Ive found the right and true religion.

I'd let you know what it is, but that would be telling.

H&K-Guy

My wife and I left the Catholic Church many many years ago. The ritualistic not of the Bible rules of the church and the church moving and hiding priests to protect them and protect the church from law suits was the straw. It was known for many generations of priests abusing children, I know three that were sexually abused, by different priests. Then have the church move the priests to different locations after they found out about it. Not remove them from their position.

I can still go into a Catholic Church service and not need to read spouting off the same words verbatim. Not our way of connecting with God.

I left back in the 80s when the local diocese was promoting sheltering of illegals from El Salvador. They actually set up "social justice" committees. Sound familiar?

My Grandmother left the Catholic Church after going to the priest seeking permission to use birth control after 5 children. He told her 'no' and said some very unkind things about her faith in his admonishment of her even asking. Nearly 10 years later she had her 6th child...who has turned out to be one of my very best friends. It is odd having an Uncle just 6 years older than me though!

My wife left the Catholic Church after her priest told my mother-in-law that she was a 'bad mom' because her son and daughter were not practicing Catholics.

When we got married, my wife had relatives who boycotted our wedding because it was not taking place in a Catholic Church.

We are practicing Lutheran's and very happy and involved in our church.

I was born and raised protestant in a non-denominational, bible-believing church. Mrs.BurtonRW was raised Catholic, however.

Speaking generally, I can tell you that she left many years ago (while we were dating, but not because of me) due to her increasing awareness of doctrines that we (protestants) find simply have no basis in scripture.

The list involves things like Mary, intercessory prayer (to or by the dead), infant baptism, necessity of confession to priests, infallibility of the Pope, etc.

To be fair, lots of protestant denominations also have doctrines which we would take issue with (i.e., Calvanist predestination, pentacostal "speaking in tongues" and other gifts, etc.), so it's not that we're specifically anti-Catholic.

At the end of the day, regardless of any other beliefs or doctrinal disputes, we believe that there is only one question that matters - do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, died for your sins, defeated death by rising again, and have you accepted that sacrifice as your salvation?

Any true catechism-believing Catholic can answer yes to that question and should be just as assured of salvation as I am (regardless of whether they believe more steps are necessary). Everything else comes in a distant second in importance.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
Then have the church move the priests to different locations after they found out about it. Not remove them from their position.

To be fair, the Church did consult with professionals regarding this and the prevailing wisdom among the psychiatric community at the time was that moving the offending priests away from their temptation, as it were, was the recommended way to deal with it.

And for all those lauding JP2, let's not forget who was the head honcho when this abuse thing was coming to a head. What did he do?

I'm no big fan of JP2, Frank, Dolan and his love affair with Hillary, or priests who offer Holy Communion to the likes of Pelosi, Biden, and Kaine who fight tooth and nail to support and defend the genocide of children, but I am a huge and unapologetic fan of the Church. So much so that I am frequently moved to tears during Mass. It's difficult to explain to those who haven't experienced it, but it is the most incredible feeling in the world and one that I wouldn't trade for anything.

It breaks my heart to see what Alinsky and his ilk did to the Church, and what they continue to do, but I know that the man in charge has it all under control.

quote:

At the end of the day, regardless of any other beliefs or doctrinal disputes, we believe that there is only one question that matters - do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, died for your sins, defeated death by rising again, and have you accepted that sacrifice as your salvation?

I think that's right.
We will always have doctrinal disputes, which have cause schisms throughout the ages. The Church may have been instituted by Christ, through his apostles, but it's run by fallible men. We make mistakes. Jesus is probably laughing at the doctrinal disputes we have. They really don't matter.

The realization that I don't need organized religion.

I follow Jesus Christ, not any church.

quote:

Originally posted by GRIZZLYBEAR:
Born into Catholic Family but left the church a good while ago due to changes made by the Catholic church.

Abandoning the Latin Mass, AMORC teachings, abandoning the Old Testament, cover ups of the sex scandals, Current Pope, just to state a few of reasons.

I'm here as well. Find myself yearning to go back. I miss the ceremony, The Mass and the statuary.
All my siblings attended Catholic school and my brother and I were alter boys.

I'm Catholic and am staying put despite Francis. I'm also in Chicago where we are "shepherded" by Cardinal Cupich -- and so have that additional burden as well.

But, I tend to take the long view and keep in mind Cardinal Consalvi's response after Napoleon threatened to destroy the Church. “Your majesty, we, the Catholic clergy, have done our best to destroy the church for the last 1,800 years. We have not succeeded, and neither will you.”

What I do is focus on developing my spiritual life and ignore anything Francis or Card. Cupich have to say.

Thanks for a very thoughtful post. You can be sure I will keep you in my prayers.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
I was born and raised protestant in a non-denominational, bible-believing church. Mrs.BurtonRW was raised Catholic, however.

Speaking generally, I can tell you that she left many years ago (while we were dating, but not because of me) due to her increasing awareness of doctrines that we (protestants) find simply have no basis in scripture.

The list involves things like Mary, intercessory prayer (to or by the dead), infant baptism, necessity of confession to priests, infallibility of the Pope, etc.

Originally posted by DrDan:

If you just want to bash religion or the Catholic Church, please take it to your own thread.

quit going many many years ago , pedophiles,
I don't care how much good you do for other people , if you attack a child .......fill in your own punishment

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
I was born and raised protestant in a non-denominational, bible-believing church. Mrs.BurtonRW was raised Catholic, however.

