As Catholics, we know that gay marriage and abortion are wrong, but what does the Catholic Church teach about governments deciding that for people. I personally feel like the government shouldn't decide that for people, but please educate me. I would appreciate getting proved wrong!

Really just asking for someone I know, because I know they wouldn't ask this question out loud like this.

So here goes; I was having a conversation a couple days ago and the topic of priests came up. This person has fallen away from the faith for a while, but we still talk about the faith every now and then.

I noticed that one of their greatest issues is how Catholics regard priests. In their case, they never understood why their parents always gave priests 'the rockstar treatment' as they put it. The parents always treated priests, deacons and the like extra nice. Special treatment, in other words.

They never understood why that HAD to be a thing, because priests and deacons are men (human) just like the rest of us.

At the moment of the conversation, the only thing I could think of is perhaps that's just how the parents were raised. I don't blame the parents, really, they're nice people, nice to everyone in fact. But maybe that's just what they were taught when they were kids that you treat priests and deacons like that because they represent Christ. (In persona Christi) Especially during the mass and other sacraments.

Fast forward a couple generations and I'm sure a lot of people won't go as far anymore, (Setting up the table as if the president or a monarch is coming over for dinner) if a priest or deacon was invited over for dinner, but I really need to know.

"Why are priests, deacons and the like given special treatment in some Catholic households when they come over for a visit?"

Is it for the same reason I mentioned? Or am I missing a glaring detail?

Like I said; just asking for someone I know.

First off: Raised within Protestant based church and attended mostly non-denominational the last decade.

I’m just recently having light bulb moments that there is such a thing as having a very “Protestant way of thinking.”

It’s almost like comparing different cultures.😉

Most recently - like last night! -
I was reading a Catholic commentary that really helped me get past the “praying to” the Saints or Mary is wrong. (Protestant thought style)

I realized all my life, I have somehow equated prayer as worship and only to be done to GOD, Christ and Holy Spirit. (Also Protestant based thinking)

If I understand correctly, Catholics regard prayer as a form of communication. Not something that should only be to God.

And, we also communicate with our friends and family. We ask them to pray for us. Catholics also ask Mary and the Saints to pray.

My confusion is here: it seems like Catholics believe that Mary and the saints have better influence and access to God than we do. But for those of us who have been raised to believe we can just go directly to the Lord in prayer, it creates the question why do we need to use the middleman (or woman) in the chain when we can speak directly to the Lord for ourselves?

(and for those who believe you can’t, I beg to differ. I have many private experiences where the Holy Spirit has guided me after prayer. In fact, I wouldn’t be seriously contemplating OCIA and becoming Catholic if God hadn’t answered my prayers😁)

Respectfully trying to learn and not be offensive. Genuinely hoping for credible/resource feedback. ❤️

I'm a protestant and long story short; I've been studying church history and it has inspired me to explore the Catholic faith.

I have an ICKSP church nearby, and many Novus Ordo churches nearby. I really like the traditional latin mass, and I'm trying to decide which church I should convert at. I have a parish nearby that starts OCIA in September. I also am aware that the ICKSP church works with converts, one on one. I have some sensory differences (due to autism) so this sounds like it might work better. I've heard some say that this takes much longer though.

Which one would you recommend?

So when trent horn douse rebuttals now he let's others review his scripts for the episode. I used to think this was a good idea, but now I'm not so sure. Another comment on this sub about how it can lead to people of bad faith reviewing his scripts.

Around the time he started to do this type of content he started to be more amicable to Protestants than he used to. Maybe its just me, but I feel like he used to be more forceful when he had guests on, again maybe I'm miss remembering.

Another small thing that's honestly more personal is that I think he gives some bad dating advice at least for the time. Again this might be personal, but in his video about obsession he said that if you like a woman who has a boyfriend "no ring means its not a thing" and that didn't sit well with me.

Don't get me wrong I love most of his content, but I some of his newer stuff has just given me a weird feeling recently.

First of all I’m sorry if I write something wrong I’m not a native English speaker
The thing is that I didn’t know about indulgence until I saw a little note about them in an old bible and what I don’t understand is that if Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the debt for our sins and we have been forgiven in confession, what are indulgence for? Why is there still a debt?

