I had occasion to attend a Maronite Catholic Baptism today. During the service, they, being Catholic, had the Eucharist.
It got me to thinking. I know the Catholics believe that the Eucharist is not only a symbolic transformation, but is actual transubstantiation. According to Catholic proclamation, the material actually becomes the body and blood of Christ. It is meat and blood, not bread and wine.
So, are there any vegan Catholics and how do they square one belief system with the other?
I asked around after the ceremony and most everyone in the church said, “It’s just bread and wine.” Which means that those people who profess to be Catholic don’t follow the tenets of the faith to which the claim allegiance. Of course we know that most Catholics disobey the church in several areas, the most prevalent is the use of contraceptives. Even if the 98% figure depends on some fudging of numbers, there’s still upwards of 60+% of Catholic women who do use contraceptives. (I’m not about to get into the whole 15-18 year-old girls who are Catholic and sexually active.)
Contraceptives, transubstantiation, morality, etc. Why are there even Catholics anymore?
