“If Christianity has nothing to do with cannibalism, how do you explain communion? If you believe in trans-substantiation, you are consuming human blood and flesh. If you do not believe in the literal transformation of wine and crackers, you are still pretending to commit a cannibalistic act.”

I found this on a forum I visit, amidst a bit of wanking back and forth regarding a woman who may or may not have done some questionable things. Somehow, they got onto the topic of Catholics being cannibals, and that the band Insane Clown Posse is singing music created by Lucifer. While I won’t even begin to cover those things (I mean, really…REALLY??), I will add on one more bullet point to my previous post, Common Misconceptions About Catholics - that being, that we are NOT CANNIBALS!!

6. Catholics Are Not Cannibals - This one requires a bit more theology and thought, because there will be people who still argue this point, and will argue it, until their dying days. However, I find it a little humorous that this accusation made back by the Romans is still being used by people ignorant of the Faith today.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church actually explain this better than most, I think.

“The conversion of the whole substance of the bread and wine into the whole substance of the Body and Blood of Christ, only the accidents (i.e. the appearances of the bread and wine) remaining.”

To simplify that even more, while the bread and wine do become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, at the same time, to us, in every feasible way our limited five senses can reasonably figure out, it still remains just bread and wine. It is the substance, not the form, that changes and that feeds us through our souls. We are not cannibals, in that we do not eat physical blood, meat, and human tissue; we are not ‘pretending to commit a cannibalistic act’ either.

Another note to examine here is that when Christ originally said, “Take this and eat, it is my body/blood,” he was still living. By the same logic of those who will read this and continue to attest that Catholics are cannibals (and thus limiting their view and understanding of Christ’s actions and Holy Communion in general), we will ask ourselves this important question -were the apostles cannibals? No! Well, neither are Catholics. The same change that occurred as Jesus sat with his disciples is the one that we partake in at Mass. It’s the Holy Grace that is transubstantiation, folks.

While at work the other day a man began preaching to me about scripture and if I had found Jesus or not, and as one thing let to another I casually mentioned I was Catholic. Oh, you should have seen the look of terror in his eyes! That look of, “She’s going to Hell! I need to back away slowly, else she’ll take me with her!!” - the same look I got from my mother when I posed a hypothetical question about a ‘friend’ converting a few years ago.

Now, I can’t say I blame everyone who has these misconceptions about us Catholics, as this is what many of them have been lead to believe. Heck, this is what some mislead Catholics have been lead to believe, and DO believe! It’s a shame, a tragedy, and something I think ought to be set straight. So, here, for the record, are some common misconceptions about Catholics: debunked!

1. Catholics Commit Idolatry - Just look at the last line of ‘Hail Mary’, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” We simply ask Mary to pray for us, we are asking for her intercession. This is the same with saints, as we ask for their intercession as well. We hold worship only for God, as it is a mortal sin to do otherwise. Yes, we give Mary reverence, as she is the Mother of God, but we do not, under any circumstances worship her. The saints and angels we hold with reverence as well, but the saints were merely people just like us, before they became saints, and the angels are not God, so it remains only reverence, and not worship.

The statues in our churches, they serve the purpose of connecting our concentration with those to whom we are conversing. We are not worshiping statues! We are using the likeness of whomever we are speaking to to help us focus and connect with them. You can hold your conversation with Mary, Saint Joseph, or the archangel Gabriel in your car on the way to work, but it’s much easier to focus your thoughts and intentions and to ask for their intercession and prayers when you are looking at a reminder of them.

Also on this note, we do not worship the Pope either! We’ll get to that though, so keep reading.

2. Catholics Aren’t Christians - This one really crawls under my skin! If you look at even the simplest definition of the word “Christian” you will see that to be one, you must only believe in Jesus Christ. That’s it, folks!

To delve into this matter a little more deeply, if you read the very earliest of Christian writings, you will find that the teachings and doctrines of their time match up with the Catholic ones from ours. You will find Bishops, the Papacy, Infant Baptism, Holy Communion, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). Most historians even agree that based on verifiable ancient texts, Catholics were the first Christians. 

3. Catholics Don’t Read the Bible - Have you ever been to a Catholic Mass?? For starters, the readings for Mass today are: Joel 4:12-21 (Reading 1), Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12 (Responsorial Psalm), and Luke 11:27-28 (Gospel). These are pre-set and the same throughout the Catholic community worldwide (disclaimer: I am not sure if it is the same for Eastern Catholics, as I am writing from the perspective of a Roman Catholic, not a Byzantine). This continuity throughout the Catholic world is quite fitting, since the meaning of the word “Catholic” is as follows:

1. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.
2. universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all.
3. pertaining to the whole Christian body or church.

To say that we do not read the Bible is quite untrue. Every time one visits a Catholic church you will leave not hearing only at the very minimum three Bible verses, but pretty much in every case the Priest’s homily will center around the lesson the verses convey.

4. Catholics Believe the Pope is God - I’ve heard this one many ways, all of them untrue. Some think we worship him too (see #1!), or that we think he can make no mistakes, ever (Pope infallibility gone wrong)…again, untrue! There are three things that must happen for the Pope to be infallible:

1. The Pope must be making a decree on matters of faith or morals
2. The declaration must be binding on the whole Church
3. The Pope must be speaking with the full authority of the Papacy, and not in a personal capacity.

If these three circumstances are met, yes, that is infallible. If not? He’s a human just as we are, and he can make mistakes. When these three circumstances are met though, as when the Pope is making a decree on religious matters, that is considered infallible. The decree must not contradict any previous declarations and it must be believed by all Catholics. This is probably a little confusing for anyone who is not a Catholic, but you can find more information on the topic here to help clear it up.

As a final note, the Pope is the Leader of our Church here on Earth. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the One True Leader(s) that transcend all things. The Pope is merely a tool God uses to help us understand His Word here on Earth.

5. Catholics Don’t Believe in Evolution - Also known as “Catholics Don’t Believe in Science.” The Big Bang Theory came from a Catholic, believe it or not. We do believe in evolution, we just believe the leading force behind the science in the world is God. He created all that is, all that ever will be and has been - and that includes evolution. Evolution is taught in Catholic schools all over, and while I cannot speak for every Catholic out there, the Church itself does even acknowledge evolution. Catholics aren’t practicing and living their lives in a dated and medieval religion that is vastly behind the times; we do not ignore science, just as we do not let science become our only Truth.