eh, pretty bummed this thread decended into all the previous comments when I was hoping some good information could be shared within it.
my 13 year old son who has gone to parochial school all his life recently told me he plans on leaving the church when he turns 18. I asked why and his reasoning was what he was learning in school goes against what he believes. I asked him to explain it and he said that at school he is being taught that his deeds are the key to heaven and that he must perform deeds, he says that faith and faith alone is the ticket to salvation. he said in a discussion of rapture, which was kind of hush hush, that he said rapture was a good thing and drew the scorn of his teacher and classmates, saying its not fair that only some people get to go and there are those left behind, even “good people”. he asks why they don’t cover or discuss Revelations and when he asks questions or tries to bring it into discussions he is shut down by the teacher. he also said they have a new history teacher this year who tells them to go out and try new and everything, saying he seems a bit too liberal for a parochial school. he asks why he has to call the priests Father, when 1) the only father is God himself and 2) his other father is at home.
he has this and next year before going to high school. I was going to try to move mountains to afford to send him to a good Catholic school but now feel I would be better off saving that money for college expense since he is at odds with Catholic teaching.
the kid is very bright, very intelligent. he does his homework and will perform research before forming his opinion. he says he finds himself in disagreements quite often with his classmates who I don’t feel he ever really bonded with. his birthday is pretty much the first day of school each year so we started him in K as fresh 6 year old instead of a 5 year old, his maturity is obvious against his classmates. he said a typical political discussion he recently had went kinda like this
Zach - like him or not, I think Donald Trump is the only choice an American who cares about his country can make.
Kid - you just like him because he is on TV. Hillary Clinton is better.
Zach - for starters we are Catholics and we must value the right to life over everything. Hillary is a lifelong supporter of abortion and Planned Parenthood which goes against everything our family, church and school is teaching us.
Kid - well you are a dummy.
The kid loves to talk about the 2 dreaded subjects, religion and politics. His classmates talk BFFs and Taylor Swift. I don’t think he is being challenged in the environment. I am also starting to think that perhaps he would be better off to go to public high school, armed with the knowledge that the forces of liberalism are strong there, that they will want to try to undo his previous 9 years of parochial teachings. he can go in and be the young conservative voice that is not afraid to speak up.
He also says that Pope Francis concerns him, Im right along with him there and the Pope has really been driving me from the church. I don’t see myself ever leaving the faith but after my son leaves parochial school and we aren’t obligated to the number of masses to attend each year I can see myself going to church less but personally reflecting more.
He has asked his mother who converted from being a Baptist if she would take him to a Baptist service some time. if anything, I would be inclined to take him to a Lutheran service but it does concern me that I sacrificed to send him to the school of my faith and it drives him away.
He needs to go to a conservative evangelical church, esp. if he leans toward Hillary. Which indicates a need for actual conversion. Get him on FR.
20 some years ago; we had a 14 YO come to our church "because he was curious about the music" he'd heard as he walked by.
The lad became one of our most evangelistic members.
(Wesleyan denomination)
Oh dear. Is there any way, any way at all you can go to a parish with a Latin Mass? I have found that young people (my own included) are far more satisfied when the Mass is not watered-down and the priests have no trouble answering questions such as the ones your son is asking.
Regards,
Hello Finatic - two resources that may help your son - Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft - it may be above his reading level but it sounds like it might not be, judging from his eagerness to engage others and seek the truth of things. If he works through it with a knowledgeable adult advisor (catechist? parish priest?) he may come away with a deep and strong appreciation of the faith that will stand up to any serious intellectual challenge.
A second resource has to do with faith and science, specifically aimed at high school students: the Faith and Reason series (Fr. Robert Spitzer SJ) which examines evidence for God from physics and philosophy. I was a volunteer with the project several years ago and I have shown the 5-DVD series to my class with thoughtful results. The series was based on Fr. Spitzer’s book, New Proofs for the Existence of God, a highly compelling, if intellectual, read.
Here is the link for the Kreeft book:
https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Catholic-Apologetics-Reasoned-Questions/dp/1586172794
and here is the link to the Reason Series program:
http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/the_reason_series.html
Adolescence is such a time of fierce spiritual battle - I teach in a grade 7-12 Catholic school - and the stakes are so high. I applaud you so much for being so involved in helping your son in his honest search for the highest truth there is.