Online anti-Catholicism rears its ugly head

OSV ^ | Tom Tracy

[netmilsmom]

Rosalie and Michael (not their real names) are a Catholic husband and wife from the Northeast who run an upscale hair salon in the South; they have long been what might be called "perpetual parish shoppers," ever looking for a church community that perfectly fits their spirituality.

Not long after Rosalie began attending an evangelical Christian mega-church whose spirituality emphasizes Biblical fundamentalism, church members directed her to a plethora of Internet sites aimed at revealing to Catholics the "truth" about the Catholic Church.

One example of the sort of misinformation present on such sites: The back of the pope’s chair in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is inscribed with an upside-down cross — proof that the pope is allied with Satan, right?

Perhaps a poorly catechized Catholic like Rosalie would fall for that explanation, but others will remember that St. Peter asked to be crucified upside-down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same way his Lord did.

[Warlord David]

If even the gay priest and those that have sympathy for the gay cause, rule over by proxy of even the appearance of the majority, it will not go well for the catholics or the protestants.

And the fact that the catholic church has made no attempt at striking down the gay lifestyle, either by council, or by separating themselves, or by any other means. There silence speak volumes, at this point in time. Perhaps I do not understand Roman Catholicism, but I do see compromise, lack of leadership, a growing cancer, and I understand silence. This does not go well for you, or for me. And what happens to the catholic will happen to the protestant, on this issue. Like it or not, has they say at NASA, we have a problem Houston.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

Mr. Chick, you are your distortions continue. You have no understanding of Catholicism and your ignorance on this topic is trying my patient. My best advice to you is to "be silent." Priests do not RULE over. That is a Jack Chick fantasy. READ THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, THERE IT IS FOR ALL TO SEE, HOMOSEXUAL ACTIONS ARE GRAVELY DISORDERED. But you are right, the Catholic Church endorses and celebrates the gay lifestyle. Get a life. And maybe read something that is actually based in fact, and not the mindless fiction of angry little men over at jackchick.com. But I am getting nothing out of this dialogue, as I am talking to a brick wall with very little facts to support himself. BE SILENT.

[rwfromkansas]

Like the Catholics.

[Desdemona]

When the preist can rule by proxy of the majority, on any issue.

Uh, no. And if he tries something like marrying two homosexuals, he'll he pulled out of public ministry faster than you can say gay men.

Please, learn something about Catholicism as the church teaches before saying something like that.

[Barnacle]

Online anti-Catholicism rears its ugly head

Online anti-Catholicism? What's that?

LOL!

(Sometimes I crack myself up.)

[B-Chan]

See how that the catholic church is falling apart

Falling apart? There were 110,000 converts to the Catholic faith this year in America alone, three of which joined our tiny parish this very evening.

the false doctrine that is so much apart of the catholic church

False doctrine? Since when are you the infallible judge of doctrinal truth?

[Rum Tum Tugger]

As a convert to the Catholic Church from Protestantism, I can say that most Catholics have no idea how wide and how deep anti-Catholicism is among Protestants of virtually all denominations. The very meaning of the word "Protestant" implies that Protestants must define themselves in relation to the Catholic Church, and the elements of that definition are incredibly, ignorantly negative.

I am happy to say that in the four years that I have been a Catholic, I have never heard one Catholic say anything negative about Protestants. In fact, Catholics hardly say anything about Protestants.

Having been raised in a negative and ignorant anti-Catholic Protestant culture, I sometimes find myself wanting to react in my old Protestant way and lash back at the anti-Catholics. But keeping the example of my fellow Catholics in mind, this kind of back-handed slap is as far as I allow myself to go these days.

Happy Easter!

[Barnacle]

Well said. Welcome home. Happy Easter to you and yours.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

netmilsmom,

Hope you don't mind my posting it in full -- didn't see OSV listed as publication that needed to be excerpted....

FReegards,

- ConservativeStLouisGuy

____________________

Online Anti-Catholicism Rears Its Ugly Head: Web Surfers Seeking Catholic Church Info Are Often Targeted By Fundamentalist Sites

Rosalie and Michael (not their real names) are a Catholic husband and wife from the Northeast who run an upscale hair salon in the South; they have long been what might be called "perpetual parish shoppers," ever looking for a church community that perfectly fits their spirituality.

