Why Did Some of these Catholics Leave to Join the Baptists, and what did we do?

Fr. McDonald is a marvelous priest serving in the Lansing diocese here in Michigan. Before I tell the story I have to make an observation: the people north of Lansing have been blessed beyond measure with such a pastor! They should love and support and encourage such priests without measure! They are blessed to have the kind of shepherd Jesus talks about in the Gospels.

Frs. McDonald has a large parish in a beautiful church up in the farm country. Several of their people have left to become Baptists and other “flavors” of Protestantism. They all joined Protestant Bible studies or had a religious experience which convinced them the Catholic Church was wrong. Then they began attempting to pull others out of the church.

Recently we had a meeting. The priests had received a letter from a gentleman named Dean (and I sincerely mean “gentleman” since he was polite and a pleasure to talk with) demanding answers to a series of questions directed against them. He was convinced that Catholic teaching and practice were wrong and unbiblical and it seemed he convinced a number of people to follow him.

I was invited to come out last evening to answer their questions — or rather — their charges and criticisms. There were about eight Catholics and about twenty Protestants— mostly Fundamentalists—one even referring to the ridiculous and thoroughly discredited “Trail of Blood” as his source and authority for understanding Church history.

As a whole they were a nice group of people but it did not take long to realize that their claim to be “Bible only” Christians was sincere, but very incorrect. They thought they followed the Bible alone but in reality they were steeped in traditions and teachings of Fundamentalism which does not allow them to read the Bible objectively. Fundamentalist tradition is like a pair of glasses through which everything is understood and colored — including the Bible.