A Catholic friend I met at St. Thomas University caught up with me in an email. I met this wonderful woman from the Rock of Newfoundland in my second year. I was always impressed by her zest for life and encouraged by what I perceived to be a latent Catholicism that kept her from giving herself away like so many other girls on campus. She had even been to World Youth Day in Rome! That said, she always seemed to have a strained relationship with her faith. It seems the strain has gotten the better of her. She reported the following about her relationship with the Church: "when I find a Church that meets my standards I shall enter it."
1) the death knell of any religious truth is when it must conform to our standards! I would even say that the seeds of all that is dangerous about humanity springs from such a principle. True religion keeps us from the dictatorship of ourselves!
2) the 'standards' here are the contemporary and tired outrage about women's equality, gay rights and married priests, access to contraception and abortion. Admittedly, the Catholic Church is certainly non-conformist when it comes to such 'issues'. However, the Catholic church refuses the false call to become 'the Contemporary Church of the Peoples' - she will not bend to the whim of the masses. There are many 'churches' or associations out there that do precisely that. Catholicism, however, is decidedly NOT that.
3) I am hopeful that my friend, with her amazing talents, virtue and compassion will realize the confounded path she is set upon. More to the point, I hope she can see that she is not seeking so much a church that 'conforms to her vision' as she is seeking the liberation that Truth can bring. As a sociologist she may believe that truth exists only in the masses - or that it is formulated and imposed by society. Nawww...c'mon now. More to the point, I pray she find the thirst she has lost or perhaps never experienced. The thirst that convinces us that God is real. Alas, the true place to find Him is in relation to His Church.
4) the Church is not something to be ashamed of or liberated from - she is our mother and teacher. More than this, she is the bride of Christ. Christ loves the Church and gave His very lifeblood for her. The Church is the heart of Christ in the world. Faith is not some intellectual exercise - it is flesh and blood with ramifications for politics, the environment, social policies and aid for the poor, the oppressed, the lonely. Those who bash the Church - even those within the Church - are playing with fire and risking the greatest loss of all: our faith.
Fr. Aaron
The Church always has and always will stand in the way of such blatant disregard for human rights. Warning: The pictures are graphic. They reflect choices based on personal beliefs disconnected from the protective and warm cover of Catholic faith. http://www.unmaskingchoice.ca/
1) the death knell of any religious truth is when it must conform to our standards! I would even say that the seeds of all that is dangerous about humanity springs from such a principle. True religion keeps us from the dictatorship of ourselves!
2) the 'standards' here are the contemporary and tired outrage about women's equality, gay rights and married priests, access to contraception and abortion. Admittedly, the Catholic Church is certainly non-conformist when it comes to such 'issues'. However, the Catholic church refuses the false call to become 'the Contemporary Church of the Peoples' - she will not bend to the whim of the masses. There are many 'churches' or associations out there that do precisely that. Catholicism, however, is decidedly NOT that.
3) I am hopeful that my friend, with her amazing talents, virtue and compassion will realize the confounded path she is set upon. More to the point, I hope she can see that she is not seeking so much a church that 'conforms to her vision' as she is seeking the liberation that Truth can bring. As a sociologist she may believe that truth exists only in the masses - or that it is formulated and imposed by society. Nawww...c'mon now. More to the point, I pray she find the thirst she has lost or perhaps never experienced. The thirst that convinces us that God is real. Alas, the true place to find Him is in relation to His Church.
4) the Church is not something to be ashamed of or liberated from - she is our mother and teacher. More than this, she is the bride of Christ. Christ loves the Church and gave His very lifeblood for her. The Church is the heart of Christ in the world. Faith is not some intellectual exercise - it is flesh and blood with ramifications for politics, the environment, social policies and aid for the poor, the oppressed, the lonely. Those who bash the Church - even those within the Church - are playing with fire and risking the greatest loss of all: our faith.
Fr. Aaron
The Church always has and always will stand in the way of such blatant disregard for human rights. Warning: The pictures are graphic. They reflect choices based on personal beliefs disconnected from the protective and warm cover of Catholic faith. http://www.unmaskingchoice.ca/
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