Do Catholics Hate Protestants?

Description

Do Catholics have to hate Protestants? Absolutely not. You've probably seen an older profession of faith where converts promised to "detest and abjure every heresy." At first, those words can sound harsh. But here's what they actually mean. The Church teaches that Catholics must reject heresy—false teachings that contradict God's revealed truth. But rejecting error is very different from hating the people who hold those errors. Jesus commanded us: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." And Saint John wrote: "He that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?" Catholics are called to love every person because every person is made in the image of God. At the same time, charity never requires us to pretend that false doctrine is true. We love people enough to desire that they come to the fullness of the Catholic Faith. So Catholics reject heresy—not because we hate those outside the Church—but because we love the truth that Christ entrusted to His Church. Truth and charity always go together. Love without truth becomes sentimentality. Truth without charity becomes cruelty. Christ calls us to both. Pray for those separated from the Catholic Church. Love them. Respect them. And always bear witness to the fullness of the Faith with humility and charity. Subscribe to Catholic Voices & Prayers for more daily Catholic teachings, traditions, and answers to the big questions of the Faith.