even want people to even call him "good," in Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19, leave aside being called divine.

Take it to another thread, please. We don't need the endless round of explaination here that the reasons Catholics (and all Christians) worship Jesus is because he is indeed God, followed then by Islamic objections as to why Jesus can't be God. We've been down that road repeatedly, and we'll no doubt do it again. But we don't need to do it in this thread.


As for the Catholic view toward Mary, many non-Catholics perceive that they worship her, but in reality they don't. Mary is very important in Catholic doctrine, but she isn't understood to be divine and she isn't ever worshipped -- this is so, regardless of how confusingly it may appear otherwise to those non-Catholics who observe Catholic practices.

Since their are some Catholics participating, I'll let them explain the important nuances that outside observers of the Catholic faith often miss in this regard, why they give her the attention that they do give, and what they do/ do NOT mean by it.

 

[Supreme]

Unfortunately I have never been to UK so far. Is Westminster Cathedral still being used, or is it just a museum nowadays?

It's wonderful. I posted pictures of it and the American equivalent of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Washington and told people do decide which one was more beautiful. The Pope's visiting the UK this year too.

 

[Amadeus85]

The state can't serve two masters.

By father Robert Maeder.

The religious neutrality is a sin against religion. The neutrality appears under three ideas - neutrality towards God, neutrality towards Christ and neutrality towards Church.
The neutrality towards God because of atheists, materialists and pantheists, neutrality towards Christ because of jews and neutrality towards Church because of heretics.

The neutrality towards God - God is everlasting perfect Spirit, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, everything was created through Him. In Him lives and exists everything living. He is the most powerful, the most sacred. He is our father, He is love. What neutrality says about God? We don't talk about Him in our constitutions, courts, parliaments. We don't need Him, we can't accept His sovereignity over country and a nation. This is the speech of disdain, rebellion, ungratefullness against the Highest One. Neutrality towards God is crime against religion.

Neutrality towards Christ. Christ is the Lord of the nations and people. His name is - the King of kings. He because of love died for us all and His most sacred blood payd our sins. What neutrality speaks about Christ? We can't accept His sovereignity over parliaments and goverments. We will leave His temples in our countries, but we won't allow Him to reign upon us. This is the neutral speech. Every jew can be happy because of this. This is not only neutrality, this is meanness. The neutrality of baptized towards Christ's Kindgom is dishonourable betrayal.

Neurality towards Church. Church is not private people's community. It is the work of God, living Christ, mediator of grace and truth, mother and educator of human beings. What neutrality speaks about Church? It treats Church as a sect one in hundreds. It ignores Mother-Church as a queen, it resist Church's rights of severeignity over people and nations. To our Queen and Mother we owe obedience, love and reverence, not neutrality. Neutrality towards mother is disdain, indifference and rebellion. Neutrality towards Church is a sin against religion.

Religious neutrality is impossible. No one can serve two masters. Because either man will love one and hate the other, or man will join one and reject the other. The times of neutrality are temporary. After the times of neutrality, there will be times of serving just one master, Christ or satan. One of Him will be our king. After the times of liberal neutrality, there will be either time os russian-mexican persecutions, or the Kingdom of Christ.

We want to prepare that day, get hurry then and make Christ the king, first the King of our minds and King of our hearts, then King of our families, and finally the King of whole community.

Father Robert Maeder, "Christus Rex, the anti-laicism thoughts."

http://www.konserwatyzm.pl/publicystyka.php/Artykul/5100/

 

[Abdul Qadir]

Hi, I'm very interested in world religions. For Catholics (or for non Catholics, if you know the answer)

1) Why do you pray to Mary and the saints? Why not just directly to God?
2) Why do you revere the Pope? Jesus alone if the head of the Church, no man can make His laws for Him...
3) Would you consider Eastern Orthodox Christians your brothers as opposed to Protestants? Which do you believe is more in line with Christ's teachings, the Eastern Orthodox Church or Protestantism?

There's more questions, but I would appreciate an answer to these. Thank you.:statisfie

1) Why do you pray to Mary and the saints? Why not just directly to God?

Coz Guidance is with Allah, and the ones not guided pray to the likes of Jane, Joey, Mary, Tom Dick & Harry etc...

2) Why do you revere the Pope? (Lack of Noor(light) in the heart) Jesus alone if the head of the Church, no man can make His laws for Him (I thought Jesus was under the guidance of Allah? now what is Church?)



3) Would you consider Eastern Orthodox Christians your brothers as opposed to Protestants? (No) Which do you believe is more in line with Christ's teachings, the Eastern Orthodox Church or Protestantism? (whose Christ?)

This is an honest answer to all ur qns from a non-catholic...

 

[Amadeus85]

1) Why do you pray to Mary and the saints? Why not just directly to God?

We do not pray to them, but we revere them, venerate.

Why? Simply because they exist. Second - because this what teach us Roman Catholic Church, which is infallible in issues of theology and morality.

2) Why do you revere the Pope?

He is head of Church. Pope speaking ex cathedra, thanx to God's help, he is infallible about theology and morality issues.

3) Would you consider Eastern Orthodox Christians your brothers as opposed to Protestants? (No) Which do you believe is more in line with Christ's teachings, the Eastern Orthodox Church or Protestantism? (whose Christ?)

According to roman catholic teaching, the first ones are schismatics, second ones are heretics.

 

[Supreme]

But why the need for intemederies? You know in Catholic doctrine that God is all powerful. Why not just pray directly to God? He'll hear your prayers. I honestly don't think the saints have any powers outide their human shells.

 

[Froggy]

I used to be a Catholic. I'm no longer that religious, but I am an active member of the Church and I agree with pope on most major doctrinal (as far as I can for a semi-religious person) and moral issues. Women priests and gay rights are what separates me from the Church most.