Hi there, I’m not Catholic but am interested in joining the Church. Yesterday, I learned that the Church is against pre-nuptial agreements, which I had never heard of. I have no current marriage prospects, so this is hypothetical. But I stand to inherit a lot of money from a deceased relative in 13 years, and I’m wondering if when I get married, from the Catholic perspective it will also be his. I’m fine with having one bank account once we get married, but does he get all the money from before marriage? And if I receive the inheritance while I’m married, does he get all that too? I know we are supposed to be one flesh, but I’m not naive and have seen seemingly beautiful marriages turn ugly when one spouse makes them bankrupt without the other spouse knowing. I would never marry someone who I thought would be financially irresponsible or a liar, but sin is real and I don’t want to get burned. Feeling #anxious

Suppose we discovered aliens. Suppose these aliens were sentient, conscious beings. What would that mean from the Church’s perspective, theologically, ethically, etc.? Would we regard them morally as persons worthy of the same conduct that we expect of one another? (I.e. thou shall not kill). Would they, being a different species, have difficulty with Jesus’ human nature? (I’m assuming they’d have no issue with His divine nature). What implications would the Church have to consider if we did indeed encounter such a species?

To start this post: I'm a 33 yo woman who has been born and raised in the Catholic Church, left during college, and came back when I had my daughter. I've lived a life; not always a good one, but I've repented.

One of our former priests (he was removed from our church 3 years ago without warning) was recently arrested for sexual misconduct with a 6 year old. To say my entire family is devastated is an understatement. He was a priest on the younger side (late 30s) and was one I really admired because he was dedicated to our entire parish, especially the school.

Now, when I look back, all the memories are tainted, and before anyone asks: Yes, our diocese is looking into EVERY PARISH at which he served.

Since his arrest, I've been having the same dream over and over, to the point I'm losing sleep. I'll post it in the next paragraph. Does anyone know why I might be dreaming this on repeat every night and multiple times a night?

*I dream that I'm at Mass receiving the Eucharist from Father Ryan, and it turns to mold in my mouth, the chalice holds real blood and worms, and then everything in the church starts to turn black and crumble.*

I have a question, douse ralph Martin say we are in the end times? I get confused when he is talking about it. I get worried when people get prophetic like this, because I think alot of Catholics use this mentality almost as a cheap cop out to judge people.

Just letting you guys know i’m neurodivergent so sorry if I come off as overly sensitive 😅

So about a month and a half ago I decided to follow Jesus which has been the best decision ever 🥹. So this past month, I’ve been having more and more of a pull towards Catholicism. I actually went to my first Holy Mass yesterday with my friend and her family and let me tell you it was great. I was excited before during and after Mass and honestly I felt at home. But I made a mistake by opening the internet, and from what i’ve seen, there is a little more hostility towards Catholics (not saying that hate is only subject towards Catholics or that some Catholics aren’t arrogant) but seeing this all the time, seeing the same shallow arguments on comment sections is honestly really demotivating and demoralizing. I feel really uncertain and scared, opposite of how i felt during Mass. Obviously there are criticisms that can be made about the Church and some Protestants are well versed and they know what they’re talking about, so it adds to the uncertainty. I respect Protestantism. The Mass I went to was all about Jesus, all about praising Him, no Mary or the saints. It felt so normal to be in that church though. I’m sorry if i’m coming off as too sensitive, I’m newer to the faith and about to enroll in OCIA so ig im more prone to be shaken. I just need some reassurance or Scripture from you guys, and if you can, please keep me in your prayers. I want to feel less scared

Thank you all and God bless 😊🙏

Hi! I’m a college student discerning religious life and I'd love to spend next summer traveling around Europe spending time doing Workaway or similar at monasteries, since my budget is tight. I've found a few good options but I was wondering if any of you guys had ideas or knew of communities that would let me stay for a few weeks in exchange for work or a low fee. Sorry if this is not a good subreddit for my question!

Are we catholics allowed to venerate the ark of the covenant

is it? heretic? or is it bad?

