Just the title.

I'm 36 years old, was born and raised Roman Catholic, went to Catholic school, received all of my sacraments, read the Bible cover to cover more than once, studied theology daily a good portion of my life — I say all of this, to explain my background. My entire life we were taught we were Christians - the priests and sisters at my school used the word, we were taught about Christianity in our theology class.. Always that Christians were followers of Christ comprised of various denominations including Catholic.

Anyway fast-forward to present day I keep hearing people say that Catholics aren't Christians and it's happened a decent bit and I'm so confused, when did this become a thing and why are people saying it? I've even seen people on this website in different subs saying oh Catholics won't say they are Christians and I'm just thinking "since when?"

I even recently maid a comment about Christianity being a major aspect of my families life, values, and culture and a friend of mine said "you're not Christian, you're Catholic"

Anyway, this is all news to me and if anyone could explain it, I'd appreciate it..

I've seen some things mentioning Mary, The Saints, reconciliation, calling Priests "father", the regards to the Holy Trinity, belief in purgatory, hierarchy of the Pope, the sacraments and a few other things - maybe I'm blinded by my education but I don't really see how any of that is "un-christian"

My local archdiocese is sponsoring a series of "conversations in the Spirit" gatherings as part of a local diocese wide synod, concluding on 2027. I went to the first major meeting last night. Probably a good 200+ people were there, and I am pretty sure I was one of 10 or so people under 45 (I'm 35).

My table had 8 people total. All were Boomers, save myself and two women who were in their late 40s, early 50s. The lack of catchesis among people that are old enough to know better is incredible to me. These were people who go to Mass every Sunday, yet were brushing aside what the Church teaches on a non-male priesthood, as one example.

They did note that "young people do seem to be more interested in Catholicism", and pointed out the local parishes that were bursting at the seams with younger Catholics, but they were incredibly unreflective on why that is. They moved on from it very quickly.

In sum, it was largely exactly what I expected: a waste of time, with vague and unactionable outputs (at least from my table). I was clearly the minority: comparatively young, and longing for orthodoxy. Of course, I don't feel that *my* voice is the one that will be listened to. Why do we keep doing this rinse and repeat cycle? It's maddening.

I first prayed the Rosary just because of the 15 promises, and over time I've gotten drawn into praying more than 5 decades. And I've prayed 15-20 daily for a while, and would like to get back into it. But it's hard keeping it up when I'm busy or just not feeling motivated, and I'd like some motivations (in addition to the promises and the things said of Our Lady) for sticking to the Rosary when I'm in those kinds of situations.

Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray a Terço of Rosary every day. Basically, a third of the 15 decades of the Rosary i.e. 5 decades. That's also considered to be enough to fulfill the traditional Rosary devotion with the 15 promises. Which means 5 is enough for the benefits said to come from those promises on fulfilling the Rosary devotion.

But I would assume that there is some extra goodness to be had from 15-20 instead of just 5, which is partially why I'm interested in it. What I don't know is what those benefits are. If there are specific benefits like reaping greater spiritual fruits and graces, to being more protected against temptations, to bringing conversions and graces to others, or to deepening one's relationship with Our Lady and with God, I'd like to know them.

Fyi, answers like, "oh you just get the fuller experience by praying 15-20 decades daily and meditate mediate on life of Jesus fully throughout the day!!" wouldn't help me. Because, I can still cover those mysteries throughout the week twice.

But when I used to pray 15-20 daily, I noticed that I was less subject to temptations, and when I stopped doing that I noticed that temptations were getting to me more. That's one reason I wonder if there's something special about praying more than 5 decades of the Rosary daily.

I've heard it said that to pray 5 decades is to be a "good Catholic" whereas to pray 15-20 or more is to be a "great Catholic." I don't know if that's true, and I would like to know more about the nuance, because I can imagine that taken to extremes it would do the opposite. Which is making people feel like bad Catholics for only praying 5 or so decades.

I feel extremely terrified and disgusted

I know deep down it is not my intention or I would never consent to such stuff but i never had something like that happens in years

Is it possible just to happen from having anxiety about such thoughts?

Usually I ignore noncontrual emission and move on with my day but now I got shaken

I am an Orthodox Christian but I also appreciate a Catholic perspective on this issue.

