Quote:
Irreligious wrote
You really want to go down the rabbit hole, nkb? This thread could go on for pages without a satisfactory answer to that question. Look at how long it took to get a simple concession that all Roman Catholics do not think with one mind. Please notice that that happened only with my explicit acknowledgement that Lily has a right to think of them as "bad" Catholics.
|
Do you really want to start this again? I thought you had achieved clarity and you haven't. All real (i.e. professing) Catholics do think with one mind about the doctrines of the church, to the extent that they obey-- perhaps grudgingly or with legitimate reservations. But they obey. That is the bottom line. By definition, anyone who does not accept the doctrines of the Church puts himself in a bad position. If he is fool enough to try to persuade others, then he risks heresy and schism, which are grounds for excommunication. That, of course, merely ratifies what has already happened. They are, objectively, bad Catholics. That is not my opinion. It is objective fact.
The Church is not a democracy. It's teachings are not arrived at by consensus. This has implications for those who want to identify with it.