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As a spin off to the other thread I thought it could be interesting to see which common misconceptions you hear/read most often from your friends (and family if you are a convert). I have heard all sorts of funny things about Catholicism from well-meaning people that are patently false in the years since my conversion.

 

Here are a few of my favorites:

 

1) Catholics worship Mary.

 

2) Catholics are not allowed to use birth control because they want to make sure the Church's population is constantly growing! :lol:

 

3) Catholics believe the Pope is sinless/perfect.

 

4) All Catholic priests are pedophiles.

 

5) Catholics worship the Pope, not Jesus.

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It really blows my mind when I hear that people think we are not Christian. Oh, yeah - also mind blowing - the whole cannibal thing....

 

The first time heard the whole Catholics aren't even Christian thing was here! It was straightened out rather quickly, though. :tongue_smilie:

 

What's the cannibal thing??

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Having 9 kids must mean I:

Go to Latin mass and wear only skirts and am a submissive, meek, quiet wife/person.

 

It only takes about 20 seconds for people to get a reality check.:lol:

 

For some reason they always picture a catholic version of the duggars.:tongue_smilie:

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I've heard:

We pray to the Saints

We pray to Mary

(Not we pray for their intercession)

 

 

You know what, though, I know a lot of Catholics who do pray to the saints and to Mary, not for intercession, but directly for aid or something lost or forgiveness or support. I'm not talking about little children here, either, but many lay adults as well. I know that that is not the official teaching of the Catholic Church, but the practice is so common that it almost might as well be. I'm not sure what the solution to that is, but I think that the misconception is as much internal as external in this case.

 

By contrast, I have always heard the distinction between praying to and asking for the prayers of the saints made very clearly in Orthodox teaching and from Orthodox laity. So it can be done.

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Catholics:

 

worship Mary

believe Mary saves them, not Jesus alone

can't speak directly to God (must go through the priest, Mary, the Saints, etc)

believe confession is what gets rid of their sins, not Christ's work on the Cross

believe the Pope is infallible (it was a long time before I learned about "on the chair/off the chair")

have a round communion wafer as a carry over from Pagan sun-god worship

are Pagans under Christian guise

believe they can pay or work their way into heaven/out of purgatory/out of hell

 

The Roman Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon in Revelations (and Daniel?)/the woman on the beast (and the blood she is drinking is the blood of the people she has killed in history (aka during the Protestant Reformation)

The Pope is THE Anti-Christ

 

The confessional was a political means to gain information and manipulate people

 

 

 

If I think of more, I'll post. I'm sure a simple Google search would find much more. It is sickening. It's even more sickening to think that I used to believe some of this bunk.

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You know what, though, I know a lot of Catholics who do pray to the saints and to Mary, not for intercession, but directly for aid or something lost or forgiveness or support. I'm not talking about little children here, either, but many lay adults as well. I know that that is not the official teaching of the Catholic Church, but the practice is so common that it almost might as well be. I'm not sure what the solution to that is, but I think that the misconception is as much internal as external in this case.

 

By contrast, I have always heard the distinction between praying to and asking for the prayers of the saints made very clearly in Orthodox teaching and from Orthodox laity. So it can be done.

 

Some of that is just shorthand. If I have lost something, I might ask St. Anthony to help me find it. I know I am asking for his intercession, but if you heard me say it, you might assume that I don't. But it is faster to just say, "St. Anthony, help me find this" than to say, "St. Anthony, please stand before God in prayer for me, so that I find this, if it be his will."

 

I have been Catholic for 15 years, and I don't know any Catholics who confuse this, but I know a lot of Protestants who think they do. Maybe it is because the Catholics know they are using shorthand?

 

The saints are our friends, and we talk to them like friends. Even if we take shortcuts, they are in Heaven and they know the difference. But even if it sounds funny to protestant ears, i really don't think Catholics are confused here.