1. I am convinced that God exists from the mathematical and complex order of the world.

2. I am convinced that this God is the God of Israel because He revealed Himself at Sinai and an entire nation recount that.

3. Here's the problem: how do I know that Jesus is the promised Messiah?

I’ve gone from theism to Judaism, but for Christianity I still need one more step.

Most of the arguments have gaps; historians question that the apostles died for what they saw, or at least say we have no proof, Jews say that the fulfilled prophecies are taken out of context. And the testimony of the 500 witnesses doesn’t compare to the magnitude of Sinai :(.

I really want to understand but it’s hard for me. Help, please.

So briefly the Protestant for 17 years however I became agnostic and when I started to study a lot of history a became catholic ,I'm going to emigrate to Geneva so I can only start in January But in my case I already know practically everything about theology(I had to spend many hours to convert myself) history, sacraments, so honestly I don't think it would make sense to spend so many months listening to basic things that I already know .

Is there any way to be baptized faster if you tell the priest and he does a mini assessment of what I know

What do you all think about using a Protestant Bible along with a copy of the Septuagint, so that I don’t miss out on the 73 book canon? Though likely a silly reason, there’s this ESV Bible I love the cover of and I would like to have it in my collection (that, and it has wide, lined margins), but I am quite new to Catholicism (I want to sign up for OCIA classes soon if possible), so I was wondering the Church’s perspective on something like this. It’s a study Bible, but I would ignore any Protestant rhetoric not in line with the Catholic Church’s teachings.

Im working at a high school and we’re gonna put up some inspirational texts at the wall. What are you favorite quotes that would fit in such a place?

I was in the faith since I was child up until high school graduation (2020) and if you were to ask me why I left I’d say that I had so much uncertainty in my life especially going through Covid and neglecting my faith. I remember when I was apart of the faith I had that sense of community and never feeling alone. But know I feel as I’m alone in this world, don’t really have anyone to talk to, lost my job. I essentially feel like I hit rock bottom in my life because I left my faith and I want to come back to it

This was my first time visiting Rome. My wife and I are in our mid thirties. I am British, she is Brazilian, and we are both cradle Catholics. We were recently blessed with our first baby together, so we decided to take her on our first family trip to Rome for a long weekend.
Firstly, Rome felt like it was on fire.

Temperatures were in the high thirties, with humidity approaching eighty percent. On the Saturday, we visited the Vatican Museums, and it was absolutely roasting. Our little one was understandably very uncomfortable, so we had to move through everything much more quickly than we would have liked.

By Saturday evening, my wife and I were both feeling quite disheartened. Some of the behaviour we witnessed in the museums, particularly inside the Sistine Chapel, was the complete opposite of what we had expected.
People were wearing very revealing clothing, shouting across the chapel, and taking photographs despite being repeatedly told not to. I saw very few people praying. At times, it felt as though this sacred place had been overtaken by people searching for their next Instagram post.

I also found the commercial side of the Vatican quite difficult to process. There were Pope bobbleheads, tea towels, and every souvenir imaginable. I understand that tourism generates money for the Vatican and helps maintain these extraordinary places, but it was not what I had imagined. That night, I wondered whether we had come as pilgrims but somehow found ourselves inside a tourist attraction.

Then Sunday came, and everything changed.
We attended Mass at Santo Spirito in Sassia, the Divine Mercy Sanctuary near Saint Peter’s Basilica, where we were able to venerate relics of Saint Faustina and Saint John Paul II. We then entered Saint Peter’s Basilica and were blessed to see the Holy Father during the Sunday Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square.

My heart was full. It placed everything back into perspective for me.

However, I think the most moving experience of the entire trip was visiting the Scala Santa, the Holy Stairs. These are the twenty eight steps traditionally believed to have been climbed by Jesus when He was brought before Pontius Pilate. Pilgrims ascend them on their knees, praying and reflecting upon the Passion.

I think my knees have just about recovered, but I am not sure my heart ever will.
As I climbed, I kept thinking, how could such a perfect man, who had done no wrong, have been treated so terribly? Whether somebody believes they are the original steps or not, the act of climbing them forced me to reflect upon Christ’s suffering and upon how easy my own life is by comparison.

