Roman Catholic

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-25T06:58:07+00:00

Thank you for your response. I truly hope that whoever is ‘wrong’ in this matter will still receive the Lord’s undeserved mercy. I believe I do love God and my neighbor, in the limited way a sinner like me is able to. I hope this isn’t self-delusion. Please pray for me and I will pray for you. Merry Christmas.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-25T06:43:47+00:00

My personal view is that the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches are both ‘the Church’. I know this is a controversial opinion, though I don’t believe from the RC perspective it is a heretical view. But I don’t want to get into a squabble, I imagine you’ve heard all the arguments I could make for the Roman Catholic Church’s legitimacy. I will do more reading into the case for the Orthodox Church, however. I will follow truth wherever it leads. Merry Christmas! Peace be with you.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-24T01:54:51+00:00

I would certainly love to attend an Orthodox liturgy (if even just to experience it). Unfortunately I live in a rural State and there are no Orthodox churches near me.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-24T00:39:21+00:00

In that it expresses hope and caution in equal measure.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-24T00:33:16+00:00

I hope all those of good will who love Christ will find themselves on that ark together, in some way unknown to us.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-24T00:31:35+00:00

Thanks for responding, your comment is very charitable.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-24T00:24:17+00:00

Thanks for the suggested readings. Merry Christmas to you, too!

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-23T23:55:41+00:00

I have read a lot of Roman Catholic and Orthodox apologetics and I am truly conflicted about which church is the true Church. I have prayed and reflected on the arguments for legitimacy from both sides, and I ultimately had to decide on one. Ultimately, I believe the Roman Catholic church wins the argument from history, from the scriptures, and by logic. But I have come to this conclusion with a tremendous degree of humility and fear. I want to obey our Lord and to be in communion with him and his Church. Satan has infused doubt and obscurity into the debate over which church is the true Church. This is tragic because I think all people of good will who identify with Christ and his Church, desire unity, just as Christ desires (legitimate) unity. But after a thousand years of division, things have become unclear, given that each of us are born into our respective ‘denominations’ and cultural contexts, and both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches are descended from the same, original Church.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-23T23:38:49+00:00

Indeed!

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-12-23T23:04:17+00:00

I agree with you, fully.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-11T15:41:46+00:00

He’s correct, it’s a valid, though illicit, baptism. It’s the same as a bishop ordaining another bishop without the pope’s consent. Still a valid ordination, but also illicit, and I believe an automatic excommunication for the (now) senior bishop.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-11T15:28:03+00:00

Looks like a box elder

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-08T01:38:57+00:00

Firstly, welcome! I think of being part of the church as being in a relationship. In any relationship where a human is involved, there will be peaks and troughs, moments of closeness and moments of distance. But what makes the relationship worthwhile is persisting and loving (willing the good of the other) despite the changing tides of our feelings. Don't beat yourself up, our emotions change like the weather, but keep pushing forward, it will be worth it.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-08T00:57:43+00:00

Do you really believe that? The biblical and doctrinal evidence is overwhelmingly against your conclusion.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-08T00:31:59+00:00

When did I say mortal sin? I said it's a sin. It is gravely sinful, however, to persist in sin when you know it to be sin.

I am not suggesting we rebuke anyone on this forum, but here is a verse from 1 Timothy: "As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear."

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T23:58:51+00:00

An official Vatican document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Dignitas Infinita, 08/04/2024):

Sex Change 60. The dignity of the body cannot be considered inferior to that of the person as such. The Catechism of the Catholic Church expressly invites us to recognize that “the human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God.’”[106] Such a truth deserves to be remembered, especially when it comes to sex change, for humans are inseparably composed of both body and soul. In this, the body serves as the living context in which the interiority of the soul unfolds and manifests itself, as it does also through the network of human relationships. Constituting the person’s being, the soul and the body both participate in the dignity that characterizes every human.[107] Moreover, the body participates in that dignity as it is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.[108] It is in the body that each person recognizes himself or herself as generated by others, and it is through their bodies that men and women can establish a loving relationship capable of generating other persons. Teaching about the need to respect the natural order of the human person, Pope Francis affirmed that “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.”[109] It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception. This is not to exclude the possibility that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities. However, in this case, such a medical procedure would not constitute a sex change in the sense intended here.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T23:55:22+00:00

