To continue, “Why did you become a Catholic?” is a different question from “Why did you become a Christian?” What’s the reason for that difference? Well, here’s a clue: http://rainhadocanto10-evangelicalchristian.blogspot.com/2010/08/roman-catholic-church-is-not-christian.html

This is only one of many “Christian” anti-Catholic sites, of course. A friend sent it to me this morning; the title of yesterday’s post (“Christianity vs. Catholicism”) attempts to answer the exact question I asked.

Catholics scratch their heads over this sort of thing. Where does this stuff come from? Dutifully ecumenical-minded, they ask questions like, “My goodness, if these people don’t want to be Catholic, okay, but why do they hate us? We accept them, we acknowledge the validity of their faith. Shouldn’t all Christians want unity—if not in the same church, at least in the same faith in Christ.”

Well, the links on the sample blog cited above link love of country to Christianity. What kind of Christianity? Any of the 28,000 or so protestant denominations currently active. The only Christian denomination they hate is Catholicism. Why? Where does it come from? From the English Deformation—which had the same motive. All the lies—historical, (e.g., “The Inquisition killed and tortured millions of people because they disagreed with the Pope”), theological (the ever-popular “Catholics worship Mary”), even linguistic (“Call no man ‘father’”, and of course, “Jesus’ ‘brethren’”)—not some, but all the lies have their origin in 16th century English anti-papal propaganda. American protestants inherited that ___. What was the English motive? Actually, American anti-Catholics can look at their own motive because it’s the same: concentration of power (and faith is the greatest power there is) in the state. What did England fear? Authority that supercedes the state’s. What do the patriotic American anti-Catholics fear? The same thing.

And the left-leaning folks, usually secular, humanist, atheist, or some combination of these, fear the same thing. Strange bedfellows for evangelical sorts, it may seem, but they actually have one binding aim that the evangelicals don’t recognize—kill the authority of the Church. Any pro-choice or pro-homosexual activist prudently expresses public approval of “Christianity”, keeping his more honest opinions to himself; it’s a policy that has borne good political fruit: “Christian” means “open minds, open hearts, open doors”, as the Methodists now advertise themselves. And American Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson says that rejection of homosexuality is “not Christian”. So, “Christian” is okay, they say, only “Catholic” is evil.

Catholics aren’t Christians, but Catholics. Ask anybody, including Christians. On either side of the Atlantic, on either end of the political spectrum.

What does the term conversion mean then? Does it mean love of country? Does it mean loyalty to one’s cultural or national identity above all other loyalties? Or perhaps it means a belief in one’s own judgment as supreme moral authority—and if supreme, shouldn’t it be “shared” with unenlightened others? If it means any of these things, it may be a conversion to something, but not to Christianity. If, however, one recognizes all these as mere extensions of the self, one has converted to Christianity, which means one has become Catholic.

So, when someone asks me why I became a Catholic, I answer, “Because I believe in Christ.” When they repeat the question, “But why did you become a Catholic?” my answer is “I just told you.”