Speaking generally, I can tell you that she left many years ago (while we were dating, but not because of me) due to her increasing awareness of doctrines that we (protestants) find simply have no basis in scripture.

The list involves things like Mary, intercessory prayer (to or by the dead), infant baptism, necessity of confession to priests, infallibility of the Pope, etc.

Originally posted by DrDan:

If you just want to bash religion or the Catholic Church, please take it to your own thread.

Pretty sure I didn't do that.



Sorry if I said something that offended you or sounded argumentative.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
I grew up attending the catholic church, left decades ago due to hypocrisy, bullying by priests, abuse of power by priests, and the entire homosexual magnet that the Catholic church is.

I found priests to be no different than anyone else, but they professed to be. Power corrupts and as far as I could tell, the head priest learned to hide that part of his personality but did not try to improve his treatment of others nor his ethics. In our church there was the main priest who was a super power abuser and hypocritical liar. Also there was the homosexual deacon, who I stayed far away from. However there was an alcoholic priest who was the only one who treated people fairly and did not abuse his position.

This is essentially my stance as well.

I considered myself a Christian, I have a strong faith and pray often and was raised by fairly strict Catholic parents. Very early I syarted to see the hypocrisy of the church and I was an altar boy in the Boston area when all that shot went down (nothing to me but a priest at my church was implicated years later).

What really bothered me is at my Mom's funeral the priest who was close to our family growing up made a snarky comment at the cemetery about us kids not attending mass ever (sorry not the time or the place) and then a few years later when my sister died the same guy basically hid from my Dad when he tried to see if he would do her mass.

The latter really upset my dad, a man who attends mass and tithes regularly. He said he blamed himself for not doing a better job raising us and I called bullshit...I told him that he and my mom raised us Catholic and even though none of us still attend we are all very spiritual and christian people with good values and that came from the foundation that he and my mom laid out for us. The Catholic churches beef is their beef and is not his fault

This is one of those topics that for me probably will never have a definitive answer...

I am of Italian ancestry and as such everyone in our extended family is Catholic and there was never any option. I grew up as an Alter Boy attended a Catholic High School where I started seeing some of the abusive powers of the Brothers who ran the school practiced.

By the time I entered College I had pretty much stopped practicing. When I met the woman who would eventually become my wife we had a huge discussion about where a Southern Baptist and a Catholic could get married. We ended up getting married in a Catholic Church with both a minister and a Priest officiating..

When we had children and started going to school we quickly found out that the local Catholic School was the best choice for us and we sent both our sons there. They eventually came to us and asked about becoming Catholic and both them and my wife became Catholics.

I became more involved with our local parish but once again began to see the abuse of power that seemed to be everywhere. It was sickening.

Then my wife became seriously ill and I had to contemplate raising our two sons by myself. I prayed every night for guidance and mercy from God. To make a long story short she eventually was cured and is here with us today. I thank God everyday for what I consider his help in helping my wife.

So to make a long story short I believe in (most of) the Catholic teachings and still pray to God but I am not so enamored with the Catholic Church as it is run by humans....

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

Sorry if I said something that offended you or sounded argumentative.

-Rob

Yes, I thought it was unnecessary to go into that kind of detail in this thread. Thank you.

jehzsa and GRIZZLYBEAR sum things up nicely reflective of my situation. Vatican II was the beginning of the downturn I experienced that saw the Catholic Church leaving this Christian Brothers and Jesuit educated soul. The change from Latin masses, continuing abuses by priests and coverups, hypocrisy, inconsistencies in marriage annulments, and leftist political agenda have displaced what the Church once was and should be. I remain faithful in my beliefs, to include classic catholic teachings but I am not a member of any diocese.

I grew up in a Hindu family in India, but was send to attend a Catholic school, St Edmund's, which was run by Irish Christian Brothers, a teaching order.
So, I attended regular Cathecism classes, all the way till I graduated fron HS. Then I came to the USA. After a while, I ended up becoming a Mormon. But, lately, I have found myself attending Mass at the Parish for students and faculty and staff at the University. I find myself drawn to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, despite being aware of the many negative things going on in the Church. I am torn, with my loyalty to the Mormon Church, and my desire to attend Catholic Mass.

quote:

I became more involved with our local parish but once again began to see the abuse of power that seemed to be everywhere. It was sickening.

Then my wife became seriously ill and I had to contemplate raising our two sons by myself. I prayed every night for guidance and mercy from God. To make a long story short she eventually was cured and is here with us today. I thank God everyday for what I consider his help in helping my wife.

So to make a long story short I believe in (most of) the Catholic teachings and still pray to God but I am not so enamored with the Catholic Church as it is run by humans....

First of all, I'm glad your wife was cured and is here with us today.

Second, my advice would be to try different parishes. I grew up in two parishes. The older parish was a pre-civil war parish, one of the oldest in the diocese. As time went on, it would eventually be divided into 21 parishes as the area grew in population. I was born on the tail end of that process. My parents were founding members of the last of the new parishes split off of the original parish. I went to church on weekends at the new parish, which did not have a school, but continued to go to school at the older parish.

There are huge differences between parishes. They ebb and flow over time. One pastor was smart enough to say so. He admitted that priests and pastors will come and go but that it is the lay members of the parish who make a parish. Over time, there are periods of great enthusiasm within a parish, and then periods when that enthusiasm may decline before a new group of parishioners revives the volunteerism and enthusiasm. I've seen this happen is several parishes.