Nihil Obstat Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Just curious if this is an area of disagreement between some Catholics. Answer and discuss however you see fit. I hope that those who answer yes will make some comment regarding what entities they have in mind, at least in a general sense. Edited May 31, 2014 by Nihil Obstat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysostom Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 The readiest example of an individual enemy of the Church is Saul, who persecuted Jesus by persecuting His members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I'm baffled by anyone who says otherwise. I have never heard of a Saint or Church document that says there do not exist enemies of the Church outside of Satan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I've generally felt that with the Church, it follows the same logic that Christ used — if they aren't with him, they're against him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 These are the answers I was hoping for. Cool, cool. So... let us make this more fun then. NEW QUESTION!!! Do the following groups count as enemies of the Church?: Freemasonry? The Communist movement? The Secularist movement? The American government - as an institution taken as a whole? Add your own too. I just named a few groups that came to mind as possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spem in alium Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 These are the answers I was hoping for. Cool, cool. So... let us make this more fun then. NEW QUESTION!!! Do the following groups count as enemies of the Church?: Freemasonry? The Communist movement? The Secularist movement? The American government - as an institution taken as a whole? Add your own too. I just named a few groups that came to mind as possibilities. "Enemy" is a strong word and not one I lightly use, but in terms of Freemasonry I'm more inclined to say yes than no. Socialist groups I've seen in my own country also strongly go against the Church, so they could also be considered an "enemy". I can't comment much on the American government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 These are the answers I was hoping for. Cool, cool. So... let us make this more fun then. NEW QUESTION!!! Do the following groups count as enemies of the Church?: Freemasonry? The Communist movement? The Secularist movement? The American government - as an institution taken as a whole? Add your own too. I just named a few groups that came to mind as possibilities. I don't think most modern-day Freemasons are enemies of the Church, mostly because they don't realize how anti-Catholic Freemasonry is. My dad has a friend who is a Freemason, and he is very friendly towards Catholics, and would probably be repulsed at the anti-Catholicism Freemasonry teaches. However, I do think the organization at least in belief is anti-Catholic and thus an enemy of the Church, regardless of how the people themselves feel about the matter. Communism is and has always been hostile to Catholicism. In Communist Bavaria (at least I think it was Bavaria), priests were tortured and starved, and were forced to stand upright and sleep only 1 hour a day in small cells, to the point where most lost their minds. That screams pretty "enemy of the Church" to me. Secularism is opposed to Catholic teaching and many secularists are virulently anti-Catholic. The American government isn't inherently anti-Catholic, I don't think. It's definitely going higher and higher on the list, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Proposition: the American government as an institution is formally at odds with fundamental teachings of the Church. Anyone want to play with that one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 I think it could reasonably be argued that the government of the United States is formally secularist. If secularism is inimical to the Church, then apply transitive property and....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChildForever Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Pro-abortion movement is an enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picchick Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 People who openly attack the Church morals (agreed on the pro-abortion movement) are enemies of the Church Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Credo in Deum Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 The best way to find a horrible enemy of the Church is to do an examination of conscience and then grab a mirror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picchick Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 The best way to find a horrible enemy of the Church is to do an examination of conscience and then grab a mirror. Disagree. en·e·my noun \ˈe-nə-mē\ : someone who hates another : someone who attacks or tries to harm another : something that harms or threatens someone or something : a group of people (such as a nation) against whom another group is fighting a war How is sinning hateful of the Church? How is it an attack on the Church? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I've been called a whore of Babylon and a idol worshiper. So yeah, I think we have enemies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perigrina Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Proposition: the American government as an institution is formally at odds with fundamental teachings of the Church. Anyone want to play with that one? I do not feel qualified to answer this about a country not my own, but, if you substitute in Canada, I'll give you a "yes" response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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