Not long after Rosalie began attending an evangelical Christian mega-church whose spirituality emphasizes Biblical fundamentalism, church members directed her to a plethora of Internet sites aimed at revealing to Catholics the "truth" about the Catholic Church.

One example of the sort of misinformation present on such sites: The back of the pope’s chair in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is inscribed with an upside-down cross — proof that the pope is allied with Satan, right?

Perhaps a poorly catechized Catholic like Rosalie would fall for that explanation, but others will remember that St. Peter asked to be crucified upside-down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same way his Lord did.

The upside-down cross, then, is a symbol of the humility of the "servant of the servants of God" and a reminder that he is to lay down his life for his flock.

Sadly, Rosalie now talks about the "Vatican’s link to paganism," the "real" purpose of the Crusades and how to avoid the "mark of the beast" (don’t let the government implant a bar-coded national-identity device under your skin).

How can some Catholics be so gullible?

"There is something that can’t be explained, some basic human thing, that if it is printed then it seems to be true," said Brother John Raymond, co-founder of the Venice, Fla.-based Monks of Adoration and author of "Catholics on the Internet" (out of print), a guide to some 10,000 Catholic-related websites, many of which he recommends.

But as the Internet becomes the most powerful — and sometimes the only — source of research, especially for the under 40 population, a number of anti-Catholic websites are playing on the naiveté and curiosity of marginal, disillusioned or confused Catholics, according to experts.

Old story, new venue

"The Internet is just full of this material," said Carl Olson, editor of Envoy magazine and a former fundamentalist Christian who grew up reading the kinds of claims that now inform the anti-Catholic websites.

"There are a number of specific fundamentalist groups whose primary focus is trying to convince Catholics that their church is not Christian, that it is pagan, the whore of Babylon," Olson told Our Sunday Visitor.

Many of the websites have telling addresses, such as freedomfromcatholicism.com; others are more deceptive, such as justforcatholics.org and catholicconcerns.com.

The content tends to reflect the already-familiar anti-Catholic thinking of a pack of writers well known to Catholic apologists: James McCarthy, Jack Chick, Lorraine Boettner, Dave Hunt.

"We certainly are aware of the sites out there, because Catholics troubled by them send us links to those sites or we find them used against us by non-Catholics who want to ‘save’ us," said Jan Wakelin, of Catholic Answers, a San Diego-based publication.

"Sometimes they throw out so much material, and hundreds of charges — all of which could be responded to, but it would take forever to do it," she said.

Engaging those who run the anti-Catholic websites might be quixotic, according to those who have trod that ground. Civil engineer Mel Damewood, a cradle Catholic and native of Eugene, Ore., first spotted anti-Catholic websites back in the mid-1990s.

After identifying numerous falsehoods in the content, he e-mailed some of the sites, presenting Catholic positions, but "they would go off on another tangent," Damewood said. "They tend to go after Catholic teaching on the Eucharist, on the Virgin Mary and the whole structure of the Vatican."

Alarmingly effective

Envoy’s Olson said his experience with people who run the anti-Catholic websites is that once they discover you are someone who really knows the faith and can beat them at their own game, they will cease talking.

"They either bail out or change the topic and bury you with other information. That is really one of the problems and challenges of the Internet — without seeing people face to face and seeing their humanity, it is easy to hurt people and throw these flaming darts," Olson said.

Fundamentalists trying to target Catholics have seen the Internet as a great opportunity to put forward their beliefs, he added, and it has been alarmingly effective with people who don’t know their faith.

"They get on the Internet, they are alienated from their parish or may be poorly catechized, and they see this or that group is passionate about Jesus, and they get caught up in the emotional aspect of it, about sharing their love for Jesus," Olson said.

Emilio Chavez, assistant professor of sacred scripture at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla., who is active in interfaith relations, recalls a 1993 document from the U.S. bishops that calls biblical fundamentalism a form of intellectual suicide. Chavez sees some common characteristics among anti-Catholic church groups and what it is that would attract people to them.

"They tend to be intimate societies where everyone is equal and participating with a central, charismatic leader, with an emotional approach to the scripture, and where a direct link to God is emphasized," Chavez said. "There is also an emphasis on predictions and interpreting the secrets of the world."

Chavez thinks having good Bible studies at the parish level is one way of minimizing the impact of misinformation.

