NEWS FLASH: Many Catholics disagree with the Church and/or are poorly Catechized. This has been the point of many Catholics at FR for awhile...no news here.
My understanding was that this is a principle difference between Protestant and Catholic theology — Catholicism requires a go-between (of sorts) between the human and the divine ... such as a Priest or the Pope. Protestantism emphasizes that no conduit is needed as, a personal connection with God is possible.
You are mistaken, but thank you for your disclaimer stating you cannot say what Catholics believe. Unlike many, you don't claim authority over the beliefs of others - it is refreshing to see on this forum! Just for clarities sake though, Catholicism requires no go-between. Our theology is much deeper than the glossy "me-and-Jesus" take of some branches of Protestantism, but that is not the topic of the article, and thus appropriate for some other thread.
>> You are mistaken
Wouldn’t be the first time.
>> but thank you for your disclaimer stating you cannot say what Catholics believe. Unlike many, you don’t claim authority over the beliefs of others - it is refreshing to see on this forum!
You’re welcome.
>> Just for clarities sake though, Catholicism requires no go-between. Our theology is much deeper than the glossy “me-and-Jesus” take of some branches of Protestantism ...
Interesting turn-around there. Just as I should claim no authority over the beliefs of others — nor should you. It simply isn’t for you to declare that Catholic “theology is much deeper” than Protestantism, or that some Protestantism is a “glossy ‘me-and-Jesus’ take”. You failed to take your own advice.
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At what point though does it become the majority that reflects the consequences of church teaching? 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%?
If they only person who really believed and understood the Catholic faith was the Pope, would that still be the “Catholic Church”, while everybody else was just wrong?
My point is that we do have arguments about whether the Catholic Church tends to lead to people feeling separated from God. Those here vehemently deny the suggestion.
This survey suggests that 60% of those who call themselves Catholics feel otherwise. Now, I can believe that 60% of the Catholic Church isn’t well-versed in their own belief system, but 60% is a rather large number of people, and must include at least SOME who regularly attend church and actually stay awake, which would suggest that for a significant number of the faithful, they aren’t getting the message that people here say is the correct Catholic message.
If I were in the Church, I would take a survey like this as a sign that some additional work was needed to train the people of my Church correctly, assuming the 60% are incorrect in their feelings about the Church.