I told him that if we are followers of Christ, which we are, and Christ taught us to pray "Our Father" then obviously God is OUR FATHER, not our mother. Not to mention God is called HE in the bible every single time. Also, that in order for the Church to be the Mother Church, then God would need to be the Father as well. Hello? He said he'll ask him about it next week.
He was surprised I was upset. Really? Of course I'm upset. I was under the impression he'd be getting a sound education in that RCIA class, not some liberal, squishy bull like I got in my RCIA class.
But you know what? I had Jessica (Now Sr. Elizabeth John) throughout my RCIA classes to discuss things with and now I guess he has me.
Have to say that we'll leave the program and the paris if I hear much worse. Not a happy girl right now.
That is UNACCEPTABLE. Wow, that is horrible! Yes, the Deacon needs to be confronted. That is wrong, wrong, wrong. And go up the chain of command to the bishop if need be. Or, I know the head of catechesis for the diocese.
ReplyDeleteJust read how poorly written this was, I blame emotion. I'm so angry.
ReplyDeleteI want to see what he says about it next week. And I will be saying something if this nonsense continues. Grrr.
Today they were discussing prayer. I asked him which ones. He said the ones in mass. I said, OH so the Our Father? He said yeah... I was like, um, ok then? He said he only said "she" a couple times and when he did he looked at the women in the group uneasily. I told him if I were in that group I would have freaked.
ReplyDeleteThen I asked our 6 year old if God was a mommy or a daddy. She said, "A daddy!!" Good job, Amelia, you're better at Church doctrine than the Deacon!
And for reference:
The Father revealed by the Son
238 Many religions invoke God as "Father". The deity is often considered the "father of gods and of men". In Israel, God is called "Father" inasmuch as he is Creator of the world. Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, "his first-born son". God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is "the Father of the poor", of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection.
239 By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: no one is father as God is Father.
240 Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only in relation to his Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Darn people trying not to "offend" anyone. 1) If God was a "she" wouldn't it say so in the Bible? Hmmm, yes. 2) In the process of "not offending", they're offending.
ReplyDeleteExactly! And it has never been the Church's place not to offend. The truth is the truth. Goodness.
ReplyDeleteForgot to add, I'm totally ok with offending someone by teaching something the way it's supposed to be taught. If they don't like it, too bad.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, totally not acceptable. I'd call the priest ASAP to alert him to what's going on. That sort of hippy-dippy BS is NOT cool and should be stopped immediately.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I'm not one to sit idly by. I'm going to wait and see what he says when confronted about it next week, and then I'll be calling the priest and others if I have to. It's not just THIS, it's that I'm terrified it will be one of many. I went through this crap in my own RCIA. I'm disappointed that this parish might be going the same way.
ReplyDeleteHearing this kind of thing makes me so peeved!! When we were joining RCIA, so many people warned us that we might have to put up with nonsense, sort of "jump through the hippie hoops" to get into the Church. They told us we might just have to do a reading program on our own if we really wanted a sound introduction to Catholicism. It couldn't have been a better surprise to find the class at the Cathedral so rigorous and orthodox. I looked forward to Monday nights! If you decide the class at your parish is too much of a dud, you might consider switching to the one at SSJ -- they get a lot of people from other parishes who come just for the class because it is so good!
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Annette! SSJ is a bit far for us, but I'd keep that in mind.
ReplyDeleteI vented about it on a FB status and the faith formation teacher for the girls saw it. She spoke with someone and the Deacon will be calling me soon. I'm curious to see how he explains this one...
I meant to post a comment again and don't know if it did it and it got lost or if I wrote it and forgot to hit "post comment". Anyway, I agree. The church is meant to teach the truth and the truth isn't politically correct. Which is what a lot of them are trying to do. That or they're getting too liberal in their beliefs. And it's not just Catholic churches, the church in general is starting to be this way. It's really sad. It was never this bad when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteSuch "inclusive language" is offensive on several levels. It is false, it rewrites Holy Scripture, and it treats everyone as if they are stupid.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if every RCIA class, everywhere, every time, were taught only by 100% solid catechists. Alas, an impossible dream...
Yes, that's true. But when it's a Deacon, and he is in charge of converts, it's a pretty important job. I still haven't spoken with him. But I do intend to. I will be certain he is teaching my husband right.
ReplyDelete