Sarah Gibb wrote: > > The Catholic Church teaches that there is a god, that heaven and hell > are real, that individuals can have no direct relationship with god > but must commune via a priest, that the pope is infallible, that > abortion is a sin, that sex outside marriage is a sin. These beliefs > are false in my view, and exceptionally damaging to individuals and > to society. So - I can't think any good of it. Are you saying we have > to respect something just because lots of people are involved in it?
Yes, the decent thing is to respect other people's paths, even if you don't understand them. To use the simpler example you gave, if I met someone who loved Celine Dion, I'd be curious about why that is. I'd probably not ever love her music as that person does, but after the conversation would have a fuller understanding than I do now, not only of Celine Dion, but also of that person and, if I'm willing to do some self-reflection, of myself, too. From what you've written, I imagine you'd treat that person with disdain and miss that connection and all of that learning. Your loss. As far as your description of the Catholic Church goes, it's an incomplete understanding, and some of the items in your list are not even correct. There is now communal confession, for example, and people are urged to pray wherever, whenever, and to cultivate their relationship with God in many different ways, very few of which include a priest. On the issue of infallibility: In the history of the Church the Pope has spoken "ex cathedra" only once and that was on a matter of dogma concerning Mary that most Catholics believed already anyway, so he is not "infallible" except under extremely unusual circumstances. Such circumstances have existed ONCE. I could take each of the items you've mentioned and show the discrepancy between the publicized "official line" you've read and the experience of the people in the pews, which will eventually lead to change. Since you give the impression that your mind is made up, I won't go into any of that, except to say that there are many things about the Church that I (and many Catholics) disagree with and some teachings I completely ignore (bet you didn't think a Catholic could do that!). I pay most attention to the one Church rule that overrides all others: that I follow my conscience. That rule has been part of the Church since its beginnings and the one that consistently makes the most sense to me. It's of no consequence to me whether you find any value in the Church or any organized religion. I find it interesting and rather humorous to see that it's not only people of faith who can become rigid and dogmatic in their beliefs. I'm reminded of the value of humility and how important it is for one's own humanity to always remember that no one person (or path) has all the answers. Debra Shea NPIMH: Heart and humor and humility he said will lighten up your heavy load...
