©2025 Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Not long ago, I was introduced, as a Catholic evangelist, to a man and his wife. The husband immediately and vehemently began to attack the Catholic Church. This surprise attack had been unwarranted and I must admit it took a lot of self-control for me not to give back in kind. Instead, I listen to what he had to say and then began a point-by-point refutation of his misunderstandings.
Needless to say, his knowledge of Catholicism and Church history was clouded by his hatred of the Church. I sensed that there had to be some underlying reason for his unreasoned violent assault.
When I asked if he practice any religion, he stated that he was a Messianic Jew. He then asked, how I could justify the Catholic Church’s persecution of the Jews in the Middle Ages. I replied, “There was and is no justification for anti-Semitism at any age, but you should not judge the Church by the actions of certain of her members. An example of this is the recent pedophile scandal. The Church abhors and has always vigorously condemned such behavior. The fact that a small minority of priests molested children does not mean that all priests are child molesters. If we judge any church by the conduct of her members, then no church would be found worthy.”
We must judge a church by its teachings. As for Christianity, the judgment criteria should be whether or not those teachings can be traced to Jesus and His Apostles.
We then began to discuss a myriad of other religious issues. He mis-quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church again and again. It seemed to me that he was reading into the Catechism what he wanted to believe. Fortunately, I am familiar enough with the teachings of the Church to know whether or not his understanding was correct. It is not uncommon for anti-Catholics to quote the Catechism and then try to tear down their misunderstanding. I explained that in order to understand the Catechism correctly, it is most often necessary to refer to the explanatory footnotes on the bottom of each page. It is not enough to know what the Church teaches, but equally important are the foundations for these beliefs in both the Bible and Sacred Tradition.
This conversation lasted over two hours and, in the end, we parted as friends. We agreed that we would continue our dialogue by E-mail.
As I was leaving, his wife took me aside and thanked me for taking so much time with her husband. She then explained that he had been a victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest when he was a young boy at a Church sponsored event. He had been brought up by devout Catholic parents and had been violated by a man who represented the Church. This betrayed created a deep wound that continues to fester and has colored his view of the Catholic Church to this day. It is my sincere hope and prayer that the balm of forgiveness will heal the pain that he carries so deep within. Only when he is finally able to forgive and bury the past will there be a new resurrection and a return to the saving grace of the sacraments instituted by our loving savior. Please take a moment now to offer a prayer, or perhaps offer attendance at your next Mass for this man’s healing.
A Dialogue
©2025 Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Not long ago, I was introduced, as a Catholic evangelist, to a man and his wife. The husband immediately and vehemently began to attack the Catholic Church. This surprise attack had been unwarranted and I must admit it took a lot of self-control for me not to give back in kind. Instead, I listen to what he had to say and then began a point-by-point refutation of his misunderstandings.
Needless to say, his knowledge of Catholicism and Church history was clouded by his hatred of the Church. I sensed that there had to be some underlying reason for his unreasoned violent assault.
When I asked if he practice any religion, he stated that he was a Messianic Jew. He then asked, how I could justify the Catholic Church’s persecution of the Jews in the Middle Ages. I replied, “There was and is no justification for anti-Semitism at any age, but you should not judge the Church by the actions of certain of her members. An example of this is the recent pedophile scandal. The Church abhors and has always vigorously condemned such behavior. The fact that a small minority of priests molested children does not mean that all priests are child molesters. If we judge any church by the conduct of her members, then no church would be found worthy.”
We must judge a church by its teachings. As for Christianity, the judgment criteria should be whether or not those teachings can be traced to Jesus and His Apostles.
We then began to discuss a myriad of other religious issues. He mis-quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church again and again. It seemed to me that he was reading into the Catechism what he wanted to believe. Fortunately, I am familiar enough with the teachings of the Church to know whether or not his understanding was correct. It is not uncommon for anti-Catholics to quote the Catechism and then try to tear down their misunderstanding. I explained that in order to understand the Catechism correctly, it is most often necessary to refer to the explanatory footnotes on the bottom of each page. It is not enough to know what the Church teaches, but equally important are the foundations for these beliefs in both the Bible and Sacred Tradition.
This conversation lasted over two hours and, in the end, we parted as friends. We agreed that we would continue our dialogue by E-mail.
As I was leaving, his wife took me aside and thanked me for taking so much time with her husband. She then explained that he had been a victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest when he was a young boy at a Church sponsored event. He had been brought up by devout Catholic parents and had been violated by a man who represented the Church. This betrayed created a deep wound that continues to fester and has colored his view of the Catholic Church to this day. It is my sincere hope and prayer that the balm of forgiveness will heal the pain that he carries so deep within. Only when he is finally able to forgive and bury the past will there be a new resurrection and a return to the saving grace of the sacraments instituted by our loving savior. Please take a moment now to offer a prayer, or perhaps offer attendance at your next Mass for this man’s healing.
New Post
The United States has 3,144 counties and county-equivalent jurisdictions, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today, more than 180 U.S. counties lack a resident Catholic priest. Go to: https://glenmary.org/ You can help by donating: https://glenmary.org/donate-to-catholic-missions…/
The Call Behind the Door
A Plea for Intolerance: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Truth, and the Crisis in Catholic Education
Glenmary Home Missioners
Truth and Charity on the Vincentian Bookshelf
The Journalist’s First Loyalty: Truth in the Service of the Human Person
Select A Catagory