Edited by Asenik
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I was blown away the first time I was asked if Catholics believed in Jesus. My secretary was the one who was asking and she was Southern Baptist. I asked her if she realized that Protestant churches had broken off from the Catholic church. Her reply was that she did not know if that was before or after Jesus. I was completely flabbergasted by the level of ignorance! Outside of the worshiping statues and thinking that Mary is a "god," the next most incredulous question was about how we think we can give magical powers to things... The person was referring to having things blessed by a priest, like a rosary etc.

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Some of that is just shorthand. If I have lost something, I might ask St. Anthony to help me find it. I know I am asking for his intercession, but if you heard me say it, you might assume that I don't. But it is faster to just say, "St. Anthony, help me find this" than to say, "St. Anthony, please stand before God in prayer for me, so that I find this, if it be his will."

 

I have been Catholic for 15 years, and I don't know any Catholics who confuse this, but I know a lot of Protestants who think they do. Maybe it is because the Catholics know they are using shorthand?

 

The saints are our friends, and we talk to them like friends. Even if we take shortcuts, they are in Heaven and they know they difference. But even if it sounds funny to protestant ears, i really don't think Catholics are confused here.

I would agree with this assessment. None of the Catholics who are my friends are even slightly confused about the actual recipient of the prayer, but, as you say, are using shorthand by saying "St.______, help me do______."

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It is true that people are a lot nosier about my reproductive choices than they would ever have dared to be before my conversion. People think nothing of make snide comments about Catholicism/NFP and their opinions on everything from artificial birth control, sterilization, abortion and so on. I actually had a friend tell me that the Church is misogynist and clearly "run by men" because they want to keep women trapped at home having babies or stuck in marriages with abusive husbands.

 

People in my life who are another denomination have some strange ideas about Catholicism but my female friends in my age bracket who are proudly non-religious seem to be the most adversarial with me.

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It was in a college bible study (evangelical) that I first heard that the Catholic Church was a cult. The kids were being taught this in campus ministries and their churches. I went to my very Methodist grandparents to ask if that was true? After saying, "No, they're Christians, just like we are," they began to question me pointedly about this group I was involved with. They were relieved a few years later when I said my search was over and I was becoming Catholic.

 

It was being told the Church was a cult that got me interested in checking into it. It took me a few years but I finally went to classes and loved what I was hearing. Including 2 priests who talked about how the Church had made mistakes and would make more in the future - because it's filled with humans. Wow! A church that could admit mistakes? I had never seen or heard this before and haven't since. It was that humility that made me think, these people (the Catholics) are on to something.

 

Well, that and the fact that every Catholic I knew seemed to be so happy and secure. They knew how to have fun, were unafraid of life and yet very devout Christians. The Methodists I knew were like this too but the Catholics were more so. I wanted to know their secret. What did they have that I didn't? Now I know and am so glad to be giving this gift to my kids.

 

Since I became Catholic, I've heard all of the things you ladies have mentioned here. It's just incredible. I don't understand why people have to disparage other people's faith. I chalk it up to an insecurity in their own or they've been taught hatred, not a Christian value.

 

Anyway, sorry I missed the other thread. You all said everything so much better than I would have anyway. You all are great.

Denise

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I'm not Catholic now, but I was raised Catholic (debate amongst yourselves ;),) and I often defend some of the same things. I once taught a SS class with kiddos who had been taught that "Catholics think Mary is more important that Jesus." :glare: I also hear the "Catholics aren't Christians" thing a lot.

 

Since then, we have moved to an area that has a higher Catholic population, and there is a healthy repsect both ways. It's very nice. :001_smile:

 

I obviously don't agree with all of Catholic theology (or I would be a practicing Catholic,) but I can rationally express what I disagree with. I have no respect for those who just perpetuate inaccurate negative comments about Catholic beliefs.

