If you're like me and you grew up a Catholic girl with some non-Catholic friends, you probably remember getting asked about a few stereotypes about Catholics so many times, it became second nature to spit back an answer.
The Catholic Church has a lot of stereotypical misconceptions that have arisen throughout its existence. Some of these stereotypes are partially true, and some are far from it. Sometimes people ask me things that are so outrageous; they seam too far fetched for even a Hollywood movie. Regardless, this stigma attached with the faith I hold so dear to my heart is something I have learned to live with, learn from and laugh about. But for all of you out there who might be slightly mislead, let me extinguish the flame on a few of these not-so-true "facts" about Catholics.
1. Catholics worship the Pope
The pope is the leader of the Catholic Church. Catholics appoint a pope as to follow in the tradition originated by Jesus Christ. In the Bible, Matthew 16:19 Jesus says to Peter, “ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
With this, Jesus made Peter the very first pope, and he was to carry out the wishes of the Lord here on earth. Therefore, as Catholics, we do not worship the pope. We look to him as a spiritual adviser. We grant him immense amounts of respect, and we look to him for guidance in our faith journey as we attempt to honor God in our lives, just as he does.
2. Catholics pray to Mary
Let me be extremely clear — we Catholics, just as any Christian, recognize that there is but one God, Father of all things. He is who we pray to, that is it. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
When we speak to Mary through prayer, we simply speak to her as we would any friend here on Earth. Just as you might ask your friend to pray for you, we ask Mary to pray for us. Why you might ask do we ask Mary to pray for us? Who better to persuade Jesus to hear our plea than his mother!
3. Catholics are heavy drinkers
This one I think is sort of funny. It is true that during Holy Communion, the blood of Jesus is derived from wine. Yes, real wine with real alcohol in it. And yes, us Catholics really have been drinking it since second or third grade when we made our first Holy Communion!
But in all seriousness, this idea that all Catholics are heavy drinkers is in fact another stereotype. I know many Catholic adults who don’t particularly enjoy drinking at all — my mother being one of them.
4. Catholics think they can do whatever they want and simply follow it up with confession
You guessed it! We have yet another stereotype. Reconciliation, the act of confessing ones sins to a priest in order to be forgiven, is something unique to the Catholic Faith.
We do this because Jesus said, as quoted in the Bible, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16) But this is not an excuse to go out and misbehave. In fact, your sins are not considered absolved if you do not go in with the full intention of trying whole-heartedly not to sin again.
5. Catholics aren't Christians
This one is by far my biggest pet peeve, and ironically, the furthest from any rational version of the truth. Christian is term derived from the word “Christ,” And since Jesus Christ was in fact the creator of the Catholic Church, it is ridiculous to assume that Catholics are not Christians. Christianity has many branches and Catholicism is simply one of the branches, as is Lutheran, Protestant, Baptist and many more. The Catholic religion was the very first form of Christianity, so if you ask me if I am a Christian, the answer is yes, I am a Catholic Christian.
I hope this has helped those of you who didn’t fully understand the Catholic Faith to get a better grasp on it and understand that not everything you hear about us is totally true. And for those of you who are my Catholic brothers and sisters, I hope you found this article relatable.
