Three Misleading Statements About Catholicism

Suitable for: Non-Christians and Non-Catholic Christians

Introduction

Having been introduced to the Catholic Faith for what's coming to three years, I've heard my fair share of weird statements about my faith. Some come from non-Christians, while others come from other Christians. Here are the top three misunderstandings I have gathered so far.

Statement I: Catholics are not Christians.

No matter how many times we draw two huge cross over our bodies before meals, many still deny that Catholics are Christians. All Catholics are Christians because Christ is the centre of our worship. We recognise Jesus Christ as the Word Incarnate, we believe that He has redeemed us by His Cross and Resurrection, and look forward to His Second Coming. If a "Catholic" fails to do this, he is considered not to be one.

Catholics are the first Christians, whose Church was founded by Christ Himself. We began to distinguish ourselves as "Catholic" when the one Christian Church split into Catholic and Orthodox around the year 1000. "Catholic" simply means "universal", which connotes that we are "inclusive", "far-reaching", "the correct Church" etc..

"Orthodox" means conventional and traditional, just as the English word implies. Their community in Singapore is rather small - her population does not exceed a thousand.

The "Christians" spoken of colloquially mostly refer to Protestants who emerged around the 1600s, and are alternatively termed as Reformed Churches or Evangelicals. Due to English semantics, the word "Protestant" is hardly favoured among her members. It is incorrect to refer to the individual member as "Reformer". This title is reserved for the few people who spearheaded the Reformation in the 16th century. "Evangelical" contains a mouthful of five syllabi. Therefore, they prefer to identify themselves as Christians.

On the part of us Catholics Christians, we prefer to refer ourselves as "Catholic" to differentiate ourselves from the Evangelicals, thus leading to the misunderstanding that Catholics are not Christians.

Statement II: Catholics worship Mary, Christians worship Jesus.

Now, as discussed earlier, Catholics are Christians, and we all worship Jesus Christ. Catholics do not worship Mother Mary. If a Catholic worships her, he or she has committed a sin.

The misunderstanding that Catholics worship Mother Mary arises from the use of Chinese to share about our faith, common among the older generation of Chinese Singaporean Christians. While it is accurate to say that Catholics 拜 (bài) Mary, the word "拜" does not carry the same connotation as when we say we 拜 Jesus. In Chinese, the word "拜" has different meanings. The Buddhists 拜 their deities, we 拜 our deceased loved ones*, and during Chinese New Year, we also 拜 our relatives. Clearly, 拜 takes on different meanings in each example. If you tell your Ah Gong during the Chinese New Year that you're going to 拜 him just as how you 拜 your dead Ah Mah, I guarantee you a slap. Similarly, the 拜 we give to  Mary is high honour (and to the other saints we give honour), while the 拜 we reserve for Jesus is worship, due to God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - alone. Those who heard about Catholicism in Chinese, through no fault of theirs, wrongly translated "拜 Mary" into "worship Mary", thus circulating this misleading statement. 

So how is whatever we do in the name of Mary not worship? The simple answer is: We know best what we're doing, it is not for anyone to judge what is hidden beneath our disposition. But I'll leave you with a more satisfactory answer. The Church teaches that all devotions to Mary and the other saints must lead us to Christ. If you noticed, a Catholic Rosary (the beads upon which we repeat the Hail Mary 53 times) always begins with a cross. Also, a simple analysis of the Hail Mary (the best-known Marian prayer) reveals that it is not a prayer of worship.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women,

And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,**

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

What is the main point in the prayer? "Pray for us," just like how we ask our friends to pray for us too.  Also, opening the prayer with the word "hail" expresses less awe than "glory be" or "praise be". Those openings are reserved for God. In summary, Catholics do not worship Mother Mary; we honour her and ask for her prayers.

Statement III: Christians believe the Pope is always right.

Firstly, I clarify on behalf of the non-Catholic Christians (Orthodox and Protestant), that they do not recognise the Pope. Only Catholics recognise his authority. 

We Catholics believe the Pope is right only when he solemnly declares a teaching on matters of faith and morals. His remarks on other matters do not carry any weight. He is not a weatherman - his statement that there shall be rain tomorrow holds no water. He can, however, declare that a particular war is unjust, and condemn immoral medical practices.

Also, these teachings on faith on morals have to be solemnly proclaimed. Not every Theological concept*** he comes up with must be believed by the whole Church. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote many Theological books, but theologians are allowed to challenge whatever is written within it. 

There is a complicated process for a dogma (indisputable teaching) to be proclaimed. It must be passed by what is known as the College of Cardinals, which comprises about 80 cardinals. On the other hand, the Pope has veto rights if the College passes a particular teaching. After all these processes are sorted out, the teaching becomes dogma and the Pope proclaims it. All Catholics are indeed bound to abide by all the dogmata of the Church, failing which they cease to be Catholic.

*The Church considers honouring one's ancestors a noble act. A Catholic may honour one's ancestors by lighting incense sticks, conversations, and placing food. After all, one's ancestors are either saints already or in Purgatory needing our prayers. If they're in hell then... too bad. However, the prayers that accompany these actions must not come in conflict with the Christian faith. The idea behind placing food/drinks is a way of saying "I have always made you Kopi-O when you were still alive. Even though you have gone, I still remember your likes." This is compatible with Christian charity. However, throwing the two pieces of wood to determine if the deceased has finished the food is forbidden because we believe that we cannot determine the divine through such means.

**Mother of God - please refer to this article to find out more on the understanding of the Catholic Church on the use of this title for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

***Theology: The academic study of God. Academics in this field are known as theologians. 


If you're Catholic and wish to read a more enriching blog, you may like to visit http://inhonouroftheeucharist.blogspot.sg. It focuses entirely on the beauty of the Holy Eucharist.