Can A Psychopath Convert To Catholicism?

[ithinkjesusiscool]

Can a psychopath convert to Catholicism?

[dairygirl4u2c]

i know plenty of psychopaths who are currently catholic. take for instance me, i am a psychopath, and i was at one time a catholic. 

i acknowledge that i don't know off hand any psychopaths that converted to it, though.

i don't see any reason they couldnt convert though, it's not like conversion requires perfection of mind and body etc

[Nihil Obstat]

As long as they can give true consent, I see no reason why not.

[Alberto Guimaraes]

Peace and Good!   :bounce: 

I worked in a psichyatrics unit during 9 years, like a nurse, and we had a chapel where we celebrated Mass each Saturday afternoon, and the majority of the patients attended the Eucharist. During the week I also prayed the Rosary with some patients.   :pope2: 

A psychiatric patient has a spiritual life more pure than the healthy ones or he hasn' t anyone.   :saint2: 

Jesus, Mary and Francis bless you and keep you!

Br. Alberto Guimaraes SFO

Secular Franciscan Fraternity of Braga - Portugal

[EmilyAnn]

Depends what you mean by "psychopath". It's a colloquialism and not a clinical diagnosis. 

[ithinkjesusiscool]

If I understand it right a psychopath has very much a problem with understanding how others think. How then could he/she understand how God thinks? But on the other hand, who can?

[ithinkjesusiscool]

If I understand it right a psychopath has very much a problem with understanding how others think. How then could he/she understand how God thinks? But on the other hand, who can?

[EmilyAnn]

The term "psychopath" is not helpful. It really doesn't have any meaning - you can't define it because it's a colloquialism.

As Nihil said, if a person give true consent there is no reason any person could not have faith. Everyone will have areas in which they struggle. 

[ithinkjesusiscool]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hon3AzMO6vs

[beatitude]

As EmilyAnn has said, psychopathy doesn't exist as a diagnosis. It's a popular term used to cover all sorts of symptoms and it does more harm than good. Its closest match in diagnostic terms is a condition called Anti-Social Personality Disorder, and suffering from this certainly wouldn't preclude anyone from becoming a Catholic. As a Catholic, we live according to the capacities for empathy and trust that we have got. Unfortunately some people's capacities have been stunted (in the case of severe personality disorders, which develop slowly over time, it is often because of long-term abuse or other very difficult life events) but God does not ask for perfection, he asks us to do our best with what we have. Jesus told the disciples that the poor widow who donated her two little coins had given more than the rich man who emptied in the contents of a full purse. That message applies here too.

 

I would also like to emphasise that ASPD is extremely rare. Unfortunately there is a strain of popular (populist?) psychology out there that encourages people to go around diagnosing themselves and their acquaintances with every psychiatric or neurological condition going on the basis of extremely vague and unsatisfactory symptoms. ("I don't feel moved when I see pictures of cute kittens and I didn't cry when the Sandy Hook shooting happened, I must be a psychopath!") We should be careful about how we use these terms as their meaning is often lost.

Edited April 14, 2013 by beatitude

[MIKolbe]

Can a psychopath convert to Catholicism?

Hi, I'm MIKolbe.

[HisChildForever]

Can he? Yes. Will it be genuine? No. /MAinForensicPsychology

[HisChildForever]

As EmilyAnn has said, psychopathy doesn't exist as a diagnosis. It's a popular term used to cover all sorts of symptoms and it does more harm than good. Its closest match in diagnostic terms is a condition called Anti-Social Personality Disorder

 

Psychopathy consists of two factors (or four - each factor broken into two components). The second factor is ASPD. The first is not behavior/socialization-oriented but personality-oriented (manipulative, selfish, remorseless). It only does more harm than good if a juvenile is labeled a "psychopath" - in fact you have to be over the age of 18 as part of the criteria.

[Anastasia13]

Hi, I'm MIKolbe.

 

Psychopath, not a sociopath, huh?

[beatitude]

Psychopathy consists of two factors (or four - each factor broken into two components). The second factor is ASPD. The first is not behavior/socialization-oriented but personality-oriented (manipulative, selfish, remorseless). It only does more harm than good if a juvenile is labeled a "psychopath" - in fact you have to be over the age of 18 as part of the criteria.

 

Psychopathy isn't a diagnosis according to either the DSM or the ICD. If you work in a hospital or unit that uses this as a diagnosis, what clinical measures are they using?

 

The requirement that people be over eighteen before receiving a diagnosis is the same requirement as for personality disorder, at least in this country - I have seen some instances of children being diagnosed with BPD/EUPD in the US, which I can't agree with.