Catholics ARE Christians. They Really, Really Are!

Since living below the Mason/Dixon Line for the past thirty some-odd years, I’ve had the unfortunate occurrences of having to deal with certain forms of closed-mindedness due to being a practicing Catholic. And so with this blog entry, let me take a little of this cyberspace to sorta clear the air with some of those areas found to stem from these preconceptions.

To begin, Catholics ARE Christians. We really are! We believe in Christ and that he died on the cross for our sins. That He is the Son of God and was placed before us to convey God’s teachings and messages.

Second, just because characters in movies such as The Godfather trilogy or television programs like The Sopranos makes it look as though Catholics believe that you can go out and whack somebody then go to church and receive all kinds of forgiveness… that is FAR from the truth. Like all Christians, Catholics know that they’ll all have to answer for their actions, and that by going to Mass isn’t going to change anything.

Third, just because there is a statue of Mary in front of a church, it doesn’t mean that that is where Catholics go to worship Mary. And yes, I’ve had people mention that to me as well. The reason for the statues is not that we worship statues, but that the early Church used them as a way to help people pray who might feel better ‘looking’ at someone. That’s all.

As for confession and telling a Priest your sins? Though the old Church tried to keep the Priest in a higher regard, all of that has changed. By telling the Priest the bad things you’ve done, it was pretty much like getting something off ones chest – knowing it would be confidential while hoping for some type of peace from repentance. With some denominations, it’s not uncommon for those who have sinned to stand before the entire congregation and share everything they had done. Well, no thank you! To me that would just be giving material for others to gossip about. Of course who I am to judge. That’s just me.

Fifth, some believe that we worship the Pope. Uh, no! The Pope is the main, go-to guy when issues concerning the Catholic Church come about. However, if the Pope told all Catholics to jump off a bridge, I doubt you will see the multitudes lining up on its edges.   

Oh, and just to share? While dating a girl a few years back, I invited her to join me at Mass (a church service). And though the girl was very receptive to the thought, her aunt wasn’t. In fact, due to me being Catholic, this woman honestly believed that ALL Catholics, including myself, worshiped the Pope.  Seriously!  So to add some fire to her false perception, on the way back from church I told the girl to tell her aunt, that in the middle of the service, a large banner with the Pope’s image fell from the ceiling and then everyone prostrated themselves before it. Needless to say, after sharing with her aunt this tidbit of funny, she quickly pulled out the King James Version and tried to ‘save’ me. God bless her soul.  

Anyway… I know there are many other misconceptions of what Catholicism is all about. And though those mentioned above are just a few of the areas needing clarification, at least these have been addressed. And no, I am by far any kind of theologian –just a lowly ‘cradle Catholic’.

Oh, and other points worth mentioning: We don’t believe that only Catholics are going to Heaven. We respect other denominations and races - because who is REALLY able to judge others than The Man Upstairs? Right? The Catholic Church doors are NEVER locked – unless in maybe crime-infested areas - which makes one wonder with other churches - ‘Would God REALLY lock anyone out of His house? And one other thing…did you know that there are church services EVERYDAY – and not just on Wednesday and Sunday? Anyway, just to share.

Of course the Catholic Church isn’t perfect… far from it. But this is also true with other denominations. And what has been done by a few within its ranks doesn’t define the Church as a whole – and if you think that I’m gonna address any of those issues, well forget it. This post was mainly to shed some light on some misconceptions – harmless misconceptions by some strong-faith, church-going, well-meaning folks, who may have not known better. 

So just a heads up to those below the Mason/Dixon Line who might believe otherwise – Catholics ARE Christians. They really, really are!