Giving Catholic Advice on Internet 1
mscperu
I am a catholic and one of the benefits of being a member of the Roman Catholic Church has been for me the experience that in my church one of the foundation of teaching is the worldwide unity in teaching and faith and (hopefully) life. This makes me ask some hard questions. Besides I have been reading some answers of experts to Catholics asking things catholic that made me shudder
So I question those who consider themselves "experts in Catholicism" and are pertaining to an other Church. I do not question their good faith, God bless them, but they are living another faith. They want to help. More power to them. But...
Since when a vegetarian will give unbiased answers how to prepare an Irish stew? Theoretically his/her/its answers may be all right but he/she/it must suffer terribly because he/she/it thinks the Irish stew is an abomination and only thinking about the stew gives him/her/it the "willies". The problem will be even more acute when I ask advice how to eat the stew and how much and how frequently and what benefits will I get. Do you think the vegetarian can answer sincerely without protesting?
So my dear non-catholic experts in Catholicism how can you advise about Catholicism when you are thinking and living differently? Or is there a livable possibility to think one thing and say an other one because I want to help and because I am an expert and have extensive resources and I want to be polite? At the same time you believe fervently the contrary! I am not talking about data and information. I am talking about faith and life.
And regarding my ex-catholic experts: some day you have renounced the Catholic Church and have taken up an other option. I do not question your decision. That is between you and God and your conscience. But your decision signals that you are against the teaching of the Catholic Church. You could say: I know Catholicism so I can answer. I think not. I contend that in the domain of faith the living AND the teaching have to be ONE if I do not want to be incoherent. How can you give, let us say, an answer that reflects entirely the teaching of the Church and live a faith and a life opposed to it and not hurt inside? Don�t you get red in your face?
Concluding, my dear experts, when there are questions about faith and life regarding Roman Catholicism please:
When you are NOT a practicing Roman Catholic, why don�t you say so in your answers? If not you are silencing an important part of your "expertise" that rebuts your answer, doesn�t it?
If you are not a Catholic, why don�t you say so? Catholics will be grateful but cautiously so. They have a right to know.
So everybody go on "expertising" but with your "trademark".
God bless you all
In Corde Jesu
mscperu
mscperu
My preoccupation consists in protecting Catholics from answers that go in the wrong direction. I think if everybody shows his trademark than everybody is forewarned.
Why don't we ask AskMe.com to open a Category "Roman Catholicism"? There will be no ambiguousness because ALL will be
looked at according to the teaching of the Catholic Church. The other non-catholic and ex-catholic experts may (and will) continue, "expertising" but there will be none of the candid souls that ask and
be misdirected without getting an orthodox catholic answer.
I cannot supervise all religion categories (not as a guardian, nothing of that, God preserve me), but to try to give a corresponding answer to those who innocently ask and get some really "weird" answer. If there is a Roman Catholic category they know where to ask. (The Roman Catholics "experts" should skim the different categories and when there is a pertaining question direct the questioners to the Roman Catholic Category).
I have on purpose anonymously posted one question about "Unity in Faith" and another one about "the true Church" stating expressly in the first that I was a catholic. I was not about information but about life and believing. It is evident that there is good will. But 80% are exuding good will and wrong advice.
How do you propose to help in this dilemma?
Again, thank you and pray for me. I do for all that pray for me. Fine negotiation, don't you think?
Vale
mscperu
Greetings to Wade Cox:
The grace of the Lord be in you heart.
I write to you because people urged me to. Some are quite passionate about it. The main argument is that the non-catholic (non-roman catholic) should not express their opinions about the catholic faith.
I am not of the same opinion. For me a Buddhist can be an eminence in knowledge regarding the Roman Catholic Faith.
So I read carefully your answers. Let me congratulate you regarding the wealth of information you have accumulated. Astounding.
Now you say that your congregation represents the original first Catholic Church. Well you are entitled to your opinion. I do not want to enter in a discussion about it.
I would like only to try to avoid misunderstanding. It is a question of expectations.
Let us say, somebody has a skin problem. He looks in the phonebook and searches for a skin doctor - I do not know the technical term. He gets there and this doctor only applies herbs and is categorically opposed to traditional medicine. The person with a problem has the desire to find a doctor who applies the traditional medicine. Don't you think that it would have avoided en error by stating in the phonebook: "skin doctor herbal"? So everybody would know with whom he was to enter in contact.
The same occurs on this question board "Catholicism". The questioners presumably are in majority Roman Catholics. Many times they say they are Catholic and if someone is not member of the Roman Catholic Church he states it. The general impression is: Catholicism = Roman Catholicism. Non-Catholics ask to get Roman Catholic answers. Look at the questions.
They want answers that conform to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. And if they rant against it many times they would like to be enlightened.
Wouldn't it be kind to them to let them know that you are not a Roman Catholic being an expert in knowledge and information but not in faith and living?
It is not a discussion here about the true Catholic Church but about what the majority thinks is Catholicism.
There are two solutions perhaps you have a better one:
1. You state clearly in your answers what you are (CCG isn't it?). So there will be no confusion about from what corner you are arguing. The confusion comes from the habit of Catholics who believe that in the entire world the Catholic Church teaches the same and a Catholic expert should conform to it, so they think. Somebody expressing different teaching causing the impression to be a Catholic rouses some doubts that there is inside the Church a heresy. That hurts. The unity is questioned.
Please, don�t argue that there are many catholic Churches. If you insist then there is an other way:
2. The other solution would be a new category "Roman Catholicism". So everybody talking there would be measured strictly by the Magisterium of the Pope and the Bishops.
What do you propose in order to not increase the confusion?
Thank you for your patience
God bless you
In Corde Jesu
msc
Wade Cox
Why do you think the Roman Catholic Church has a monopoly on this subject and individuals are limited in posting to the doctrine of the church?
If that is the case why do not they go to the church web site and get their information?
The answer to me is they want detailed and true expositions?
I will wait until I get some more persuasive argument.
If John the Baptist and Messiah had followed your premise nothing would have happened and God would have raised up another.
Wade Cox
mscperu
Please Sir your logic (or my explanation or your haste to answer) made you state positions I did not state:
I did NOT state that:
The Roman Catholic Church has a monopoly
I DID state that:
I do not want to enter in discussion of your creed.
So both (almost three) of your conclusions a seriously flawed.
Your syllogism goes something like that:
You are against my posting answers (not true, read!)
So go to Catholic Websites (Thanks but I am talking about Catholics asking things catholic and receiving answers from non-Catholics).
John the Baptist and Messiah have expressly argued against your kind of procedure (preposterous if it is not a argument against the Roman Catholic Church and even then it seems a bait to enter in discussion I do not want to have in private).
You see I have with intention and forbearance - and foresight - avoided that this clarification might appear in public. Remember Mt 18?
15 "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
17 "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.
18 "Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."
The New American Standard Bible, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation)
God bless you
In Corde Jesu
mscperu