Catholic Audience (types)
If your response is a roar with a commanding tone and if the language used hints at teasing someone in public who attempted to propagate some erroneous Catholic teaching, the first reaction which will pop up in his mind will be to defend his perspective and he will go all out to prove that you are wrong. Without a doubt, it was your roar that hurt him and further tickled his negative ego. Even though your intention was not to hurt his ego, the resultant act culminated in just doing that. Your primary intention as I understand was to make him realize that he is mistaken and on the wrong track and am sure the emotion that fired you up was the urge to resist such rubbish thoughts prevalent in today’s Catholic communities. The moment you see something like this you will get concerned for these ignorant people and get tempted to respond sharply. But that is not usually a smart approach. My suggestion is that we have to first check if the current majority audience falls in which of the following 7 categories and then react accordingly;
- Pharisaic
- Ritualistic
- Namesake
- Inquisitive
- Innocent
- Open-minded
- Focused
No matter which out of the 7 categories or even if it’s a wonderful combination of all 7 on the receiving end, we can be sure that all of them will object to our advice outrightly if our statement tends to exhibit self-righteousness. That’s a self-defeating move either way which we have to be wary of. Here are my thoughts about how people with each of these personality constructs can be handled.
1. Pharisaic
Who are they?
A typical and easy-to-point-out example is a sneaky Pharisee during Jesus’ time. In today’s context any preacher or priest or bishop or anyone in the official Catholic hierarchy who is knowingly misusing his/her power and position to confuse and mislead the laity into grave sins. I would argue that all those who mislead the faithful even because of their ignorance should be categorized as wolves since it was their most critical priority and duty to equip themselves with precise knowledge about Christ and His teachings before going ahead and executing their task. In my opinion, it is like defending someone who molested and killed an innocent child when he pleads not guilty by projecting his ignorance of the stringent laws prevalent in that particular country. If such people are confronted head-on with attempts to correct their erroneous teachings, they will straight away try to make use of their vested powers and position to discredit your statements openly which will quickly make all the other 6 categories of people and most probably the entire congregation and even general public doubt your character outrightly on all matters.
Approach
A foolproof approach to conquer these people is by resorting to a critical bypass-refutation mode by referring to a super higher authority from this very official’s hierarchical system. The quote and reference document should be concise, sharp, and to the point without any necessity for excessive additions by way of explanations. No further efforts should be made from our side to provoke any further response from these wolves but allow it to settle down calmly as if you are busy with something else. Suppression of these elements in this very manner will gradually pave the way for weeding them out or their conversion for a greater good and more importantly, saving the ignorant ones from being dangerously misled by them simultaneously.
2. Ritualistic
Who are they?
These people blindly believed whatever their parents, priests, and preachers told them regarding faith and spirituality during their formative years and childhood even if it was a strong heresy. They will ensure that they staunchly follow it as a great ritual or a proud devotional practice. This habit will be continued by them throughout their lifetime and bits of that belief system can be seen in their approach to family prayer, Holy Mass, novena, pilgrimages, fasting, attending retreats, etc. Even if they accidentally hear some really deep and clear-cut spiritual teaching from some priest today their mind will tweak that message immediately to suit their age-old wrong belief system and swallow it as if nothing new happened and they will continue as usual with their life as earlier. If some priest or layman or articles or friend starts criticising them straight on their face about their erroneous belief then they will smartly and gradually avoid such people and move away from them. And they will happily continue with their rubbish rituals for the rest of their life. If someone goes one step further and also tease them or attack or provoke them then they will become wild deep inside even if they don’t express it outside. This is like a simmering volcano. What they will do next will be dangerous. They will tag that person who criticized them as a heretic and further immediately use all their time and energy to badmouth that person all over the place and throughout their congregation by presenting it with an emotional touch. That will be the end of the story and all further efforts by the person to evangelize, educate or correct anyone in that locality will be 10 times more difficult. Most of these people resist getting out of their wrong spirituality mode because they have started enjoying the slavery of the wrong spirituality unknowingly.
