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George
Meals
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
One of the people I go to school with who
is Evangelistic seems to have a problem with
my faith. She says that Catholics are not
Christian and this is not the first time I've
heard this. I have even googled Are Catholics
Christian? and I saw several results
that said that the Catholic Church:
- is a lost cause
- is corrupt and has strayed from the path
of Jesus, and
- is destined for damnation
There are even some anti-Catholic sites that
explain how we are a lost cause.
- Why do they think this way and how can
I not let this bother me?
Also, I often see Protestants saying we are
bad Christians because we worship Mary, the
Pope, and the saints. They say kneeling before
statues of Mary and saying Hail Mary is
a sign of worshipping Mary and that praying
to saints is worshipping them too.
Finally, they say the way we follow the Pope
and go to him, is worshipping him, as well,
and we are turning away from God and Jesus.
- How can I explain this is untruth?
Many of my problems and questions have
come from the site [Website hidden.]
- How can I dispute these claims by anti-Catholics?
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
George
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{
How do I reply to the claim that Catholics are not Christians and how do I not let this bother me? }
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John
replied:
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Hi, George —
Thanks for your question.
These attacks against the Catholic
Church by some Evangelicals
and Fundamentalist Protestants have
been going on for centuries.
We have answered most of these attacks
before and you can find an answer
for each of them in our extensive knowledge base. Just look under
the various subject matters on the
left-hand navigation bar such as About
Saints and About Mary.
You will find both the questions
and detailed answers.
Let me just quickly address one claim:
The claim that by saying Hail
Mary we are somehow worshipping
Mary.
Well if that's the case, the Angel
Gabriel is guilty of worshipping
Mary, since it is he that we quote,
right from the Gospel of Luke but
if you carefully look at the words
of the Hail Mary you should be able
to refute your friend's claims. Holy
Mary mother of God, pray for us . . .
We are asking Mary to pray for us.
We are not worshipping her. In addition,
by calling her Mother of God we
are protecting the Divinity of Christ
in her womb. The prayer was composed
to fight heresies which denied Christ
was God from eternity past and in
the womb.
Again, you will find much more detailed
explanations in our Q and A database or Frequently
Asked Questions.
If you can't
find a specific answer or don't understand them, check
in with us again. We'll be happy
to explain [and/or] elaborate further on
the given answers.
John
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Mike replied:
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Hi, George —
This is a common question; it's even in our searchable knowledge base:
https://www.AskACatholic.com/SiteSearch
There are a lot of quick answers there, so give it a try.
I searched the knowledge base for you and found this very good web posting that should answer your question:
You said:
- Why do they think this way and how can
I not let this bother me?
Great question!!
By acknowledging that bad behavior among laity, deacons, priests, pastors, bishops or even popes does not affect or change the official teachings of the Church. Jesus promised that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church. It's not our Church or the Pope's Church.
Peter, the Pope, is the prime minister of the Church who is the icon of unity among Catholic Christians. Our Lord uses the Pope at certain times to clarify the morality of secular practices that never existed when he was on the Earth. (e.g. In Vitro Fertilization) To that extent, he has a lot of responsibility as the head of the Church.
We, as lay Catholic practice our vocation, in the Church, and outside the Church, by following our calling in life.
Hope this helps,
Mike
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George replied:
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John and Mike,
Thank you both for the help.
I was able to find the remaining
answers in the AskACatholic database as you said.
Sincerely,
George
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