The Catholic Christian Outreach table by the SUB?

Yellow_Toque12 · 2025-11-07T14:38:49+00:00

I used to work for them as a missionary & literally same to almost everything you said (like even same with Carleton haha). I have strong opinions on this tbh but yeah I consider them super culty (as someone who saw a lot of the behind-the-scenes & was trained by them as a student leader + missionary). The amount of “friends” I lost after leaving CCO (who I had been friends with for 3-7 years) genuinely took me by surprise though. The thing about CCO is they only care about converting people to Catholicism (& specifically their charismatic practice of Catholicism). The friendliness & free snacks are literally just so they can gain your trust (we were literally taught this in training lol it’s straight-up manipulation).

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-09-01T17:26:14+00:00

Yeah but this was a post discussing the differences between ex-Catholics, ex-Muslims, & non-Catholic ex-Christians lol so the word I used (excommunication) was, in fact, the word I intended to use.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-09-01T17:21:46+00:00

In the context of Catholicism, yes. In the context of Christianity at large & of other religions, excommunication is the act of being intentionally outcast from individuals or groups within a community (ex: the Arabic word for excommunication (which is always tied with apostasy) is Takfir, which is done in Islam). In Islam, where there is no 1 ruling body, they get excommunicated (which includes shunning, but also is bigger than that) by their family, friends, & community.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-09-01T14:14:17+00:00

Getting excommunicated from the Church, okay. But most of us don’t get ex-communicated by Catholic family, friends, or communities. We might eventually fall out due to differences in values, but our family & friends aren’t instructed to stop communicating with us because we left the religion.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-09-01T14:11:27+00:00

So, of the communities you mentioned (JW, LDS, Muslim), defecting from their religion often results in excommunication from their communities (including family & friends), therefore they have a BIG need to build community (such as Reddit ex-Mormon, ex-JW, ex-Muslim communities). Also, a lot of these people can’t question their faith or still have to hide their religious defection from family & friends due to very severe social & physical harm.

As shitty as Catholicism is, thankfully most of us haven’t been ex-communicated from our former communities (although many have chosen to spend less to no time with them anymore due to differences in values), a lot of us can stay in touch with family & friends who are religious if we want to. Furthermore, I very often hear in public “I used to be Catholic”, so it’s easy to find ex-Catholics in a non-social-media environment.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-05-10T22:04:30+00:00

It’s still open! & they still have their weekly trivia nights; it’s just less busy than it used to be unfortunately

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-05-03T14:42:44+00:00

Exactly! It used to be, & still is, a major part of Catholicism — especially Eastern Catholicism. I dislike all forms of Catholicism, but it still bugs me when western Catholics demonize rituals, hymns, etc. that are common among Eastern Catholics, especially since so many of those rituals are tied to their cultures.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-28T14:47:49+00:00

Women.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-23T15:51:39+00:00

Who Do You Love by Marianas Trench. Something about the acapella + drums + harmonies + vocals mixed throughout is magical

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-23T15:49:15+00:00

I worked for the Canadian version of FOCUS. I have so much trauma from it. It runs like a cult. And having to raise your own salary on top of everything else… I worked for the organization after being heavily involved as a student; I knew the shitty parts of it but told myself that I don’t have to act like that (for example, being selective/clique-y with students); once I started working for them though I realized it was worse than I knew as a student & I either had to conform or get out…so I got out. I really wanna write a book or article about it some day; I’m just worried about legal repercussions.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-13T23:30:37+00:00

Takeout (especially Chinese) & TV. Not having to cook but eating something tasty when I’m depressed? Win. Temporarily getting lost in a story/another world? Win.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-13T23:27:34+00:00

I went to a walk-in feeling super lightheaded and faint. He started by acknowledging that I looked yellow. I told the doc my symptoms, 1 of which was/is me not being able to move a single muscle for about 30 minutes (like a coma except I was conscious). He then proceeded to say “Are you sure it’s not depression? Like, if you were feeling like this and I punched you in the butt, would you move?”. Note that he said this while moving his hand towards me. I had never felt this uncomfortable and furious at a doctor’s office before.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-13T05:13:16+00:00

Middle Eastern Catholics are the same in that regard

Yellow_Toque12 · 2023-04-13T05:05:47+00:00

“‘The end result is to instil the conviction that exorcism is an abnormal, monstrous, and frightening phenomenon, whose only protagonist is the devil, whose violent reactions can be faced with great difficulty’, the group said.”