Approach
The smart way to win over this category of people is to ensure that only very small capsules of information and criticism be mixed in equal proportions and given to them periodically by allowing enough gap for the earlier capsule to be digested. Also, all direct and immediate criticisms should be avoided after they do a specific error. A third-party criticism mode has to be done as if we are criticizing a third person by employing a neutral approach. This way their ego is untouched but gradually over time, changes will creep into them even before they realize it consciously.
3. Namesake
Who are they?
These people carry the Catholic tag along with them either because they were born in a Catholic family or by way of societal obligations or to avail some profession or for gaining some positional benefits or because they are lazy to go ahead and change their religion to atheism or to show-off their lineage or aristocracy or the likes of the same. All that they may be concerned and focused on in their life will be related to worldly matters such as name, fame, position, appreciation, recognition, monetary progress, and overall success in general, which could even be through prioritizing social service mechanisms. They don’t care about the specifics of what exactly the Catholic faith entails or even the actual purpose of celebrating a Holy Mass in its real sense. Their thought process will be that religion is a waste of time but it needs to be used when required as an ID card for sacraments and other related necessities which can be taken care of easily by diverting some money by way of donations to their respective parish Churches. If anyone criticizes their perspectives strongly and teases them openly by hurting their ego even once then they will start making plans backstage and wait for the best time to trap the one who criticized them only to prove that they were right. These people will never reflect on their errors or think about the reason for that criticism even once because such a rationale is too tough for their minds to even grasp at that time.
Approach
The easiest way to catch hold of their attention is to try not to taunt them on any specific matters as much as possible. Keep away from these people as much as possible without giving them a chance to be conscious of your attempts to avoid them. Slip away from initiating any direct discussions with them on serious matters related to faith or even otherwise. We need to wait for God to allow them a chance to realize that their current track is erroneous by allowing a physical disorder or mental strain or other struggles into their otherwise smooth life which was going ahead as per their calculations and plan. Only at this time should you approach or attempt to directly engage with them and help them with information or criticism in small capsules after gauging their openness and sincerity regarding matters of faith and morals. Overfeeding is to be strictly avoided so that the devil is not given another chance to tickle their ego again.
4. Inquisitive
Who are they?
These people will project themselves to be outwardly rejecting all good suggestions and mercilessly criticizing the Catholic faith in general or even regarding specific aspects. On a superficial evaluation, it would seem that they are against the Catholic faith but these people act in such a manner because they feel cheated and disheartened because of bad experiences in the past from people in the hierarchy or even some so-called Catholics in the past. Even though the past hurt is playing out in their actions, deep inside their intention is to question and defeat everyone who defends Catholicism and the Catholic Church. Also in most cases, these people know deep inside that the past incident was partly because of their own mistakes but the approach taken by the person who corrected him would have been improper and hurtful. These people do not hate the Catholic faith but are not able to embrace it fully enough and so they keep raising doubts repeatedly and object to everything. They are trying to ensure that they are not being fooled by some blind belief system. Children in the adolescent period usually fall into this category. Christians exploring atheism as an option for the first time also fall in this category. Catholics living in societies and areas which are highly influenced by non-Christian cultures and value systems usually find themselves in this category. An open criticism of the errors of such people will automatically reassure them of the false notion they had about the Catholic faith that it is oppressive, irrational, and inconsiderate.
Approach
Strictly avoid using Catholic jargon and hardcore theology with these people. The only pathway to crack this nut is to impress them with logic and rationality. These people are blind followers of rational equations and explanations. Every logical answer and solution from you to a seemingly difficult question or problem of theirs will prick their conscience. The simpler your logical response is, the quicker they get attracted to your thought process. They will gradually shed their ego and try their level best to align with you to learn more about the source of your wisdom. These people regard rational thinking very highly and so they will do whatever it takes to become wiser than you. Eventually, they’ll realise that your source of wisdom is your faith in the one and only True God.
