Dear Deric:

I do not now about other Christian groups. I guess there is a lot of bad-mouthing and hatred among them, but this is NOT the Catholic position on other religions.

The Catholic Church recognizes Truth wherever it is found -- even grains of truth that might be found in Wicca. This does not mean we agree with those other religions, but if there are any grains of truth found in them, we recognize it for the truth it is.

Here is the official teaching of the Catholic Church concerning other religions:

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God." The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ", "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."

840 And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

842 The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common origin and end of the human race:

All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city. . .

843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."

844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:

Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.

845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.

While the Church recognizes and applauds the Truth wherever found, the responsibility of Truth is to tell the Truth even when it steps on toes.

The errant notices of political correctness (plausibility) of today are notions that seek to deny Truth and to obfuscate Truth. These notions include the devilish ideas that 1) we are not to judge; 2) all opinions are equal (this all religions are equal), and 3) we are never to step on toes.

Those notions are stupid and contrary to the virtue of Truth that demands truth regardless of opinion or toes hurting. You can read an entire essay that explains this is detail called, Three Secret Strategies of Satan.

One of the primary tenets of this false civility of political correctness is the idea of tolerance. I have found that the so-called politically correct tolerant crowd to be the most intolerant of all people (especially they are intolerant of Christians), but then again, hypocrisy is prime rib to the politically correct.

Archbishop Sheen saw this coming back in the 1930's when he wrote:

America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance? it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.

Tolerance is an attitude of reasoned patience toward evil . . . a forbearance that restrains us from showing anger or inflicting punishment. Tolerance applies only to persons . . . never to truth. Tolerance applies to the erring, intolerance to the error . . . Architects are as intolerant about sand as foundations for skyscrapers as doctors are intolerant about germs in the laboratory. Tolerance does not apply to truth or principles. About these things we must be intolerant, and for this kind of intolerance, so much needed to rouse us from sentimental gush, I make a plea. Intolerance of this kind is the foundation of all stability.

An essay from Louis de Wohl, a devout Catholic, writing about 40 years ago say much the same thing:

Tolerance is not a virtue. It is no more than an amiable weakness. Yet it is typical of the confused thinking of our time that many people regard it as a virtue and believe they are giving praise when they say a man is tolerant. To tolerate something means to accept it or to permit it, even though one does not agree with it.

Tolerance is an entirely passive concept, and only too often serves as a cloak for indifference and cowardice. It is, as somebody once said, "the lowest form of collaboration"; and for exactly that reason, it entails a great deal of personal responsibility. He who tolerates evil becomes an accessory to it.

Truth, because of its very nature, is absolutely intolerant. Two plus two equals four. Truth must protest against any other result of this addition. It will not accept seventeen, and it will not accept three and nine-tenths. Only four.

Besides, there is a certain measure of condescension about tolerance. I tolerate your proximity. Nice of me, isn't it?

But the worst thing about tolerance is that it knows nothing of love. It is, at best, a pale stepsister of patience.

All of this does not imply that intolerance is a good thing. The opposite of a swelling on your head is a hole in your head, and that is not so good either.

The Church officially teaches that if we tolerate sin we are an accomplice to that sin. Tolerance is not love. It is a form of condescending pride and arrogance toward the person one is "tolerating". Love rejoices in TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS we are told in 1 Corinthians 13. No where does God say that love "tolerates".

In addition, it is a profound foolishness for a person to be so concerned with toleration that they allow themselves or their loved ones to be endangered by falsehoods. What parent "tolerates" their child "hanging" out with the drugies, gangbangers, and criminal crowd? Any parent that does offer toleration for this is not only a fool, but a child abuser.

No, God does not teach toleration. He teaches LOVE, TRUTH, & RIGHTEOUSNESS. Yes, we are to hate the sin and love the sinner, but we are never to tolerate the sinner committing his sin. To do that we tolerate the sin too. To tolerate the sinner means that we will not confront the sinner about his sin. This, according to the Church, is a sin on our part.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church warns us to avoid finding ourselves as an accomplice to sin:

1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:

- by participating directly and voluntarily in them;

- by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;

- by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;

- by protecting evil-doers.

1869 Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them...

Now what all this means is that while the Church recognizes and appreciates any grain of Truth no matter where it is found, the Church also will tell the Truth. It will recognize the grain of truth, but it will also expose the falsehoods and, if present, the evils.

Bad-mouthing is just knee-jerk discourtesy at best, and ignorant bigotry at worse. Reasoned, considered, and thoughtful reflections in assessing other theologies and philosophies that may result in negative conclusions is not bad-mouthing.

When those who disagree with Catholicism offer reasoned argument, reasoned argument in love can be returned.  When those opposed to Catholicism offer hatred and outrigtht bigotry and make themselves enemies of the Church, then our response will still be loving reason, but perhaps more intense since the other person has placed the interchange in battle mode. And sometimes, when the situation warrants, we follow the example and teachings of Christ, the Apostles, and the Saints for those extreme cases in cutting the enemy off at the knees. But that is a last resort and reserved only in certain extreme situations.

I will end by repeating what I said above:

Tolerance is not love. It is a form of condescending pride and arrogance toward the person one is "tolerating". Love rejoices in TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS we are told in 1 Corinthians 13. No where does God say that love "tolerates".

We love all people, we recognize the Truth wherever found, but we also love with a real love the loves the person, but never tolerates error,

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary