I bet we’ve all heard some rather nasty remarks about the Roman Catholic faith and Church at some point in our lives. In fact, a couple weeks ago we had a couple Open Air Preachers come to this blog and carry out a series of verbal onslaughts against the Catholic faith. Thus, poll question #10 is: When you hear a person speak negatively about Roman Catholicism, how do you react? Please vote below.
Results from poll #9: Will you contribute to the Diocese of Rochester CMA this year? The runaway winner in this poll was “No, no, and No!” with 72% of the 39 votes cast. 10 people said they will donate in some way (either to their parish, or to the CMA on behalf of their parish) out of fear that something bad will happen to their parish if they do not. Thank you for voting.
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I have never encountered any Catholic bashing.
To tell you the truth, the Diocese of Rochester is dying a fast death right before our eyes.
When I tell non-Catholics that I am a Catholic, I have noticed that they bring up the topic of so many church and school closings.
Even radio talk host Bob Lonsberry asked the question on the air several times, why doesn't Bishop Clark do more to promote evangelization in his parishes, rather than just close them.
I try to maintain a peaceful calm when somebody bad mouth's the Church, but occasionally (rarely) my squirrely wrath gets the best of me and I go full-tilt. Usually that is with my non-Catholic relatives.
When I encounter insults to Catholics like Bishop Clark and myself on so-called "Catholic" sites I write clever responses like this. When in my daily life someone make a comment against the Church I first consider the source. If it is an angry lapsed or on-the-fence Catholic I try to be calm and tell them that the only perfect person who ever lived was Jesus Christ and the Church he left us is run by ordinary ones like us. I remind them that the Catholic Church actually is the one historic Church established by Christ over 2,000 years ago as evidenced by the record of Apostolic Succession going back to St. Peter. If they're Irish-American I tell them that too many of our ancestors went through too much cr*p to stay loyal to the Church to jump ship now. If they're British and put down Irish Catholics I consider giving them a taste of my fist then remember that St. Patrick performed a bloodless conversion of the Irish and a Brit chin isn't worth a bloody knuckle. If they were baptized Catholic but say they're not I tell them that they're in for good, once in never out, whether they like it or not. If a non-Catholic starts bashing the Church I let them know I'm Catholic and to cut it out. Door to door missionaries don't get around to saying anything against the Church when I tell them I'm sorry, but I'm Catholic and it would be against my faith to accept their literature. That does the trick, they say God Bless and leave. I've never had a single problem with Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. I think the only ones who do argue with them which is what they want. I believe in Americans' right to practice religion freely so I try not to criticize others' at least not to their face. If I hear a Catholic quoting an anti-Catholic like Bob Lonsberry I hang my head in shame that some of my fellow Catholics can be so foolish.