Which change in catholic doctrine would you think would be the most beneficial for everyone?

DavidRahn

As time passess, we as humans have different challenges to confront. Many of them could be addressed better if somehow we could change our core ideas like those that are "religiously" inspired. However many of these religious ideas date from old times and somehow don't mold to modern days. While the essence of a religion is to preserve long time considered spiritual and moral values,some ideas can be in fact changed to make it better for believers. Which of the many doctrines or ideas do you think could be changed for good and church growth? 

Corzhens

Being a born a Catholic and a practicing one all my life, what I want to change in the doctrine of our religion is the confession. In this modern time, the drama that priests are the successors of the apostles who were given the authority over sinners is not believable anymore. Pardon me but with the scandals of the priests envloping the Catholic church, there is no more reason that priests are somewhat infallible. They are just humans like you and me. They can also be a sinner so how can they forigve our sins when they sometimes commit graver sins?

I want to say goodbye to the sacrament of confession. It is already an anachronistic practice.

harpazo22

Well this is very revealing. If something is the truth, you can't and won't change it. But since Catholicism isn't the truth, they are willing to change to "fit with modern times." Genuinely saved people don't compromise God's word to fit in, and Jesus would be very ashamed of people who so do. They're just as much relevant today as they were back then, even more so today actually.

DavidRahn

I agree with you Corzhens, the structure behind confession can be a lated dated do to the fact that we are invited in numerous parts of the New Testament, to have a direct relation with God. Priests are as human as us and could still give us great advice regarding specific sins but thinking, as some catholic groups do that if someone doesn't confess a "mortal" sin, this person is going to hell can be quite radical. 

Harpazo, I'm not sure if the general concept of truth has the attribute of being unchangeable. For some reason things that are true today wont be true tomorrow. It's true that today someone lives and tomorrow that same someone can die, so it won't be true that he lives. Everything has the possibility to change, even doctrine. Perhaps we can get a better understanding of this if we think that Biblical teachings  rarely change meaning, however everything that's taught about it as doctrine, usually does. 

You can find most biblical doctrine on the Catholic Catechism which has been modified a lot of times and isn't really "divine" in nature because its just the commentary or the teachings that the Bible holds. Most sacraments, while not appearing directly in the Bible do appear here. 

Just as a warning, people will give catechism a different role or importance depending to the Catholic branch they belong to. 

lexinonomous

Corzhens makes a really good point. I never liked the idea of going to confession as a child, let alone an adult. I don't feel like a priest has any authority to tell me what I should or shouldn't do to let go of my sins. I don't think a priest should be an authoritive figure at all, actually.

Apollo

I think that the Catholic Church should start taking genuine steps in alleviating poverty in developing countries and not to just convert everyone. I think the Pope was in the right for taking into account the economic and political factors affecting people and subsequently making them suffer but words are not enough. Poverty is primarily caused by an imbalance in the government, bread costs rising, all prices rising due to capitalism in the world market and such. I think the Church should start being involved as representatives in some international companies to give them a moral backbone.

rabst

Celibacy for priests. With a caveat---if the priest is not celibate, he must be a grandfather or an empty-nester (i.e. a parent whose children are all living independently) or be unable to father children before he's a practicing priest.

[quote=Corzhens]the confession .how can (priests) forigve our sins when they sometimes commit graver sins?[/quote]

The same way brain-surgeons can operate on our brains even though THEY can make mistakes that make lives into 'living hells.' That is, because they've been through "enough training" to verify that they are relatively perfect in that regard.