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I know I'm butting in here - I'm not Catholic, but I've wondered many times if so many of the myths are perpetuated out of things that might have actually occurred? For example - magic powers. I can see how that would grow up from the relics being associated with having powers to heal way back when. Someone mentioned not reading the bible on another thread and I wonder if it could be because Catholicism has such a huge history with people who historically couldn't read (third world, those in extreme poverty, etc.) that the lack of ability lead to the belief that it was forbidden. Confession during the reign of Bloody Mary, during the inquisition and other woderful times in history was more than likely was used as a political tool.

 

My own particular church has a history that they will probably never live down - and it's based on fact. It isn't true (for the most part) anymore, but if I said the name of my church I guarantee that at least one person would say - Oh, you're the ones who believe you're the only ones going to heaven. We've only had 50 years to live down that particular faux pas (for lack of a better word) and it will probably take another 150 to get to the point of not having that be the first thing people think of with us.

 

The Catholic church has a history so much bigger and broader it's easy to see how misconceptions grow. Not saying it's right, but that's never stopped much of anything before.

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It is true that people are a lot nosier about my reproductive choices than they would ever have dared to be before my conversion. People think nothing of make snide comments about Catholicism/NFP and their opinions on everything from artificial birth control, sterilization, abortion and so on. I actually had a friend tell me that the Church is misogynist and clearly "run by men" because they want to keep women trapped at home having babies or stuck in marriages with abusive husbands.

 

People in my life who are another denomination have some strange ideas about Catholicism but my female friends in my age bracket who are proudly non-religious seem to be the most adversarial with me.

 

Which is strange to me, because most of the Catholics I knew growing up used birth control. In fact, one of my former bosses, a Catholic, encouraged me to get on the pill before getting married (of course, she encouraged me to have s3x before marriage also...that was another thing that kept me away from considering catholicism)

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I know I'm butting in here - I'm not Catholic, but I've wondered many times if so many of the myths are perpetuated out of things that might have actually occurred? For example - magic powers. I can see how that would grow up from the relics being associated with having powers to heal way back when. Someone mentioned not reading the bible on another thread and I wonder if it could be because Catholicism has such a huge history with people who historically couldn't read (third world, those in extreme poverty, etc.) that the lack of ability lead to the belief that it was forbidden. Confession during the reign of Bloody Mary, during the inquisition and other woderful times in history was more than likely was used as a political tool.

 

My own particular church has a history that they will probably never live down - and it's based on fact. It isn't true (for the most part) anymore, but if I said the name of my church I guarantee that at least one person would say - Oh, you're the ones who believe you're the only ones going to heaven. We've only had 50 years to live down that particular faux pas (for lack of a better word) and it will probably take another 150 to get to the point of not having that be the first thing people think of with us.

 

The Catholic church has a history so much bigger and broader it's easy to see how misconceptions grow. Not saying it's right, but that's never stopped much of anything before.

Hitting on the magic powers bit...you don't believe in miracles? (yes, actually relics has been a difficult point for me...but who am I to decided how or what God chooses to use with miracles.

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I've heard everything that you have heard. Also....

 

We worship statues.

 

Mary had other children.

 

Jesus literally had brothers and sisters.

 

Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.

 

 

Ridiculous.

I believe the two bolded are what various Protestants believe, not what they think Catholics believe (because I used to believe those things).

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Some of that is just shorthand. If I have lost something, I might ask St. Anthony to help me find it. I know I am asking for his intercession, but if you heard me say it, you might assume that I don't. But it is faster to just say, "St. Anthony, help me find this" than to say, "St. Anthony, please stand before God in prayer for me, so that I find this, if it be his will."

 

I guess I figure that if people or a church use shorthand like this, then they shouldn't be surprised if others take them at their word. In fact, it would be surprising if people didn't.

 

But in answer to your question, I have indeed known Catholics who only ask the saints to pray for them, but I have also had some discussions in which it is clearly stated that these other adult Catholics pray directly to the saints and believe that the saints themselves take action to aid them, action other than joining them in prayer. In fact, this has been more the norm than the exception during my high school, college, and young adult days. Adults who recently converted to Catholicism never have this view, which I have interpreted as RCIA being much more clearly conveyed than it or the church's teachings used to be.