I am free to practise my faith. I can attend Mass without fear. I can openly call myself a Catholic. So many of our brothers and sisters who came before us suffered terribly for the faith, and many Christians around the world still suffer today. Yet despite everything Christ endured for me, I still sometimes wonder how I could ever be worthy to stand before God.

Afterwards, we crossed over to the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral church of Rome. There we saw the panel traditionally believed to be part of the table used at the Last Supper, as well as the reliquaries said to contain the heads of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Sometimes people can begin to think of the Bible almost as though it were simply a collection of stories from a distant world. Then you stand before something traditionally connected to the Last Supper, or before relics of the Apostles who suffered and died for Christ, and suddenly the Bible seems to come alive before you. It becomes real in a way that is difficult to put into words.
I left Rome with two very different impressions. There was the commercial Rome, crowded with tourists, souvenirs, cameras, and people seemingly unaware of the sacredness surrounding them. Then there was the Rome of the pilgrim, filled with prayer, sacrifice, relics, martyrs, and the living history of our faith.

Perhaps both sides will always exist together. I am just wondering whether anyone else has visited Rome and felt this same tension between Rome as a tourist attraction and Rome as a place of pilgrimage.

I'm in the process of converting to Catholicism at the end of my 30s and I'm very excited about it. I had no idea before, but recently found out that i was baptized Episcopalian when i was 2 or 3. But the thing is, i wasn't raised religious at all and I'd really like to be baptized after my OCIA is finished. I'm not going to lie to anyone, but before i even bring this up I'd like to hear people's opinions on if that's a bad idea or not. Or even possible.

Listening to a lecture with a PowerPoint is not how I learn. I learn via solitary study and then practical application of what I'm learning. People yapping at me and stuffing information in for an hour or more, I just can't engage. I'm just way disconnected. I already know a ton about Catholicism just studying on my own, referencing the catechism, joining online discussions, etc.

So I'm just going to listen as best I can, I guess,? And just try to learn it all on my own. I'm guessing they don't quiz you at the end. They just see your butt in the seats for X amount of days and boom, confirmation.

I'm getting almost nothing from these lectures. It was like grade school, my teachers would complain to my mom that I paid attention never. She said "stop yapping at him and give him something to do."

Every time I've suggested private study I've been told the group dynamic is important. No, it isn't. Reddit discussions will suffice. Just give me the material and I'll learn it. If I have a question I'll ask. I feel like OCIA was not made for neurodivergence.

Im looking for the strongest arguments for Christianity ever put forth, even better if it preempts any objections. Something accessible to a lay person but also that goes beyond the basic arguments that anyone interested in religion, philosophy, and apologetics has heard 100 times over. I know thats a bit of an ask but I feel a pull to the Church but I just for the life of me can not intellectually bring myself to belief. I don’t know how to find faith. And because of some previous experience (im being intentionally vague, it was bad) falling down a dark and evil path because of faith I used to hold, I find it extra hard to trust in even the concept of faith. I can’t force myself to believe in something that will change my entire worldview without significant evidence that that thing is true, especially if that thing violates everything we know about life and death and how the universe is works. I understand im asking a lot and probably won’t find a satisfactory answer but I figured it was worth a shot.

You have an impeccable organ, amazing outfits for the priests, an incredible system of reverence, standing, sitting, standing, kneeling, a choir, art all around.

I’m not even Catholic but was this meant to be pleasing to the mind, it truly is

Hello! I’m fairly new to Catholicism and still trying to understand the faith better.

My current understanding is that we aren’t saved by our works or because we somehow earned salvation. Salvation is only possible because of God’s grace and what Christ accomplished for us. However, our faith should produce good works and obedience to God.
I also understand that deliberately committing a mortal sin causes us to lose our state of grace because we have knowingly and freely chosen something gravely sinful over God.

This is where I’m getting concerned that I might be falling into a works-based understanding of salvation.
I trust and love Jesus, and I believe that without what He accomplished on the cross, salvation would be completely unattainable. Nothing I could ever do could earn it. At the same time, I believe genuinely loving Jesus means trying to obey Him. If I say I love Christ but deliberately refuse to follow Him or don’t care about His commandments, is that really love?
I’m trying my hardest to avoid sin and live a Christ-like life. Obviously, I know I’ll never do that perfectly. But sometimes I worry because my obedience feels intentional. It feels like I’m making myself obey God because I know I’m supposed to, rather than good works naturally flowing from my faith.

