Catholics are so Darned Misunderstood!

A frequent thorn in my side is the misconceptions about Catholicism that run unfettered among my friends. No matter how many times I think I've finally gotten through to them and explained my wonderful faith, they persist in listening to the first nay-sayer in reporter's clothing. Recently, I was so bothered by this that I dedicated an entire post to myths about Catholicism over at Catholic Sistas. Here is an excerpt:

Myth – Catholics worship Mary.

Much to my dismay, a Facebook friend recently posted that she had ‘learned’ something distressing. To her consternation, “the news reported that Pope Francis spent all day praying to Mary on his first day as Pope“. Of course her horror at the idea of this when she, “thought all this time that he prayed to God“, was due to lack of credible information. It is evident that the Catholic idea of ‘praying to’ and the misguided definition pushed by Catholic-hostile press is miles apart. While Catholics understand the Communion of Saints and intercession, the rest of the world equates praying to someone with worship. Big difference! As taught in the CCC, “Because of Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her”.

To read the rest of the post, and some perceptions about Pope Francis, the Rosary, and other topics Catholic, please visit Catholicism - Appearances can be Deceiving!