[Coleus]

why didn’t marshmallow make this type of thread a caucus thread? You know the born agains would chime in.

[wagglebee]

Maybe because it was markomalley who posted it?

I don’t know why the non-Catholics even care. Okay, that’s not quite true, they HATE the mother of God and, as hard as it is to believe, they probably hate her more than they hate the Church.

[marshmallow]

I didn't post the thread but if I did, I wouldn't have caucused it either.

For the following reasons;

1) Determined trolls, have in recent memory, re-posted caucus threads without the "caucus" label and discussed the issue anyway.

2) The naysaying ultimately works to our advantage. On any given day, throwing mud at the Catholic Church can impress the gullible but when it is repeated daily over a prolonged period, the negativity, bitterness and obsession becomes difficult to hide and is a major turn off for the neutrals. A spoon full of honey attracts more flies than a barrel full of vinegar, as St. Francis de Sales once said. Let them run their mouths. They're harming themselves principally.

3) We ought to be adult enough to handle it. As Catholics, we need to be able to engage the flamethrowers and flak-originators head on and counter their lies, distortions, half-truths and kooky ideas.

4) It's good for us. A little pain is good for the soul.

5) Shutting out the incorrigible naysayers only invigorates them and makes them more rabid in the long run. It heightens their urge to attack and fuels their already deranged "Catholic conspiracy" theories.