"I'm gonna be a Catholic priest"

So from what I've seen, pretty much everybody on here dislikes(or at least disregards) Catholicism. I've seen a lot of posters bad-mouthing the ignorance or blinkered vision that they suggest you need to have to be a practising Catholic. So...

If you're brother pulled you aside at dinner one night and said. "I'm gonna be a Catholic priest!", how would you feel and what would your suggestions be?


n.b If you don't have a brother, use your imaginary best friend, and if you don't wanna do that either, don't bother with this thread.

 

"Cool, I'm gonna be a Satanist minister."

 

I would wish him well with his new interest and journey... Just because I'm not into something or my views about things are different doesn't mean they are correct or should prohibit people doing things that they are into or are interested in...

 

Im be pretty schocked considering we're not Christians but I don't think I'd be too bothered. After all my brother personally i think is alright and i don't think he'd be a partiularly bad priest with forgiveness and all that stuff. He'd suck at the rest though.

 

I would ask him if he has homosexual tendencies and if he feels ashamed of them.

Then I would tell him that I would miss him for the 7 years that he would be away studying to become a priest and ask him why he would leave all his best friends, his band and his family behind to answer the calling of God.

Those would be my two main thoughts and concerns.

EDIT: Being Catholic, it wouldn't be a c[size=-1]razy notion that he would want to become a p[/size][size=-1]riest - but I would suppo[/size][size=-1]rt him to investigate the possibility of becoming one, although I would doubt his calling to se[/size][size=-1]rve.[/size]

 

The decision to pursue priesthood would be part of a life process that by nature would likely not take anyone close to the person by surprise. Tough to take out of context a decision that has a basis in spirituality and to treat it as though the news would come out of nowhere. I'd expect that anyone near me opting to become clergy would have long made clear their spiritual leanings. Because my opinions about the church can be incendiary I'd probably keep my reactions to myself out of respect for the friendship.

 

I would laugh, because it would be a joke. my brothers aren't very pious. if one of them truly wanted to become a catholic priest, I would be happy for him and hope he could contribute to the catholic church doing some good instead of just molesting children and making people feel guilty.

 

eh, whatever. i'll love my brother through and through. if i saw it was making him unhappy, or it wasnt right for him, i'd talk to him about it. But i'd be the same way if it was any other proffession too.

 

get lost i aint a perv...

 

I seriously toyed with the idea as a very young teen, before I realised the power of sexualattraction and before I started questioning my faith.

 

Yeah, I don't know if I could keep my mouth shut. Of course, it's his life and he could do what he wanted, but I would be sure to question him as thoroughly as I do any friends about their beliefs. I don't do this to be a prick, I just like to hear people who have strong convictions speaking about them.

 

I would be truly happy. I'd smile and hug him and tell him I admire his choice and I'm proud of him.

 

Some reactions really surprised me. Like its a bad thing to be a Catholic priest. Like it equals murder or something.

 

It is a bad thing. The church is full of shit.

 

Yeah, yeah...Every priest is a child molester.

 

That's a stereotype as ancient as gay guys with lisps.

 

Nothing surprised me. A lot of people have had a bad experience or know of somebody who has had one in the Catholic Church. Of course, there are others who don't like any form of Christianity.

 

hippies over react. Anything that has to do with organized religions or society generally is like murder.

i think if it makes my brother happy, then go for it. Not everyone has the same beliefs. That concept truely gets lost sometimes.

 

Then why did you say being a Catholic priest is a bad thing ?

 

The Catholic church has really been taking it on the chin and some folks are unwilling to make distinctions between scandalous news stories and people sincerely taking a step in their own spiritual journey. If someone close to be confided something of that nature I'd feel compelled to keep my negative opinions to myself in the interest of being supportive. I'd doubt that it's approval they're seeking.