That is very interesting about the grandmother of your daughter’s friend (hope I remembered that right). I have heard Orthodox people say completely different things altogether, but I will grant you that not all people are equally learned about their faith or their history. Meanwhile, you are right about what the Bible tells us about ourselves. However, it would seem that we should expect the apple tree to produce apples.
And I've heard Latins, sadly, say the same things about Orthodox.
We have to remember that the excommunications imposed by Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Cerularius back in 1054 were not lifted until 1965 by Paul VI and Athenagoras I.
Over 900 years of bad blood (despite efforts in the 1430s to re-establish communion) have got to be overcome.
And that is on both sides.
There are a lot, on both sides of the Adriatic, who try to take things in stride. (John 17:21 That they all may be one, as you, Father, in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me). And there are some who believe it is more important to be right.
I'm not smart enough to be in the latter category.
However, it would seem that we should expect the apple tree to produce apples.
I assume this is in reference to your earlier statement, However, wowee, when I think of all the Catholics I know and how they live their lives on a DAILY basis...it’s very scary. Of course, are they REALLY Catholic?
Here's my thoughts on the subject.
There have been some tremendous saints throughout the millennia.
There have also been some tremendous sinners throughout the millennia.
I can count on one hand (with fingers left over) those who do not have any personal sin attributed against them. And that is with some assumptions. And that is for all of recorded history in the Scriptures.
And, as I alluded to before, I know what my crosses are. I know what my background is. I know what God has forgiven me for. And I am in no position whatsoever to pass condemnation unto Hell on another person. I can judge the quality of their actions, but that is different altogether than judging their state.
Not everybody is a Mother Theresa, Bl. Charles de Foucauld, or Maximilian Kolbe. And I am a firm believer that a sincere deathbed confession is just as effectual as one given a year or a decade before. (in fact, you might enjoy looking up a bio of Bl. Charles...he has a very, very interesting conversion story)
I also recognize that God works with each of us in accordance with our willingness to accept that help. He doesn't force Himself on us. His grace sometimes comes in very, very small measurements. So sometimes we have to be patient. Not only with others but with ourselves.
With that, the biggest thing that aggravates me, personally, is scandal. Scandal being defined as a situation that can lead others into sin. That's a pretty broad brush. For example, seeing a pro-abort politician or a rainbow sash homosexual receive communion is a potential scandal, as their reception of communion can tend to make others think that the Church doesn't care about the positions they've taken. A religion teacher teaching squishy Catholicism is another example -- molding young "skulls full of mush" into a heretical position -- is horribly scandalous. And so on.
FWIW.