How does your Church handle dissent?

[cofchristcousin]

Yes! PC is doing a great job articulating what would take me an hour to capture and type out! thanks!

[andypg]

In Catholicism we have Desposits of faith, dogma, doctrine, discipline, and devotions.

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(I got this list from a Catholic site, I did not write the list)

1) Deposit of Faith: Holy Scripture AND Sacred Tradition, recognized and deliniated by the Magesterium. INFALLIBLE. Cannot be added to or subtracted from.

2) Dogma: INFALLIBLE teaching of Faith or Morals, derived from the Deposit of Faith. Propagated by ex cathedra pronouncment of reigning Pontiff or by a ecumenical council of the Church's bishops in turn ratified by reigning Pontiff. Cannot contradict Deposit of Faith or prior Dogma.

3) Doctrine: NOT infallible teaching of the Church of Faith and Morals. Binding on all Catholics while propagated. Can be altered, modified, abandoned, even condemned. Doctrine RARELY becomes Dogma.

4) Discipline: NOT infallible rules of behavior, binding on all Catholics while propagated, designed with the intent to keep believers "on the straight and narrow". Includes Lenten rules of fasting & priestly celibacy. Can be relaxed, altered, or abolished.

5) Devotions: Private practice of prayers, meditions, and disciplines, in accordance to Church approval. Includes 99% of Marian devotions, belief in approved apparitions or visions (Private Revelation), First Saturdays, Stations of the Cross, etc...

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For the most part, Catholic laymen don't speak up too too much on doctrines and dogmas. Once they stop believing in one they leave and find a different church. And for the most part, most priests and bishops are quiet, but every once in a while you'll get a priest who gives his bishop a headache. Usually the bishop deals with him privately. If it's really bad it'll go up to the Vatican, but I doubt it's common.

Like has been said by another member on here, there are concerns of the laymen that make it to the top. For example, Pope Paul IV heard cries from the laity on what to do about artificial birth control. So he got a comission of scientists, cardinals and himself. Together they researched birth control and in the end the Pope wrote a letter to the faithful called "Humanae Vitae" (On Human Life) where he speaks out against birth control. That's one of the more recent examples I could think of. I also think John Paul II wouldn't have been beatified as fast as he was if it were not calls from the faithful to canonize him.

There are those who stay in the Church, work from the inside. St. Francis did this. The Franciscan friars were founded to help reform the Church from the inside and bring it back to what Christ intended it to be. St. Francis prayed in front of a crucifix one day when he heard a voice say to him. "Francis, rebuild my Church." I have a lot of respect for these kinds of people who do this.

Then there are those who decide to leave. Many become protestants, but few have started break away groups. There are quite a few break away Catholic groups that claim to be Catholic, but aren't in communion with Rome. They decide, "Hey, let's just start our own Catholic Church. Do everything the same, just take away X,Y,Z beliefs."

I like the St. Francis-type Catholics better. I strive to be one.