5. Innocent
Who are they?
These are ignorant and innocent people who are easily malleable. Children fall in this category. Poor and uneducated simple believers or underprivileged people who are either recent converts to Catholicism or hoping to enter the Catholic Church shortly also fall in this category. Good and sincere-at-heart people following other religions by birth but love real Catholics, with a very high probability that they might consider becoming Catholics someday in the future also fall in this category. These people commit errors ignorantly, to say the least, and they deserve kindness in all the reproaches directed at them. If any such people are openly and rudely criticized they will end up hating the Catholic faith altogether because of just this unexpected hurt that they received from you even though your only intention was to turn them away from their sinful life. They will hate your faith more than they hate you as a person. They will never express their feeling or tease back or even resist or refute but will remain silent and move away from your life. We might wrongly assume that these people are thankful to us for correcting them but that is highly improbable in the case of these personalities in such situations. They’ll resign forever and so any further attempt by you to correct them to Truth will take 10 times more effort since fear would have enveloped their mind so much.
Approach
Avoid correcting them, as simple as that. Consciously act as if you haven’t seen it or known it at all. Tell yourself that they are kids and so they do not deserve a stick today. These are victims and that makes it fine to blame it on their parents, society, culture, education system, and so on but not them directly. The best approach with them is to attract them by your virtuous deeds and not words. Words, reason, and logic are useless tools in any initial interaction with them. Wholeheartedly love them and believe that true love can do wonders with these people. Also, they’ll observe your actions, life, and value system keenly and automatically change by being attracted to your ways. Haste will kill this approach. Allow them to observe your life and keep loving them and in no time they’ll become better than you without any other effort from your side.
6. Open-minded
Who are they?
These people are mostly receptive and positively inclined to know and learn from anyone whom they think is talking sense and leading a sincere straightforward life. These people are not averse to deeper faith-related teachings like the ones from the inquisitive category. They will quickly grasp real spirituality since they acknowledge it with humility and not pride. They enjoy getting access to real Truth and to grow closer to their Creator. They are not easily hurt even when they are openly criticized even though they might get disturbed slightly. But they will quickly cope with that moment and return to hear even more from the one who just reproached them publicly. They will start engaging even more proactively in such interactions. The critical point about these people is that they tend to gobble more than they can digest since they enjoy the taste of this new version of spirituality for the first time. Thus the net result usually will be that nothing specific will be retained or absorbed by their system and just a superficial memory of a good feeling will remain.
Approach
Such people need to be identified from the lot and special individual support needs to be given to grow and mature. Opportunities shall be given to them for taking the initiative to clarify their specific personal doubts about faith and other related matters by interacting with them one to one as a new friend instead of correcting them in the group. Time spent with them patiently by answering their simple and seemingly silly queries will help them gain clarity and they will certainly become a big asset for the Catholic Church in the long run.
7. Focused
Who are they?
These people are like unpolished gems or crude untrained warriors who have been struggling throughout their lives to uphold the Catholic faith and morals but haven’t been able to execute it properly due to a thousand reasons mainly because of their inability to find a good enough guide who is capable of tuning their energies to compose a melodious music using them.
Approach
The moment these people hear your sharp and pointed criticism they will realize that you were the friend or guide or leader or partner whom their heart has been in search of and yearning all their life. Without much adieu, they’ll join you and in due course, you may even realize that this rough stone was an invaluable gem.
Note
In all the above types of people as we very well know, the Almighty God might choose at any moment to intervene and give them an out-of-the-way and special opportunity by gifting them with the most required advance grace to convert or improve. But we are not taking into consideration any such miraculous and special interventions here in this discussion consciously since we intend to specifically focus only on what we should be doing humbly, rigorously, and smartly on our part being fully aware that the rest and the results are totally up to the Holy Spirit and His will.