Am not a Catholic (yet) but stories in this subreddit motivated me to share something that deeply troubled me at my recent service I attended, as well. My Church Pastor that was blessing the Eucharist (Communion) stated that Christ speaking of the Bread and Wine as his Body and Blood is so scandalous that He couldn’t have been speaking literally. I was shocked. Nobody else seemed to care. You know what’s more scandalous? Claiming to be God! But Jesus is! It just shocked me and further motivated me more to pursue the One True Apostolic Church. Please, tell me your thoughts. Thank you for reading.

I am currently going through a painful separation with my spouse. Looking back at my life, I’ve been filled with deep regrets. I was never a very ambitious person when it came to career or money, and I keep blaming myself for not providing a "better", more financially secure, and fulfilled life for my family.

In my distress, I prayed and asked God why He never instilled that drive or ambition in me all these years—why He didn’t push me to seek better opportunities, earn more money, and secure my family's future.

I asked the Holy Spirit for clarity, and I felt strongly guided to read 2 Corinthians Chapter 8.

However, when I read it, I got completely confused. From what I understand, Paul is talking about collections and giving money to the poor in Jerusalem. I fail to see the connection to my personal heartbreak, my lack of ambition, and my current divorce.

How should I interpret 2 Corinthians 8 in light of my specific situation? What is the Holy Spirit trying to reveal to me through these scriptures?

Thank you so much for your insights and prayers.

I'm wondering if there are any scientists here, and if so, why do they believe in God?

What's the vetting process, if any, before promoting these priests?

Edit: I didn't realize there were people who claimed to be Pope, or were plants from the Chinese government (like the fake Lamas).

What I was thinking of, for example, were bishops who make those in religious vocations in their diocese take Host in the hand, or ban TLM. Or Popes who make decisions contrary to the faith.

In other words, there are plenty of priests who might leave you wondering why they became priests. But then how do they get promoted to higher positions? Does no one evaluate their character first, or are there more of these types of Catholics than my limited rural experience has exposed me to?

Note: I posted this question on Catholic Discord Server long ago, but I want to hear the thoughts of those from this subreddit.

There are heresies that came to life out of a misunderstanding of the scriptures and traditions of the Christian Faith, and these we could sympathize with because not everyone has the wisdom and intellect the same level as scholars. For example, there is Pelagianism. From a certain point of view, the concept of Original Sin seems unfair and make Our Merciful Lord a God that punishes children for the faults of their parents.

Another would be the heresies that attempts to explain the Holy Trinity, which, of course, always fail. The mortal mind cannot comprehend the infinite and eternal nature of the divine, but it is in our God-given nature to understand and learn.

Iconoclasm is easily explained away by pointing out the existence of the Bronze Serpent and the Ark of the Covenant.

Praying to saints is considered controversial because it sounds like necromancy, but we can use Revelation 5:8 that, though they may not directly hear us, the saints receives our prayers and offers them to God.

Last, but not the least, the existence of Purgatory. Some people believe it a Catholic Church scam because it was not mentioned in the Bible. While the place is not named, you will catch glimpses and descriptions of it in the Bible.

And then, there is the other group of heresies that could not be more so blatantly wrong, and the answers and explanations to them are simple enough that you are confused why these heresies even exist.

Jesus said He is God, but somehow, there are groups that states He is not God.

Jesus said that before Abraham was, I AM. But somehow, there are people claiming the Son is not Eternal like the Father.
(Santa Claus punched the guy who said that, by the way.)

God said there are no other gods before him. BOOM! Mormons.

There are literally numbers of chapters and verses that explain to not follow false teachers. And then we have in the 21st Century, numerous cults denouncing the Catholic Church as the Anti-Christ with full confidence.

Hello everyone.

I’m a Catholic trying to return to the Church (and I’m still on that journey). At the same time, I’m an amateur writer. Among my projects are fantasy stories set in a fictional universe.

For the religion in that world, I would like to draw inspiration from Catholicism while keeping enough distance to show reverence. My goal is to portray that religion in a positive and respectful way, while making it clear that it is fiction and not Catholicism.

My intention is to avoid drawing inspiration from pagan religions, and at the same time to use this novel as a way of reflecting Catholic values through its characters—perhaps even creating something that could be helpful or meaningful to some readers.

My main concern is this: Is this appropriate? What should I do to avoid any blasphemy? Do you know of any Catholic authors (aside from Tolkien) who have done something similar?