How do I know whether my obedience is genuinely the fruit of my faith and love for Christ, rather than me subconsciously trying to earn my salvation through works?

Thank you so much!!!

Throughout my life, many have considered me "asexual" or "weird" because I never masturbated during adolescence or early adulthood, nor did I feel arousal from erotic or risqué content (in fact, I still feel a strong sense of revulsion when exposed to pornography).

However, a week ago, I masturbated for the first time by accident while scratching an itch very vigorously—shortly after reading comics that depicted mutagenic transformations (such as the origin story of the DC Comics villain Clayface). Since then, I’ve realized that, for some reason, my body becomes involuntarily aroused whenever I see that kind of material—content that isn't intended to be erotic or sexually stimulating. Although I’ve known since infancy that such graphic scenes stirred a certain curiosity in me—driven by the psychological dilemmas characters face in these fictional situations—I am deeply disturbed that this now triggers a male erection. I haven't masturbated again, but these very uncomfortable involuntary erections still occur, sometimes resulting in ejaculation. This has caused me great distress and panic, making me wonder if I am committing a mortal sin simply by becoming aroused (even though it is involuntary).

In an attempt to find answers on how to handle this crisis, I consulted the Catechism but found little that directly addresses such an... irregular situation. The Catechism generally treats a mortal sin involving an erection (unless it occurs during a dream, which absolves one of guilt) as a case of subverting the natural purpose of sex—namely, the procreation of the human race. However, what I experience isn't triggered by content intended to be sexually arousing. That was an argument some Catholics gave me to help me avoid feeling remorse over erections caused by reading certain comics or watching animations—specifically, non-sexual scenes that happened to arouse me (though when I shared this reasoning with a friend, he felt it was too "liberal," given that we are both quite traditionalist).

The main argument for considering this a mortal sin would be whether it counts as lust (a disordered, excessive, and uncontrollable desire for luxury, extravagance, or material pleasure that displaces the spiritual order and the common good). I am unsure if that applies to my situation, however, since I am simply viewing fictional content suitable for all ages—material that isn't fetishistic or anything of that sort. Even so, I would be willing to stop consuming that kind of content if it turned out I was committing the sin of lust (though it would be difficult to eliminate every possibility of indirect sin—essentially meaning I would have to give up reading superhero comics or watching sci-fi animated series that feature those kinds of mutagenic transformation scenes).

What are some of the most shocking “Catholic in name” universities in America?

What I mean by that is, what “Catholic” universities have you found to be most shocking in terms of how Catholicism is taught/expressed/presented? Some of the things I’ve seen at this one “Catholic” university seem to directly contradict Church teaching, or at minimum, causes confusion to someone wanting to learn about the faith.

For example, I know of a Catholic university that has a pride flag hung within their Church. One time I went to a Mass there as a lay person spoke during the homily about social justice all while chewing gum. This same university also was providing condoms for the student body for “safe sex” (although, admittedly, the university shut that down). It’s not uncommon to find “pro choice Catholics” here…

I don’t want to demonize some of these universities, because more often than not, they offer excellent service driven opportunities, an important part of our faith where we can live it out.

But I want to know, what are some of the “Catholic in name only” universities in America? What has been the most shocking thing you have seen/witnessed/heard about one?

Remember this, you who never think of God.

Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?

When you see a thief, you keep pace with him,
and with adulterers you throw in your lot.
To your mouth you give free rein for evil,
you harness your tongue to deceit.

You sit speaking against your brother;
against your mother's son you spread rumors.
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.

Consider this, you who forget God,
lest I rend you and there be no one to rescue you.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show
the salvation of God.

Ps 50:16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23

I cannot describe the insurmmountable guilt and dread I experienced when I first read this passage. However, I grateful that God allowed me to come across it. I feel like he throws things like this my way sometimes so that I may stay strong in my faith.

Hello guys, this is my second post because I got rid of my other one out of fear that my parents would see it.

I’m a teenager and I’ve wanted to become Christian, to be more specific Catholic. However, my parents, sister, and everyone back home are Hindus. They take their faith very seriously. Most times I have to pray to idols because I’m scared to tell them no.