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I've heard everything that you have heard. Also....

 

We worship statues.

 

Mary had other children.

 

Jesus literally had brothers and sisters.

 

Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.

 

Ridiculous.

 

 

These bolded items are other people's beliefs, not beliefs attributed to Catholics.

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Adults who recently converted to Catholicism never have this view, which I have interpreted as RCIA being much more clearly conveyed than it or the church's teachings used to be.

 

I didn't realize some people didn't know to ask saints for intercession? But I will say there are a few instances in which you do pray directly to a saint, like when I pray St. Michael the Archangel. I know his power and ability to help comes directly from God, that is not mistaken but I am asking him to "defend me in battle".

 

Does that make sense? I can see how there is confusion about this in general, I know in RCIA they made it clear that asking a saint to pray for you would be like asking a living human friend to pray for you. Obviously you are not expecting that your living friend is going to be the one answering your prayers, they are simply praying on your behalf.

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Catholics:

 

worship Mary

believe Mary saves them, not Jesus alone

can't speak directly to God (must go through the priest, Mary, the Saints, etc)

believe confession is what gets rid of their sins, not Christ's work on the Cross

believe the Pope is infallible (it was a long time before I learned about "on the chair/off the chair")

believe they can pay or work their way into heaven/out of purgatory/out of hell

 

 

 

 

I appreciate you saying these things are not true. Most respectfully, though, I know Catholics (many in my family as well as friends) who say that they are true. How can that be? I'm asking, how can teachings that are clearly contradicted in the Bible be thought of as the 'official' teaching of the Church? (again, most respectfully ;) )

 

I missed the other thread, and apologize if this was already discussed.

 

Also, I appreciate there are probably many Protestants and Catholics who simply are misinformed or uneducated about church history as well as current practices. However, the people I'm referring to really didn't strike me in that fashion.

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I guess I figure that if people or a church use shorthand like this, then they shouldn't be surprised if others take them at their word. In fact, it would be surprising if people didn't.

 

.

 

I guess we are just asking for it then.

 

I think the reason that the average Catholic is confused and hurt when people take jabs at the faith is that Catholics generally don't think that way. Our homilies almost never discuss other churches or what they teach. We aren't trained to pick apart other doctrines and practices, so it comes as a surprise when others do this to us.

 

I am a convert, and I am aware of what is out there. You may be right that it isn't surprising, but it is rude and ignorant.

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I didn't realize some people didn't know to ask saints for intercession? But I will say there are a few instances in which you do pray directly to a saint, like when I pray St. Michael the Archangel. I know his power and ability to help comes directly from God, that is not mistaken but I am asking him to "defend me in battle".

 

Does that make sense? I can see how there is confusion about this in general, I know in RCIA they made it clear that asking a saint to pray for you would be like asking a living human friend to pray for you. Obviously you are not expecting that your living friend is going to be the one answering your prayers, they are simply praying on your behalf.

 

So here is what you should know about me. I'm in my early 50's and I grew up in a Catholic neighborhood. I was always Lutheran and always curious about Catholicism. When I say things about Catholic teachings, they are things that I know from direct discussion with a range of Catholics, then and during my high school, college, and young adult years, and from reading Catholic devotional books, including a book of prayers to Mary from the Catholic Bishops' organization that I was given by a close Catholic friend about 15 years ago, and quite a few books by Maria Von Trapp, and some Father Brennan stuff, and a lot of works by Scott Hahn, and quite a few others. I'm not making an ignorant assumption nor arguing from just one conversation or book.

 

In my direct observation, there has been a shift in the clarity of this teaching, and not everyone in the Catholic church has gone along with it. I do understand the intent (i.e. Pray for us) but I also have seen the other (We worship or we pray to others than God Himself.) I know that it's not orthodox teaching, but it's still awfully common, and so giving non-Catholics a hard time for thinking that this is Catholic teaching is kind of weird (not that you are doing that, but it's happening a bit on this thread.)

