http://www.gallup.com/poll/117382/church-going-among-catholics-slides-tie-protestants.aspx

Anonymous wrote:UGH. It is soooooo hard to continue to be Catholic, in the face of all this.

Obviously, I still consider myself Catholic, though something broke within me during the height of the sex abuse scandal, and continued actions of the Church have done nothing to restore my faith in the church, except to make me an even angrier, more bitter Catholic. We want to raise our kids Catholic, and my husband wants them to attend Catholic school, but I am resisting.

I vacillate between thinking we need to stay, because if they drive all of us out, the Chruch in the long run will be poorer for lack of diversity of thought, and thinking we need to run like hell to the Episcopalians.

Boooooooooooo.

I mean, look, the Pope is on record as saying he'd prefer a smaller Chruch with more faithful to dogma members than a larger, more encompassing church. They don't want me. Why do I still want them?

During the scandals, I left the RCC and joined a local Lutheran congregation. I have not looked back.

I could not trust the RCC with my children given how they (mis)handled the sexual abuse claims. No way.

The NY Times article had a quote saying the nuns were being criticized for spending too much time focusing on poverty and social justice instead of focusing on anti-abortion and anti-gay rights initiatives ---- can you believe that? Wouldn't it be nice (and appropriate) if the Catholic Church actually followed the lead of the nuns and shifted more of their energy to addressing poverty and social justice issues instead of sticking with their bizarre focus on abortion and gay marriage. I wish the nuns were running the Catholic Church.

This makes me terribly sad. The nuns are a major reason I have stayed with the church, I was educated by some of these amazing women and have come into contact with them through my non-profit work and their devotion to justice for the poor is second to none. This is who the Vatican is choosing to go after? Honestly, this may be the last straw for me. I won't be tithing to the Diocese anymore.

I am donating to NETWORK today:
http://www.networklobby.org/

I urge any Catholics who are similarly outraged to do the same (or donate to LCWR http://www.lcwr.org/)

I will be praying for a change in church leadership. so sad.

UGH. It is soooooo hard to continue to be Catholic, in the face of all this.

Obviously, I still consider myself Catholic, though something broke within me during the height of the sex abuse scandal, and continued actions of the Church have done nothing to restore my faith in the church, except to make me an even angrier, more bitter Catholic. We want to raise our kids Catholic, and my husband wants them to attend Catholic school, but I am resisting.

I vacillate between thinking we need to stay, because if they drive all of us out, the Chruch in the long run will be poorer for lack of diversity of thought, and thinking we need to run like hell to the Episcopalians.

Boooooooooooo.

I mean, look, the Pope is on record as saying he'd prefer a smaller Chruch with more faithful to dogma members than a larger, more encompassing church. They don't want me. Why do I still want them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even with the regressive attempt of the Catholic church to limit birth control (so they can ensure lots of followers are born into the faith), the church is definitely going to keep shedding members left and right (hopefully faster than they can be replaced). My family used to be Catholic, now we're atheists. I don't know of many educated Catholics who actually hold with the dogma, either.

You know the church is growing both here in the US and worldwide?

Signed,
educted (well I might add) Catholic who actually holds with the dogma

Were you "educted" at a Catholic school, by chance?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even with the regressive attempt of the Catholic church to limit birth control (so they can ensure lots of followers are born into the faith), the church is definitely going to keep shedding members left and right (hopefully faster than they can be replaced). My family used to be Catholic, now we're atheists. I don't know of many educated Catholics who actually hold with the dogma, either.

You know the church is growing both here in the US and worldwide?

Signed,
educted (well I might add) Catholic who actually holds with the dogma

Not if you only count "real" Catholics. Im counted as Catholic. 88% of Catholics believe they should make up their own minds on birth control and abortion. Can't have it both ways. If you want to take comfort in the numbers you have to accept the diversity of beliefs that comes with it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even with the regressive attempt of the Catholic church to limit birth control (so they can ensure lots of followers are born into the faith), the church is definitely going to keep shedding members left and right (hopefully faster than they can be replaced). My family used to be Catholic, now we're atheists. I don't know of many educated Catholics who actually hold with the dogma, either.

