The Church has been around for two thousand years. What you see as a bug may well be a feature.

It may well be that the Church will still be around when feminism, liberalism, progressivism are seen in the same light as Marxism is today. Should there be an ecopocalypse with global warming, my money is on the bloody Catholic Church surviving rather than all those worthwhile movements based on assumptions of equality and fair play which, ultimately, rest on a high level of social wealth and technological freedom.

There is nothing but our opinion to say that our ideals are more valid than those of Ratzi, and plenty of evidence to suggest that the latter can, at least, stand the test of time. Not particularly nice to own up to, but there you go.

Mychal was considered a living saint by many even prior to his heroic death. His extraordinary works of compassion have been compared to Mother Teresa (see http://SaintMychalJudge.blogspot.com )

But ironically, Fr. Mychal Judge would be barred from the priesthood today because he was openly gay, though celibate. He often asked, “Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love ?!”

We have no illusions that this pope is going to change. Rather, we are bearing witness to two truths — that God created and loves gay people, and that the pope does not speak for the whole Church, the Ecclesia, on these matters.

Indeed, two-thirds of U.S. Catholics-in-the-pews reject the pope’s views and support either civil unions or full marriage rights, according to numerous surveys.

As Fr. Mychal also said, “Don’t let the (institutional) church get in the way of your relationship with God.”

Mychal was considered a living saint by many even prior to his heroic death. His extraordinary works of compassion have been compared to Mother Teresa (see http://SaintMychalJudge.blogspot.com )

But ironically, Fr. Mychal Judge would be barred from the priesthood today because he was openly gay, though celibate. He often asked, “Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love ?!”

We have no illusions that this pope is going to change. Rather, we are bearing witness to two truths — that God created and loves gay people, and that the pope does not speak for the whole Church, the Ecclesia, on these matters.

Indeed, two-thirds of U.S. Catholics-in-the-pews reject the pope’s views and support either civil unions or full marriage rights, according to numerous surveys.

As Fr. Mychal also said, “Don’t let the (institutional) church get in the way of your relationship with God.”

Why I Can’t Go Any More
-I’m tired of being asked for money, over and over and over (Say it with me, fellow Catholics: “Today’s second collection is for…”)
-I’m tired of the hypocrisy (”Sex is Bad–unless priests are having it with unwilling children.” “We’re the Richest Organization on Earth–but we need more of YOUR money.”)
-I’m tired of being asked to write post cards to my senators and representatives asking them to ban abortion (walked out on that almost as often as I walk out on the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal)
-the Church’s positions on birth control, women, celibacy for clergy, infertility (apparently, it’s only God’s decision who gets to have babies: asking a doctor for help is immoral),homosexuality, etc., etc.

I used to try and ignore the parts I disagreed with, but sat through too many sermons where they knocked the “Cafeteria Catholics” who think we can pick and choose which doctrines to believe in: the party line is “all or nothing.” I don’t see that attitude changing at my local parish level any time soon; I certainly don’t see the Church hierarchy suddenly becoming flexible and all-embracing.

My sister-in-law got fed up with her pastor and joined an Episcopalian church, so that works. The Church is trying to figure out what God wants its members to do; if you think what they’ve decided is bullshit you have to leave the church

Many people idolize JPII, and dislike BXVI, without realizing that they espouse the same positions on most things.

Even fewer realize that JPII was the more conservative and authoritarian of the two.

I’ll give BXVI credit for this. He has made perfectly clear the idea that one cannot hold certain liberal views and remain Catholic. He is right in that the Catholic Church believes what they believe and Catholics should believe what their Church teaches.

I do not agree with what the Catholic Church teaches, therefore I am no longer Catholic

I went to a Jesuit school for my undergrad work (Saint Louis University), and the University President has been in a seemingly endless battle with the St. Louis Archdiocese for the past 10 years. Back in 1997, a battle took place over the university’s $500MM sale of the university hospital to a private corporation, and then Archbishop Rigali (now Cardinal Rigali, head of Philadelphia archdiocese) was threatening to involve the pope in the land battle. The school recently opened an $80MM basketball arena on campus, and 10% of the financing came from TIF money - the school was challenged in court by the Masons (establishment clause battle), and somehow the school managed to convince the courts that they were in fact a lay institution with a Catholic identity… whatever that means. Needless to say, the archbishop wasn’t pleased with the university making this claim.

Most recently, Rick Majerus, the new head coach of SLU’s NCAA Div. I men’s basketball program was seen by a local reporter at a Hillary Clinton rally, and when asked about his beliefs, he said that he was pro-choice and supported embryonic stem-cell research. The current archbishop was less than pleased, and Bill Donohue of course made a stink about it, with the archbishop essentially demanding that Majerus either renounce his positions, or be fired by the school’s president. Fortunately, neither has happened.

But it does indicate the growing chasm within the church… Jesuit universities, and the Jesuit order in general, seem to be among the more progressive voices within the church - and the traditionalists are none to happy about this - especially when the Jesuits run 28 Catholic Universities in the US.

I doubt I would still be Catholic even if the church as a whole were run the way the Jesuits run their schools, but I would find them to be a far less repulsive institution.

Protestant ministers molest, and it is swept under the rug. Catholic priests molest, it is swept under the rug, it comes out, and people who already were bigoted against Catholics call for the church’s destruction.