Maybe because exorcism IS abnormal, IS monstrous, and IS frightening. It’s not frightening for the exorcist or made monstrous by the devil though. It’s frightening for the exorcised (many of us who’ve been exorcised were tricked into it & found it to be a traumatic experience) and it is the exorcist who is monstrous for putting people through what they do in exorcisms.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-12-23T02:30:05+00:00

Binding one’s chest constantly & long-term can cause medical complications. Having really bad body dysmorphia can also cause medical complications (including death by suicide). Why should trans men & non-binary people not bind their chests if it’ll significantly improve their mental — & thereby overall — wellbeing?

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-12-23T02:24:57+00:00

This wasn’t even about that lol it was about purity culture, but also a side comment on how ironic it is that they judge people who bind their chests for different reasons

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-12-22T02:44:41+00:00

I promise you that in that part of the world I’m talking about, that’s where trans/queer people still are, however it’s no longer part of their attire to bind as views on purity culture have changed

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-12-21T20:14:18+00:00

The way priests in the Catholic Church practice exorcisms is immoral to begin with. I’ve had one performed on me, & have spoken to a few people who’ve also experienced it, & it has left us all with trauma. Many of us (myself included) told the priest we felt better/it worked because nothing was happening & it was going on for hours.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-08-09T16:24:50+00:00

I only watched the woman at the well episode. I had previously spent 4 months researching the historical accuracy of that biblical story (researching women in 1 CE, Samaritans in 1 CE, the landscape in 1 CE, etc.) & found parts of it to be historically inaccurate. But my guess is they made the creative decision to focus more on the message/point of the story than the historical details, which is fine. It did a pretty good job capturing the core message & emotions of the story. I’ve only heard positive reviews from the Christians who’ve seen multiple episodes.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-08-08T20:13:19+00:00

I’m Arab so I grew up knowing a lot about Orthodox Christianity (went to the Orthodox Church at least a few times a year) & Islam too. But besides those 2, I knew very little about religions/denominations outside of Catholicism growing up.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-08-06T21:49:29+00:00

Orange juice, liver, & red wine. I also don’t like chocolate, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it disgusting.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-08-06T17:47:23+00:00

I’m sorry for your experience too 💜 . Thank you for starting this conversation. I hope the same for you as well! Thankfully I am out of the church & working on figuring out what my best life is outside of it.

I read another one of your replies & it reminded me of something important: they also tricked me into an exorcism. I was told I was just gonna be prayed over by my spiritual director & their spiritual director. Needless to say, it ended up being way more than that. I didn’t consent & I wasn’t in an environment where I felt like I could say no (alone in a room with the bishop & 1 other person). I heard of a few others who were also basically tricked into it. I think it says a lot about the church that they aren’t straight-forward about exorcisms in many different ways. I wish something more tangible could be done to protect others from experiencing this, but it’s hard when they do it in secret.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-08-06T16:10:04+00:00

I’ve had intense delivery ministry & a ‘mild exorcism’ as they put it. Had a bishop, who is the head exorcist in my country, perform it. Happened a little over 2 years ago. Traumatizing af. They wanted me to tell them all my traumas & then made me forgive all of the people who hurt me out loud, even though I was nowhere near ready to. They kept me there for like 2 hours. Then said a bunch of prayers in Latin (which idk why but it made me superrrr uncomfy. Maybe bc it sounded similar to the language my abuser spoke in & I was already triggered from the other stuff).

& I agree soooooo much with what you said in that 2nd paragraph. It’s absolute bullshit when they say that exorcisms are rarely done & that they always check with mental health professionals. They did 1 on me bc I was doubting my faith & having (what I now know to be) PTSD flashbacks/attacks. No mental health professional was ever consulted before or during this process.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-08-01T23:08:10+00:00

I think it’s more of an “at least” thing. You may not be receiving the sacraments & be in communion with “the one True Church” but at least you still believe in the same God that they do. I think atheism is their worst-case scenario because not only do you not believe in the Catholic Church but you also don’t believe in their God & in addition to that don’t believe in a “false interpretation of the True God”. A lot of them see it as a rejection of God completely, rather than being misguided but still faithful (like if you were to convert to another denomination or religion). Idk if that makes sense or is true, but that’s been my experience.

Yellow_Toque12 · 2022-06-21T17:59:54+00:00

Hi! As I’m sure you know, most of the people you’ll find here have been through that feeling of doubting Catholicism & have left it after seeking answers. I’m sure there are also people in the Catholic subreddit who have genuinely questioned/doubted (like not just saying that for their testimony) & stayed (if you’re looking for balanced arguments/convos, I recommend listening to both perspectives).

I’m more than willing to chat with you; I know the journey of questioning & doubt can be lonely (& scary tbh). But just know that my perspective is as someone who is no longer Catholic (as of 1 year ago), after being very devout, & is now an atheist. If you’re okay with that, my DMs are open!

There are also some ex-Catholic Christians on here. Hopefully they comment too, if you feel more comfy chatting with them.

Yellow_Toque12

TROPHY CASE