You know the church is growing both here in the US and worldwide?

Signed,
educted (well I might add) Catholic who actually holds with the dogma

And how do you feel about this document calling these nuns out? What do feel about what they had to say about it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even with the regressive attempt of the Catholic church to limit birth control (so they can ensure lots of followers are born into the faith), the church is definitely going to keep shedding members left and right (hopefully faster than they can be replaced). My family used to be Catholic, now we're atheists. I don't know of many educated Catholics who actually hold with the dogma, either.

You know the church is growing both here in the US and worldwide?

Signed,
educted (well I might add) Catholic who actually holds with the dogma

It shows....

Anonymous wrote:Even with the regressive attempt of the Catholic church to limit birth control (so they can ensure lots of followers are born into the faith), the church is definitely going to keep shedding members left and right (hopefully faster than they can be replaced). My family used to be Catholic, now we're atheists. I don't know of many educated Catholics who actually hold with the dogma, either.

You know the church is growing both here in the US and worldwide?

Signed,
educted (well I might add) Catholic who actually holds with the dogma

Anonymous wrote:I still consider myself catholic. :hiding: But I practice according to my own modern day belief. I have lost lots of faith in the religion especially going through IVF and reading that the church does not support IVF, it's just sad. Also, first marriage was a catholic marriage and the ropes that I need to go through to get that marriage annulled in order for my kids to be "considered" catholic is ridiculousness!

Your kids, whether from a first or second marriage (even if first marriage was not annulled), would be considered Catholic if they were baptized such. Parents being married (in the eyes of the Church) or not has nothing to do with the ability to baptize a child. The Church does not recognize legitimacy or illegitimacy of a child, per se.
It sounds as if someone gave you very poor information on Canon Law. The misinformation you received is ridiculous. But it is simply that -whoever gave it to you clearly did not understand Canon Law.

I still consider myself catholic. :hiding: But I practice according to my own modern day belief. I have lost lots of faith in the religion especially going through IVF and reading that the church does not support IVF, it's just sad. Also, first marriage was a catholic marriage and the ropes that I need to go through to get that marriage annulled in order for my kids to be "considered" catholic is ridiculousness!

I hate them and left long ago. Never looked back but for the "bullet dodged" feeling I sometimes have.

Even with the regressive attempt of the Catholic church to limit birth control (so they can ensure lots of followers are born into the faith), the church is definitely going to keep shedding members left and right (hopefully faster than they can be replaced). My family used to be Catholic, now we're atheists. I don't know of many educated Catholics who actually hold with the dogma, either.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/vatican-report-us-catholic-sisters-nuns-hold-serious-theological-errors/2012/04/18/gIQAWSarRT_blog.html?hpid=z2

Seriously, is there any need for further proof that the male hierarchy in the church are misogynists?

My family raised me Catholic and my mom still practices but I am DONE!

This is the opinion of a nun:

Campbell sees the current tension between male and female Catholic clergy as a part of a post-Vatican II democratic evolution within the church, but worries that the male leaders fail to recognize the “witness of women religious.”

“I made my vows over 40 years ago to serve the people of God and that service is unseen in this document,” she said in an interview.

“It’s painfully obvious that the leadership of the church is not used to having educated women form thoughtful opinions and engage in dialogue,” Campbell said.

And this:

a Washington, DC lobbying group founded by Catholic sisters in 1971 was singled out as “silent on the right to life”; the organization’s head said the group was not consulted during the inquiry. She said that its focus on poverty, immigration and health care stems from its founding mission.

“I think we scare them,” Sr. Simone Campbell, a lawyer who serves as the executive director of the lobby said of the church’s male hierarchy.