Edited by Carol in Cal.
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Please don't flame me. My ds asked me what the difference was between Catholics and prostitutes. I said, "Do you mean Protestants?" LOL

:lol::lol::lol:

 

I appreciate you saying these things are not true. Most respectfully, though, I know Catholics (many in my family as well as friends) who say that they are true. How can that be? I'm asking, how can teachings that are clearly contradicted in the Bible be thought of as the 'official' teaching of the Church? (again, most respectfully ;) )

 

I missed the other thread, and apologize if this was already discussed.

 

Also, I appreciate there are probably many Protestants and Catholics who simply are misinformed or uneducated about church history as well as current practices. However, the people I'm referring to really didn't strike me in that fashion.

 

Most likely it's semantics. There are Old Skool Catholics (My MIL for example) that some of those things were cultural within her heritage but not a teaching of the church. She will talk about worshiping Mary, and I know (now) that she means she's asking Mary to intercede for her. It's a different lexicon. If you asked her specifically if she put Mary before God she'd be appalled that you suggested it.

 

The weird thing about Catholicism that I didn't get for a while (having just reverted from Protestantism) was that though there may be different cultural acceptances, they are all one church. Protestants just break off and start another church so it's a head spinner as to why there are these different 'flavors' of Catholicism. Catholics take the unity thing *very* seriously. It's also why we're not checking out what everyone else is doing at Mass. None of our business. We're all there, we're all Catholic, celebrating the Eucharist.

Edited by justamouse
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I guess we are just asking for it then.

 

I think the reason that the average Catholic is confused and hurt when people take jabs at the faith is that Catholics generally don't think that way. Our homilies almost never discuss other churches or what they teach. We aren't trained to pick apart other doctrines and practices, so it comes as a surprise when others do this to us.

 

I am a convert, and I am aware of what is out there. You may be right that it isn't surprising, but it is rude and ignorant.

 

No, in this case it's just taking people at their word, which is actually pretty respectful. You're calling them either rude or ignorant or misspeaking, not me.

 

Just disagreeing doesn't mean 'taking jabs at the faith' necessarily. Can't people disagree in a mutually respectful way?

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You know what, though, I know a lot of Catholics who do pray to the saints and to Mary, not for intercession, but directly for aid or something lost or forgiveness or support. I'm not talking about little children here, either, but many lay adults as well. I know that that is not the official teaching of the Catholic Church, but the practice is so common that it almost might as well be. I'm not sure what the solution to that is, but I think that the misconception is as much internal as external in this case.

 

By contrast, I have always heard the distinction between praying to and asking for the prayers of the saints made very clearly in Orthodox teaching and from Orthodox laity. So it can be done.

 

You're allowed to do that. We know where the power comes from.

 

Oh, we hate the Bible.

 

Patti

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No, in this case it's just taking people at their word, which is actually pretty respectful. You're calling them either rude or ignorant or misspeaking, not me.

 

Just disagreeing doesn't mean 'taking jabs at the faith' necessarily. Can't people disagree in a mutually respectful way?

 

I think they can. But if you ask Catholics if they worship Mary, and then then tell you that they don't, continuing to insist that they do because some Catholics seem like they do isn't my definition of respectful. Btw, I am not accusing you of doing this, but it does happen all the time. Just because some Catholics are in some way superstitious doesn't generalize.

 

I call it taking jabs when people drop in with random comments and then are surprised when someone calls them on it. Like when someone tells you how crazy and unsocialized homeschoolers are -- oh, but they didn't mean you. Just that crazy neighbor of theirs and all the other homeschoolers they have met. ;)

 

I have no problem with people disagreeing. Just disagree with something we really disagree on. There is still plenty of that. Don't tell me I believe something I don't and then try to argue with me about it.

 

I cannot imagine jumping into a religious thread for another faith and defining their terms for them. That to me is rude. Again, this is not personally directed at you. Just the tendency that every time this issue comes up, we have anecdotal evidence that some people really do think what the issue is, so that somehow makes it ok to keep dredging up the misinformation over and over.