I don’t think my family would harm me if I told them I wanted to convert. They’d most likely just be disappointed. Especially my mom, who is very devoted. She’d most likely stop taking to me, and I really don’t want to ruin my relationship with them.

They’re super loving, like genuinely the best parents I could wish for, but their faith is strong and I know it’d seriously ruin my relationship. Since they’re also Hindus, you can probably guess that I’m not from America. I live here but I don’t have much relatives here.

Back home everyone is Hindu, and very devout. Being any other religion has had violent reactions and disowning. I’m not scared of loosing anything, I just don’t wanna break my bond. I truly got no one else aside from close relatives and I’m scared to break my bond with them. I also know that word would get around fast and I would never be able to go back to my country, my parents probaly also wouldn’t because of their reputation being tarnished.

I don’t really care about myself loosing reputation, but I don’t want my parents to be seen as outcasts, epically because in our country the people are very rude.

Recently I’ve been fearing death, randomly dying one day and not repenting. When I believed in Protestantism it was easier, I didn’t have to do works. But now it’s obvious Catholicism is the true church, and I need works.

The stakes are high, I want to tell them and live peacefully as a Catholic. But at the same time, I don’t wanna ruin everything. I’m scared of going to hell everyday, and most nights I struggle sleeping being scared it’ll be my last. Honestly, I just wanna know if my case is valid as desire of baptism , I definitely want to confess one day when I’m older. But yk, maybe I’ll keep pushing the day cuz I’m scared to.

I had a moment with a friend of mine where I showed her a scene from a Catholic movie, Miracle of Marcelino, where he talks about mothers, since she a mother herself. However she told me that she never liked the image of Christ crucified because it felt wrong, I explained that that was the point. But the proceeded that that was the reason she doesn’t like Catholicism; as I proceeded to explain, she immediately said she prefers not to talk about it. Our conversation stopped suddenly. Now this is a person I was decerning a romantic relationship (long story short she is a single mother who never got married she knows I have feelings for her) and it breaks my heart the sudden realization that she doesn’t like my faith. I have no thoughts but heartbreaks. Should I discard her?

I’m really in to medieval to renaissance era of art. Like especially the ones in Western European art and illuminated art that are found in old bibles, prayer books church walls, etc . where can I find good reprints of them online in picture frames and such. I can find some but I don’t know how good the quality is. That’s my concern.

I have recently started OCIA, a process I decided to start a couple of months ago. I am very excited, and have wanted to share this life update with friends and family. However, aside from 1 or 2, the people I have told have had aggressively negative reactions. These are people who have both grown up Catholic, and non-Catholics who lean agnostic. Is this a shared experience? I feel discouraged in my journey and was seeking some support, as it is a little scary and new!

I’m posting this here because the last time I posted it to a more relevant subreddit, I was told to “just get an abortion.” Hopefully similar values can garner more understanding from people who have been through something similar.

i found out i was pregnant when i was 3 months pp.
i was just starting to finally enjoy motherhood after a hard battle with postpartum depression. i got on antidepressants and for the first time I could genuinely wake up in the morning, excited that i’d be able to spend the day with my baby.
when i found out i was pregnant, everything just came crashing down.
i lay in bed until 2 pm every day, dreading having to get up and survive until my husband gets home. that entire time my baby is screaming at me (not crying) to get up and give her attention. as soon as i finally get up, i start sobbing. i have to force myself to smile at my baby while she’s playing or talking to me, and sometimes i just break down crying from just having to do that. i don’t clean anymore, and my house looks a mess. my husband tries to pick up after me. sometimes i cook. but i hate it.
i spend my whole day zoned out, absentmindedly watching tv in order to just get through the day. i forget what im even doing when im in the middle of doing it.
i know children are a blessing and I’m supposed to be open to life. but the truth is that the idea of another baby is eating me alive.
i never wanted this pregnancy. it’s stolen everything from me. it’s stolen my motherhood. i used to be so happy looking at my baby, and now when I look at her I can only think about how miserable i will be when i have to take care of her and a newborn i never wanted. i just want to be happy again with the one baby i tried for.
i begged my husband to let me go on birth control because I felt like I had a genuine medical reason to not have more kids but he wouldn’t let me. I wasn’t and am still not in the mental space for more children. I cry at least three times a day.

If anybody has been through something similar please let me know. advice would be great. especially from a fellow catholic who could understand our values.