John-
Thanks for raising a sensitive and important issue. The Church is losing / has lost it’s flock for a myriad of reasons. The sex scandals are clearly one. There are others; among them:
They continue the ancient practice of treating women like second class citizens. This concept is so out-moded that it probably dates back to cave men, when might meant right . .. or at least survival.
They treat gays like third class citizens, or worse. They seem to say, “You can be one, or feel that way, but just don’t act on it, ever.”
They fail to recognize that modern marriage is a 50 / 50 proposition at best. Huge numbers of divorced Catholics are left in the Church’s no man’s land.
Not content to rail against pre-marital sex, they became the only church I know of who took on sex WITHIN marriage, which made that aspect of the flock’s lives conflicted, miserable or both.
They adhere to celibacy as a requirement for the priesthood, and continue to exclude all women, even as the number of vocations plummets.
They are irrelevant. Sunday Mass — and much of the other liturgy — is pure rote. The weekly opportunity to really connect with the flock is typically lost.
Neither sermons nor the public pronouncements of the hierarchy rarely tackle modern issues — raising kids, famuily life, addiction, joblessness, divorce, etc..
They tend to be “in bed” with the Democrats, but typically will not call them out on abortion. Do they just “have preferences” or do they really “stand for something?”
That’s my perspective. There are many other opinions, on both sides of this issue.
Again, thanks for starting the debate.
John Keilly
MC 1970
[JR: I am saddened at the loss because "the Church" was the serf's refuge from "the King". We have no institution to help in the fight for freedom. And, "the King" likes it that way. Makes one wonder if it's a problem with "organizations"? Too big. Too political. Too stupid. Far beyond this injineer's abilities to fix. Thanks for the support of a great email.]
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