"We have to promote biblical study and devotion in a Catholic way, to put the Bible in the forefront of Catholic life so people do not have to turn to the sects which are putting the Bible at the forefront in a way that is dangerous and that is not Catholic," he said.

Fighting fire with truth

Here is a list of recommended resources for solid Catholic apologetics:

Books:

- "The Catholic Answer Bible" (OSV, $21.95)
- "Where is that in the Bible?" by Patrick Madrid (OSV, $10.95)
- Why Is that in Tradition?" by Patrick Madrid (OSV, $10.95)
- "Answer Me This" by Patrick Madrid (OSV, $11.95)
- "The Catholic Response" by Father Peter Stravinskas (OSV, $11.95)

Internet sites:

Several Catholic mega-sites provide links to solid, Catholic resources online:

www.catholicity.com

www.catholicexchange.com

www.catholic.org

[biblewonk]

I freely admit to disliking Catholic doctrine.

[netmilsmom]

Thank you for all your work.
I'm always afraid to post completely and get us in trouble.
Good Catch!

[netmilsmom]

Are you an American? Then that is your right!

I posted this more for the Catholics to understand that there are actually people who still think we strangle babies with Rosary beads and drink their blood, metaphorically that is.

[netmilsmom]

>>The big problem is still that people don't know the faith because no one taught us what it is. And it's up to us to raise the roof with that little tidbit.<<

I'm assisting in CCD this year. I am appalled at what they are teaching. I just volunteered for the Education Committee for next year.
We are getting a new pastor (or old one is retiring) and if this church gets any more liberal (I hated our Easter service, I can't call it a mass), I am out of there. I'm hoping to get a more conservative view to our education program.

[biblewonk]

I posted this more for the Catholics to understand that there are actually people who still think we strangle babies with Rosary beads and drink their blood, metaphorically that is.

Like Mormons there are millions of Catholics who are very nice people and have great families. It's the doctrine that has problems. Not too many people think they kill their babies even metaphorically speaking.

[netmilsmom]

>>Not too many people think they kill their babies even metaphorically speaking.<<

No, they think we condemn our children to hell for teaching them our faith.

I'm married to a Presbyterian. You should hear some of the things his family has said to me....

[biblewonk]

No, they think we condemn our children to hell for teaching them our faith.

Well, that's a very difficult issue. Can people condemn people to hell is definitely a Calvanism type discussion. However Catholic doctrine certainly seems to keep people more distant from their bibles. Catholics are taught that the bible has huge holes in it regarding what is needed for salvation. Not directly but this thought is implied when we see what Catholics believe about Mary, purgatory, salvation by faith alone, and other things.

[netmilsmom]

>>However Catholic doctrine certainly seems to keep people more distant from their bibles.<<

Well I have been to "Bible Study Foundation" through a Methodist Church and Catholic Bible study through my church now and the only difference I found was that the BSF people had a problem with Catholic teachings. When I told them that I was not happy with what they were saying (which was connected to idolatry and Mary) I was told that I had an option not to come back.

[biblewonk]

Well I have been to "Bible Study Foundation" through a Methodist Church and Catholic Bible study through my church now and the only difference I found was that the BSF people had a problem with Catholic teachings. When I told them that I was not happy with what they were saying (which was connected to idolatry and Mary) I was told that I had an option not to come back.

A bible study by and for women. Nothing would surprise me. BSF rules state not to mention your denomination during the study. It is supposed to be focused on the bible alone. It sounds like they forgot to mention that to you or you wanted to bring up some RC particulars. But do you study the bible on yourown and read through it at lease once a year?

[netmilsmom]

Actually, the Bible is read completely in the mass in three years. We have one reading from the OT, one from NT and one specifically from the Gospels.
Along with that, I started a website "Read the Bible in a Year" through a Christian Homeschool group I belong to. Pitifully, I have not gotten there yet but all of us have to start somewhere and I will be through it in June. I like starting my day with The Lord and will then start over and do it again.
Catholics are Christians and I have found people who are shocked when talking to me about it. A few ladies were taken aback when I said I was Catholic and I actually had one woman say to me, "But you're so Christian!" Truly I know this is not the run of the mill. I am surprised, however, listening to some of my friends who forget who is in the room when a discussion starts. I have at least convinced these ladies that we don't pray to statues!