Dear Dominic,

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

As a faithful Catholic, I apologize for the rude inappropriate way this priest replied to your question. As I have said before, "the only dumb question, is the one not asked."

While I admire and encourage you to keep learning and reading the Sacred Scriptures, you shouldn't be going to a non-Catholic congregation to ask another spiritual leader. Learning from another Catholic parish is fine but when you learn from a Protestant congregation, their teachings have an underlying assumption that Catholic teachings are incorrect or flawed in some way.

Try seeking another priest at a nearby Catholic parish who is faithful to the Church and open to hearing your good questions or seek out a faithful priest at a local monastery or convent.

You said:
I am so confused right now on what to believe is the right pathway to Jesus. I always feel at home at the Catholic Church. I believe in the Eucharist. I believe in our traditions, but more recently than ever, I feel like I'm being pulled away from the Church.

Peace be to all. I am sorry if this has put a burden on anyone.

I understand your confusion. Your Eucharistic heart, which you can't get at a Protestant congregation, is with the Church but you are meeting good-hearted Christians who have either:

• fallen away from the Catholic Church (for whatever reason) and created their own set of teachings or
• have never been part of the Church and are ignorant of Our Teachings.

You are being enticed to them because they are friendly and open to your questions.

The problem is, what they call the Word of God, is totally different than what faithful Catholics call the Word of God.

They reduce the Word of God down to the Written Word while we refer to the Word of God as both the Written Word and the Oral Word which has been passed down to us by mouth (people) from century to century, from generation to generation. (Meaning, from 33 A.D to 2021 A.D.)

So when they study the Word of God, they are implicitly rejecting all Oral Tradition that has been passed down through the centuries.

Keep your focus on three things:

1. Jesus only established ONE Church; the Catholic Church on St. Peter and his successors (Matthew 16:13-19; 1 Timothy 3:15)
   
2. That despite weak humans like us, Our Lord promised that on matters of faith and morals, the gates of Hell will never prevail, and
3. Because all mankind is prone to a sinful nature, without living a sacramental, prayerful life, all religious organizations will have scandalous sinners that end up hurting others both physically and spiritually.

You said:
I am sorry if this has put a burden on anyone.

There has been no burden at all; this is why we do the work we do. Get back to us if you have any other questions or better yet:

Search our database for answers:

• http://www.AskACatholic.com/SiteSearch

I hope this helps,

My colleagues may have more to add.

Mike

Dominic,

I'm not sure if anyone got back to you. I have been completely backlogged.

You should definitely feed the fire for more Scripture study, but don't rely on half-hearted clerics who can't feed you.

Instead, turn to the St. Paul Center, started by Dr. Scott Hahn. They have:

• incredible resources
• online videos, and
• all kinds of excellent study materials.

Sadly not every man who is elevated to the priesthood takes his ministry with the reverence due to its importance, but that doesn't mean there aren't incredible priests out there.

Likewise, many have not been prepared well in seminary, because too many seminaries have faltered in the last decades. The good news is that many of the newer set of priests, particularly through some religious orders are quite zealous and have better formation so, don't lose hope, and remember it is really Christ who is present in all the Sacraments, so even with a less than stellar priest, the True Minister, Jesus, is there just the same.

Here is a link to the web site:

• St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Peace and God bless,

Bob Kirby