s/o: if you're catholic, how do you deal with sticking by the church?

[Anonymous]

Read the Catechism. Recite the Apostle's Creed. This is our faith. The members of the Body of Christ are fallen human beings, capable of every sin under the sun. But if you are a faithful Catholic, you believe the Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic."

A friend just emailed a link to a faithful Catholic man's blog; the blogger happens to be gay. I think his description of why he "sticks by the church" is a good answer to your question, OP:

http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2011...-and-doing-fine.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the Catechism. Recite the Apostle's Creed. This is our faith. The members of the Body of Christ are fallen human beings, capable of every sin under the sun. But if you are a faithful Catholic, you believe the Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic."

A friend just emailed a link to a faithful Catholic man's blog; the blogger happens to be gay. I think his description of why he "sticks by the church" is a good answer to your question, OP:

http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2011...-and-doing-fine.html

Thanks for the great link, PP. My answer to OP is basically the same as other PPs--you separate the faith from the flawed individuals who run the organization, just as we as Americans hold fast to the ideals and principles of our country even though our leaders and fellow citizens often fall short of them in shameful ways. I find the issue of gay marriage discussed in the link hard, though. Having gay friends who are in committed relationships makes it difficult for me to understand why the Church denies people the opportunity to legitimize their love for one another. I understand the argument about the "purpose" of marriage being raising children, but that doesn't explain why infertile people are allowed to marry, or post-menopausal women are allowed to marry. I find it interesting that my own teenagers, who are being raised Catholic and attend Catholic school, adamantly favor gay marriage notwithstanding what they are being taught at school, and notwithstanding that I have explained the Church's teaching and my own ambivalence to them. I expect this is a generational issue, and with time attitudes will change even within the Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the Catechism. Recite the Apostle's Creed. This is our faith. The members of the Body of Christ are fallen human beings, capable of every sin under the sun. But if you are a faithful Catholic, you believe the Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic."

A friend just emailed a link to a faithful Catholic man's blog; the blogger happens to be gay. I think his description of why he "sticks by the church" is a good answer to your question, OP:

http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2011...-and-doing-fine.html

I'm sorry, but that blog post made me profoundly sad. The blogger seems happy with his life and happy with the Church, so in that sense I'm happy for him, but it appears that he's denying himself a loving adult relationship because homosexuality is a sin. He implies he's celibate and says that the Church, like a good parent, won't let him do things that are bad for him. I guess being gay is bad for him.

Just one of the reasons I happily left the Church.

And to the pp who said things will probably change because her children are more liberal on gay marriage, I doubt they'll change any time soon. The American Catholic church is more liberal, but the rest of the world is growing more conservative, especially as the Church grows in Africa. You'll never see an American pope.

[Anonymous]

My children attend Catholic school. I was raised Catholic and also attended Catholic schools.

I think it's best to raise a child with a religion - as it gives them some sort of guidance.

Having said that, however, I am very honest with my children. I share my views, which often go against the church. hypocritical? perhaps - But at least it opens their minds up to other views. They know about the gay lifestyle, as we have good friends who have been together for years.

And although they will be receiving the sacraments, if they decide to marry outside of the Catholic faith or to leave it completely, I definitely will not be upset.

Every religion has its flaws - perhaps Catholicism having the most! But it's a comfort zone for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools through High School. I dealt with it by leaving the church.

My DH and I left the church when they refused to baptize my DD because they did not like our godfather.

We chose our best friend and his choices over the "church doctrine" -

[Anonymous]

Pleaes know that the Catholic Church world-wide is the largest single, non-governmental provider of healthcare and education. Yes, bad things have happened and likely will again, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:perhaps you need to look up the word "literally"

How exactly? There was a decades-long dynamic of priests *literally* fucking small children, and--when they were somehow caught--the Church leadership quietly reassigning them to some other parish without telling anyone. And of course, the current Pope was until recently the director of that effort.

Seems to me OP was using the word quite precisely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools through High School. I dealt with it by leaving the church.

My DH and I left the church when they refused to baptize my DD because they did not like our godfather.

