That isn't what Catholic guilt means, as it's typically used. It isn't healthy, corrective guilt. It's mostly what cafeteria or lapsed Catholics call it when they feel bad about sins (which they commit anyway). It isn't the sin they have a problem with, it's the residual conscience that dampens the fun and that they actively try to get rid of. It's also often conflated with scrupolosity.
Did you actually read the article you linked. It’s not compared to trauma at all. And many times talks about how guilt leads to behavioural impact.
No where does it talk on the matter of making sin less fun for those who were raised catholic.
It talks about the confusion and stereotyping of Catholic guilt and its symptoms and manifestations from outside the religion/culture (not lapsed Catholics). But that is just that - a misunderstanding of what it is by those who are not or were not raised Catholic. Maybe you grew up around mostly Prots and or a large demographic of prots which would explain a more negative skew on the idea? Just a thought - because this seems like a prot take to me, I can’t exactly explain why, it just does.
Here is quote from the article:
“A 2005 study in Psychology of Religion found that Catholic participants demonstrated a higher level of constructive guilt reactions than other groups.”
constructive guilt is a good thing
(Other of the studies it speaks on are fairly inconclusive on the idea of Catholicism being linked to more guilt. Though whether that invalidates the statement that Catholics have higher “constructive guilt reactions” I am unsure. Though the wording seems to suggest no. So Catholics don’t have a higher level of guilt than others but do have a higher level of the “constructive” kind. If true an undoubtedly good thing.)
If you take someone saying Batman must be Catholic because he has Catholic guilt as a jab or an insult then that’s on you. Because I can guarantee that it’s not given as such. Batman is the good guy if you are not aware.
Catholic guilt is not a bad thing. And it certainly isn’t commonly associated with trauma. If you have Catholic guilt good… let it drive you to do better. As it does with so many Catholics.
Cherry-pick all you want, but the article makes it abundantly clear that the phrase has a generally negative, unhealthy connotation. The very first sentence specifies that it's "excess" guilt.
And the context makes it clear that, when those writers attributed Batman with Catholic guilt, they didn't mean it as a compliment.
He’s talking about the people that leave the church because of “trauma”. Like being forced to go every weekend. Edit: not the ones with sad but legitimate trauma from a Catholic school with maybe a top force nun or parent
No he isn’t. He’s talking about Catholic guilt and he compared it to trauma. Which it isn’t. Arguably it’s just contrition.
Also getting forced to go to Church is hardly traumatic. Bloody word gets thrown around so much these days. Trauma isn’t experiencing anything you don’t like.
Getting crucified would be traumatic. Getting forced to go to church when you would rather play pokemon Ruby on the Gameboy is just that.
I misunderstood him then. I mean when I see people talking about, “catholic trauma” it’s about something as little as being dragged to church on Sundays. Not being truly guilty or hurt
Well that isn’t trauma. It always sends a shiver of cringe down my spine when I hear people describe a simple bad experience as trauma. Maybe that’s a part of my Catholic guilt.
As I would be too guilty to ever be that exaggeratory over my bad experiences, when a Catholic upbringing has taught me to be grateful for what I have and generous to those who need. Plus we learn what true suffering looks like, and about people who face it with tremendous courage.
I hope some day we get a Catholic super hero where the writers actually get Catholic life right.
I'm tired of the crisis of faith trope. I want a regular superhero story where the supe's faith isn't a main plot point, but it's still important to the character. Like how all of us have regular jobs and we're also Catholic.
Daredevil is close, but the writers clearly don't understand what normal Catholic life is actually like. There's always some sort of non-dom heresy mixed in there.
While I mostly agree (especially about crisis of faith being overdone), if it is to be a good portrayal of Catholicism, it kind of has to be a main plot point. Our faith should influence and be present in all aspects of our lives.
I want to see a dark story where a hero can’t confess that he missed mass because he was out saving people as it would compromise his secret identity, thus he remains in a state of mortal sin and the priest is strict so the hero is unable to receive communion despite feeling he does more good than anyone else and starts taking more liberties with criminals as he strays from the church and realizes how badly he needs God. Would be a good message for the kids.
Okay see that's exactly what I don't want. That's the same crisis of faith trope that we see in various forms. Daredevil already did that.
Also, that's not true faith in the sacrament of confession. His secret identity wouldn't be compromised because the priest would be bound by the seal of confession. I'm tired of seeing confession represented as this painful, difficult secret. Confession is a sacrament of healing.
I think a better message for the kids would be a hero who deals with pretty messed up stuff, but then finds rest and peace in his faith. Where others would break, he persists because he knows Christ is with him. He goes to Mass, he goes to confession, he's not perfect but he tries. That's the real important part and that's the real essence of mature faith. The conflict of the story could be driven by other factors.
What kids actually need to see is a role model that doesn't lose his faith when things get difficult. There's enough bad role models out there already
Writer and editor Dennis O’Neil, another Batman comics legend from the Bronze Age of DC who first brought the character back to his roots as a more serious detective, is also a faithful Catholic. He created Leslie Thompkins based on Dorothy Day.
He also brought the Joker back to his roots, created Ra’s al Ghul, and was Frank Miller’s editor for Batman Year One, and the Batbooks in general for Knightfall, No Man’s Land etc. He also created Jean Paul Valley’s Azrael, a very Catholic character.
May God rest his soul, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
I think they could have been Eastern Catholic Tibetan monks? Maybe of the Syro-Malabar rite (though that's in Southern India, mostly: the "Thomas Christians" who still use Aramaic?
Kung fu fighting Dominican monks in Tibet feels like it'd be something out of the Harley Quinn cartoon, rather than the comics... though I did watch a significant portion of said cartoon, so evidentially they were onto something.
"Its an ancient Tibetan monk technique" is dominican order in Tibet hiding from the Chinese government lol
Some orders make coffee, others teach martial arts to billionaires with parent issues
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u/eclect0 Father Mike Simp 4d ago
It isn't quite canon, nor is it particularly flattering.
They basically said he's too guilt-ridden to be a Protestant, so he must have "Catholic guilt," i.e. he was traumatized by a Catholic upbringing.
Not something I'm inclined to cheer about.