Catholic guilt?

[Felixfox]

I only went to catholic school for 3 years (first 3 years of school) and I am CONSTANTLY feelingly guilty . Is it the school or just me? It was a terrible place. I remember one of the fathers coming into our classroom just as a pupil was leaving as he was feeling sick. Father promptly sent him back to his desk for us all to pray, this boy was physically sick but we had to carry on with the prayer. His parting shot was a question. To a bunch of 6 year olds. Do you all pray before bed at night? We all mumbled yes. To which he replied,’Good, because otherwise you will go to hell.’ It scared the crap out of me. V complicated story with parents and my brother and I going there. My mother was a nun and left
’God will never forgive you’ and so maybe to usage some hideous and unfair guilt from that was to send us to a catholic school. The point is, I am nearly 50 and I still feel guilty all the time about pretty much anything. Will it go? I’ve tried counseling. What do I do? How do you leave a part of yourself behind?

There is plenty of evidence that God exists to name a few examples: the cosmos, fine-tuning of the universe, origin of life, design in biology, the historical record of Jesus, people's personal experiences, morality, consciousness .... you need more faith to believe there is not a God than to believe there is one.

There is no objective evidence that God exists. It's only people's personal experience.

God cannot be both omniscient, omnipotent and good.

God could be all-powerful and amoral - considering the obscene suffering which goes on every minute of the day.

God could be good - but then God couldn't be all-powerful, or he/she/it would intervene to stop man's cruelty and the cruelty of nature and children dying of cancer, for example.

But you can't have it both ways. People who claim 'the wonders of nature' as proof of God's existence need to consider the horrible things which happen to people and animals all the time.

What does it matter if not all mother and baby homes were Catholic? The point is that many of those run by the Catholic Church oversaw the deaths of hundreds and hundreds of infants, not to mention instiutionalised cruelty towards pregnant mothers and the trafficking of live infants to parents who could pay (donate) to the Catholic Church. If it hadn't been for the religious moral judgement of unwed mothers in the first place, the hideous homes would not have needed to exist!

Of course Catholic guilt is a thing or why would people have it or had to overcome it!

But you can't have it both ways. People who claim 'the wonders of nature' as proof of God's existence need to consider the horrible things which happen to people and animals all the time.

The wonders of nature are there for all of us to see. But it does not follow from that that a deity created them, nor that they are good.

Here's a scenario - you are a divine all-powerful being of some ilk and you are contemplating creating planet earth, and you have a brilliant idea: I know, I will make it so that every creature is in conflict with every other, for space and for food and - even better - I will make it so that all creatures live in fear of all others because they will eat each other! - tear each other to pieces! - great plan!

The world that has been created by whatever means (and we do not know that means for sure) is predicated on kill or be killed. A good plan? A kind plan? Evidence of a good god?

The truth is that the world is a harsh place. I sit here looking at my fabulous view of the hills and watching the small birds on the feeder - they are cute and a joy to watch. But their behaviour of flitting in and out, which looks so cute to me, is because they are terrified of the crows, magpies and other big birds around so they have to grab what they can while looking over their "shoulder" for something that might kill them of steal the food from them.

Honestly - if you had been that divine being, is this what you would have chosen?

I don’t know who wrote the bold bit but in a court of law their ‘evidence’ would be thrown out as nothing more than circumstantial at best. Also, if that is evidence why did the poster need to use the word faith? Evidence doesn’t need faith.

Was on a packed train so didn’t read properly the bit about faith. Lack of real evidence still stands though.

I know this thread is specifically about RC guilt, so don't want to derail with a general discussion about God's existence.

But I have always wondered if my believing friends actually watch the news. One look at the news tells any thoughtful person that God cannot be good if in fact they exist at all.

I knew of a vicar who lost her daughter in a terrible disaster and lost her faith. Poor, poor woman - but had she really not thought through the random cruelty of existence until it happened to her???

Nobody has been to purgatory because it doesn't exist. I'm just repeating what I was told in school.

Purgatory is another example of an invention by the RC church - it's not mentioned in the Bible.

I'd say to OP - if you are a believer, read the gospels and be aware that that's the only authority (such as it is) for Christianity. Try to ignore the other areas/constructs/creations/dogma which the official RC church instituted in the 4th century.

I think your issue is with your school.

@TheignT are you saying that the Catholic Church no longer believes in purgatory?

No I'm saying if the school taught this as a way to frighten a child that is an issue. I was taught that the punishment in purgatory was we were denied the presence of God. Waiting for the time when we would be with God. There was always the condition that of course we don't actually know.

It was never taught as frightening. Like Jesus descending into hell to take the righteous to heaven. As our time would mean nothing in heaven maybe he took everyone who has ever lived or will ever live to heaven. Always taught with positivity and kindness. This was the late 50s and 60s.

So yes I think it is the school that was frightening children that was wrong.

No need for the homes, Catholic or otherwise, if the girls parents loved and cared for their child and grandchild like my great grandparents did. Who should a frightened girl be able to rely on if not her parents.

@TheignT it is all very well for you to say there were no need for mother and baby homes, but regardless of your opinion they existed and hundreds of thousands of mothers and babies passed through their doors, with very, very sadly & criminally many babies never leaving alive and their mother's being subject to horrific abuse. Many were put there by their parents, because the religious shame of their daughter being pregnant outside of marriage was so acute.