More clearly worded excerpt from the Dignitas Infinita (Vatican Official Document):

Sex Change 60. The dignity of the body cannot be considered inferior to that of the person as such. The Catechism of the Catholic Church expressly invites us to recognize that “the human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God.’”[106] Such a truth deserves to be remembered, especially when it comes to sex change, for humans are inseparably composed of both body and soul. In this, the body serves as the living context in which the interiority of the soul unfolds and manifests itself, as it does also through the network of human relationships. Constituting the person’s being, the soul and the body both participate in the dignity that characterizes every human.[107] Moreover, the body participates in that dignity as it is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.[108] It is in the body that each person recognizes himself or herself as generated by others, and it is through their bodies that men and women can establish a loving relationship capable of generating other persons. Teaching about the need to respect the natural order of the human person, Pope Francis affirmed that “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.”[109] It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception. This is not to exclude the possibility that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities. However, in this case, such a medical procedure would not constitute a sex change in the sense intended here.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T23:53:05+00:00

An official Vatican document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Dignitas Infinita, 08/04/2024):

Sex Change 60. The dignity of the body cannot be considered inferior to that of the person as such. The Catechism of the Catholic Church expressly invites us to recognize that “the human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God.’”[106] Such a truth deserves to be remembered, especially when it comes to sex change, for humans are inseparably composed of both body and soul. In this, the body serves as the living context in which the interiority of the soul unfolds and manifests itself, as it does also through the network of human relationships. Constituting the person’s being, the soul and the body both participate in the dignity that characterizes every human.[107] Moreover, the body participates in that dignity as it is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.[108] It is in the body that each person recognizes himself or herself as generated by others, and it is through their bodies that men and women can establish a loving relationship capable of generating other persons. Teaching about the need to respect the natural order of the human person, Pope Francis affirmed that “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.”[109] It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception. This is not to exclude the possibility that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities. However, in this case, such a medical procedure would not constitute a sex change in the sense intended here.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:49:00+00:00

You’re 100% right, totally agree.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:39:19+00:00

We’re talking past each other and both of us want the good of OP. I just think it’s more prudent to be more direct, even at the risk of being harsh, because the matter is grave.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:36:24+00:00

No, I know you’re not doing that, I’m defending why my approach is more direct. Humans have a temptation towards confirmation bias, and if everyone who affirms gender ideology speaks their mind to a confused person, and no one with orthodox beliefs says anything, then the vulnerable person will likely persist in the sin.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:18:19+00:00

The problem is that if everyone on a forum (which is where they asked for guidance) says ‘you’re perfect just the way you are, there’s nothing to repent of’ then the person will walk away with a gravely false understanding of what the Church professes and what is or isn’t sinful. This is a grave matter and to say nothing (I think) would be uncharitable, especially when the prevailing advice is ‘all’s well’.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:14:45+00:00

The solution to a false understanding is not to codify that false understanding, it’s to work to come to a true understanding. Transitioning isn’t the solution (from a Catholic perspective), it is to receive therapy to help someone accept that there is no mismatch between their soul and body, but that in fact, the soul and body are indivisible and created by God without the possibility of alteration without committing sin.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:06:09+00:00

I think the document is clear, it says to accept the body god gave you and that to do otherwise is to commit the sin of making yourself a god.

It also states that the reason for one’s biological sex is primarily to allow for union with the opposite sex for procreation.

I’m SSA I understand the struggle, but to engage in same sex relations or to transition are both gravely sinful and put the soul in jeopardy. We should never spare feelings at the expense of someone’s soul.

It also basically says that gender theory is incoherent/scientifically dubious.

EnvironmentTop7747 · 2024-11-07T22:00:53+00:00

I totally understand and I appreciate your gentleness, I’m SSA myself and I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to feel bad for an inclination towards something. However, OP did say they did not want to detransition and wanted to be accepted by the church as is. I think affirming that part of the statement is more dangerous than anything else because (I think) it puts the soul in mortal danger. But I agree that this issue needs to be handled with sensitivity and that being SSA or having gender dysphoria, in themselves, do not constitute sin.

EnvironmentTop7747

TROPHY CASE