[724th]

I’am so sick of the Catholic bashing. I begrudge no man his faith. Yet mine is constantly denegrated. My church taught me that the Jews are Gods chosen people. Unlike American Jews, I as a Catholic would die in the defense of Israel. Is their bad clergy? Yes. Is there bad Rabbis? Yes. Are their bad Imams? Most certainly. The saddest thing this article represents, is the authors selective ignorance with regard to his chosen faith.

[cameraeye]

They know they can get away with it. So this man has denied Christ and went to the dark side. Should I pity this heathen or be very aware?

[SJackson]

I wish I could have left that paragraph out. The article isn’t about either Catholic bashing or Catholic education.

[Clemenza]

They also “formed cliques in banking and business to cheat Catholics and impede their efforts to earn a living.”

Prior to Vat II, such thoughts/sentiments were fairly common. Folks like Father Charles "Buy Gentile Silver" Coughlin had ratings through the roof preaching the same thing. However, it must be said that the first interfaith coalition between Catholics and Jews in America, if not the world, did get Coughlin thrown off the air.

[Jewbacca]

“I’am so sick of the Catholic bashing. I begrudge no man his faith. Yet mine is constantly denegrated.”

Being an outsider, I’ve noticed plenty of Roman Catholic bashing by protestants and plenty of Protestant bashing by Roman Catholics.

‘tis the nature of strong-willed religious beliefs and many a war.

Me, I don’t take it personal, but look for seeds of truth in the accusers’ arguments and work on fixing those.

For example, in my Shul, I’ve seen many a person ignore the reading (singing, generally) of the Law. Talk about golf games or whatever, and it’s a bit of a joke in many a Shul.

Reason: it’s hard to follow, and I speak Hebrew.

I’ve taken to reading it (and commentary) in detail before services, maybe filling out study guides (including some from non-Jewish sources) and being well-versed before service.

It’s made a difference to me, and others have been following my practice.

For you, instead of being offended, look at protestant objections -— there will be a grain of truth -— for example, in my area, the Roman Catholics are primarily Hispanic and seem almost occult in their religious practice, focusing on icons and statues.

That’s a legitimate beef, I suspect (and presumably not reflective of official Roman Catholic beliefs, but certainly what is out there).