We chose our best friend and his choices over the "church doctrine" -

Not all Catholic churches are the same. We left a very conservative parish (where a priest actually belittled people entering mass late) for one that's more diverse and liberal. My son's godparents are a gay couple, but no one figured that out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read the Catechism. Recite the Apostle's Creed. This is our faith. The members of the Body of Christ are fallen human beings, capable of every sin under the sun. But if you are a faithful Catholic, you believe the Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic."

A friend just emailed a link to a faithful Catholic man's blog; the blogger happens to be gay. I think his description of why he "sticks by the church" is a good answer to your question, OP:

http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2011...-and-doing-fine.html

Thanks for the great link, PP. My answer to OP is basically the same as other PPs--you separate the faith from the flawed individuals who run the organization, just as we as Americans hold fast to the ideals and principles of our country even though our leaders and fellow citizens often fall short of them in shameful ways. I find the issue of gay marriage discussed in the link hard, though. Having gay friends who are in committed relationships makes it difficult for me to understand why the Church denies people the opportunity to legitimize their love for one another. I understand the argument about the "purpose" of marriage being raising children, but that doesn't explain why infertile people are allowed to marry, or post-menopausal women are allowed to marry. I find it interesting that my own teenagers, who are being raised Catholic and attend Catholic school, adamantly favor gay marriage notwithstanding what they are being taught at school, and notwithstanding that I have explained the Church's teaching and my own ambivalence to them. I expect this is a generational issue, and with time attitudes will change even within the Church.

Not the same thing: we as American citizens are culpable for the bad things our government does because we have the vote. Collectively, we direct public policy.

The Church is not a democracy. If it were, Benedict would've been fired for his role in systemically protecting pedophiles. Not promoted for doing such a great job of protecting the Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pleaes know that the Catholic Church world-wide is the largest single, non-governmental provider of healthcare and education. Yes, bad things have happened and likely will again, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

That's how they getcha!

The devil does wear Prada.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools through High School. I dealt with it by leaving the church.

My DH and I left the church when they refused to baptize my DD because they did not like our godfather.

We chose our best friend and his choices over the "church doctrine" -

Not all Catholic churches are the same. We left a very conservative parish (where a priest actually belittled people entering mass late) for one that's more diverse and liberal. My son's godparents are a gay couple, but no one figured that out!

Ok, I'll bite. How is that possible? Don't the godparents have to be one man and one woman? How could they be a gay couple if they are a man and a woman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools through High School. I dealt with it by leaving the church.

My DH and I left the church when they refused to baptize my DD because they did not like our godfather.

We chose our best friend and his choices over the "church doctrine" -

Not all Catholic churches are the same. We left a very conservative parish (where a priest actually belittled people entering mass late) for one that's more diverse and liberal. My son's godparents are a gay couple, but no one figured that out!

Ok, I'll bite. How is that possible? Don't the godparents have to be one man and one woman? How could they be a gay couple if they are a man and a woman?

My SIL is godmother, but we had two male godparents. Because there's an age difference, they thought our pals were uncle/nephew - But they never probed. Maybe they did know??? They're all in the "books" as legitimate godparents.

[Anonymous]

After being raised in a very Catholic family and attending Catholic school K-12, I too have left the church. I honestly don't understand how one can put any thought into at all and come out thinking that supporting the Church is ok after the institution itself systematically allowed the continued abuse of those they should have worked the hardest to protect. I have other issues with the faith (including its stand on birth control, women priests, homosexuality), but the sex abuse is something I cannot in good conscience overlook and don't understand how anyone else can overlook it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pleaes know that the Catholic Church world-wide is the largest single, non-governmental provider of healthcare and education. Yes, bad things have happened and likely will again, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

If the subject was United Healthcare, I doubt that they would be treated any differently on this thread. No one would cut them a break because they heal lots of people.

[Anonymous]

I'm another person who was raised ery religiously Catholic (attending Mass each Sunday and every Holy Day of Obligation, taking CCD classes through 10th grade confirmation, serving as an altar girl, singing in the choir, and attending Mass all though 4 years of college at a very liberal, Ivy college. College didn't ruin my faith, either -- I continued being Catholic through my early adult years.

But I have made a conscious decision that I can no longer in good conscience associate with the Church any longer. It is so sad to me because there are parts of the Church that I love, and no other faith feels right to me. We had our first child baptised but cannot go through with the second child's baptism into this Church.

Parts of the Chiurch are rotten to the core.