 

What if I said blondes are dumb? I have met dumb blondes. So now, that gives me the right to comment on every blonde thread that they are dumb. Even if you know a blonde Phd, I can still throw in the dumb ones I know to make a point. But why would I? Wouldn't that be rude? (of course, I know this isn't true. I happen to have a blonde DD who is a genius!:D). But it is the point I am trying to make about anecdotal evidence being used to discredit Catholic positions over and over.

 

Nobody wants to be judged by their least knowledgable adherents anyhow. I can only defend the official position of the Church. I can't defend the position of poorly catechized Catholics or people who remain in the Catholic Church but no longer believe in her doctrines. Are there poorly catechized, superstitious people? Yes. Should they be made to be representative of the Church as a whole? No.

Edited by Asenik
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I would say that a lot of the misunderstandings that Catholics have about their own faith is from incredibly poor catechism of children in the 1900s. It is not just post Vatican 2 - both my mom and my mil sometimes demonstrate poor understanding/disagreement with doctrines (my mil left the church a long time ago though). I was born in the early 1970s and went to an abysmal church. I had perfect attendance in CCD and even continued in high school after confirmation and had *no* understanding of the faith at all! Everything I know about Catholicism I learned as an adult. I didn't know any saints except the very obvious ones. I didn't know how to pray the Rosary. I didn't know we believed that the bread actually became the Body of Jesus. It's appalling and it's pathetic!

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Hitting on the magic powers bit...you don't believe in miracles? (yes, actually relics has been a difficult point for me...but who am I to decided how or what God chooses to use with miracles.

 

I'm not criticizing any of it. Just saying that even if the church heirarchy didn't believe that the bones or whatever were "magic" - lots of lay people did. It was dissociated from faith in God and became a power unto themselves, kwim?

 

I do believe in miracles! Wholeheartedly!

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I've heard almost everything already mentioned. In addition:

Catholics don't know about the resurrection.

Mary is part of the trinity.

Mary is a goddess.

Catholics can't be pro-life because they're cannibals.

The Pope is a dictator.

Someone once started explaining to me, in public, how the pill worked. I was pregnant with my sixth child, so I was obviously having difficulties.

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I appreciate you saying these things are not true. Most respectfully, though, I know Catholics (many in my family as well as friends) who say that they are true. How can that be? I'm asking, how can teachings that are clearly contradicted in the Bible be thought of as the 'official' teaching of the Church? (again, most respectfully ;) )

 

 

There are more than a billion (yes, with a B) Catholics worldwide. That's a BIG organization with a varying degree of education and interest in religious matters. I wouldn't take anyone's word for what the RC Church teaches except for the written documents produced by the official hierarchy or books that carry a Nihil Obstat (the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval of Catholic doctrine).

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I appreciate you saying these things are not true. Most respectfully, though, I know Catholics (many in my family as well as friends) who say that they are true. How can that be? I'm asking, how can teachings that are clearly contradicted in the Bible be thought of as the 'official' teaching of the Church? (again, most respectfully ;) )

 

 

 

This has been discussed in at least one other thread. And if you are going to state something like that you should be prepared to be awfully specific. Generally our interpretation is different than that of the 30,000+ Protestant interpretations of the Bible (or specific verses in question) and easily supports our doctrines.

 

Tradition and the Bible are used in tandem. A great book if you would like to learn more about Tradition is By What Authority? by Mark Shea. http://www.amazon.com/Authority-Evangelical-Discovers-Catholic-Tradition/dp/0879738510

 

Also, in general when there is confusion about the pope's infallibility it is because the person with the misconception doesn't get far enough in reading about it to understand that it is only in very specific situations involving faith or morals, and the Pope is speaking ex cathedra translated "from the Chair of Peter". So the Pope can be infallible in specific instances but it doesn't happen often.

 

Mary can be called a Co-Redemptrix which leads some people outside the Church to believe we consider her our Redeemer, which is NOT true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-Redemptrix

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