It has been a rare privilege to have been able to defend The Church from tens of thousands of attacks. Many have been virulent and insulting. Others are more thoughtful. Some patterns have emerged that it may be useful for all Catholics to consider.
Lapsed Catholics:
1. They often have an intense dislike for The Church. Sometimes, it turns into a hatred so strong that it prompts truth-twisting. Repetition of a few talking points, often irrelevant, is an important part of their mental process. They tend to go around and around in circles, avoiding analysis in favor of repetition.
2. Many leave The Church because they are in a relationship that prevents them from receiving The Sacraments. “I’ve got to be me!” trumps taking the necessary steps to worthily receive Communion. There is a universal delusion among them that “I’m doing the right thing.” They resist asking God to help. Many become resentful of Mary and the Saints who yearn to intercede for them, but must wait until they are asked.
3. They tend to be too filled with Pride to think and analyze properly.
Protestants:
1. Many who avoid The Church have little actual knowledge of history. One very nice, well-meaning Protestant clergyman had been led to believe that the Pilgrims came to America because they were being persecuted by Catholics.
2. Protestants have a very hard time with two things Jesus said: “Thou art Peter and on this rock I build My Church.” is hard for them. So is “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood, you do not have life in you.” Much of their theology and scholarship involve making such passages meaningless. Many, many Protestants have posted here about the two, three, or four ways they get around such passages. Few seem to tire of doing so.
3. Their posts make it obvious that human and financial relationships keep many Protestants in their various denominations. “I’d like to consider Catholicism, but all my friends and family are in my church. My support is needed.” Few of them see that as a test to see who can escape the “spiritual gravity”.
4. Mainline Protestants are less vocal about these issues than those in the newer schisms.
Left-wing Catholics:
1. Among them is an aversion to conservative Catholic thought similar to the feelings that lapsed Catholics have for the Church. They tend to be insulting and rude when others reject their beliefs. Left-wing Catholics especially hate any suggestion that they aren’t as bright as they’d like to think. They can’t stand being thought of as “pseudo-intellectuals”.
2. Leftist Catholics often blind themselves to the sins of leftist politicians. Some do not even know that Chinese death squads force millions of women to abort their children every year. A typical pattern: praising the Castro Brothers and condemning the Koch Brothers. Left-wing Catholics don’t realize that the Castro Brothers are far wealthier than the Kochs. The Castros own an entire country, all its property and minerals, and have a huge organization of thugs, torturers, and brutal prisons to enforce their will.
3. Left-wing Catholics are readily influenced by media and public figures. Many believe in Global Warming, the Ozone Hole, and similar Imaginary Problems. They believe their immediate and enthusiastic adoption of politically correct beliefs shows that they are “intellectual”. Frankly, the poor things can’t distinguish between actual “News” and press releases.
4. Left-wing Catholics are often driven by a desire to “Make The Church relevant.” They are fond of crack-brained distribution schemes with no chance of success. Most believe that Communism actually has worked, ignoring any information to the contrary. “Liberation Theology” may become an idol. Some think it’s important to show how evolution and Catholicism are not necessarily contradictory, if we utterly ignore the timeline in the Book of Genesis.
5. Increasingly symbolic interpretations of Scripture are encouraged as a part of “growing in the faith” even as they become more meaningless. Left-wing Catholics love to use the phrase “at table”, and work it in everywhere. Utterly mystifying.
