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reteeks21
Guest
That’s what I was thinking and hoping would be the answer. Thanks for the info.
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S
SIA
Guest
I left because the RCC no longer resembles what Jesus established as his Church. For each individual reason, there are really too many to list. I am an ex-cradle Catholic and left the church a few years ago. I have a far deeper and more meaningful relationship with God in these current times.Ha ha fooled you…
But seriously, what i want to know is, why do people leave the Catholic religion.
Please explain your reasons why you left…
Thanks
Dolphy
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MagicKirk
Guest
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twopekinguys
Guest
Isn’t the economy screwed up enough? Don’t you know what that would do?Would it hurt Catholics to stay sober for one day.
G
gurneyhalleck1
Guest
That is one bad spelling for “intellectually!” LOL “intilectualy?”I have personaly spoken with many fallen away Catholics. While in some cases there are complex reasons for there departure, in most cases (in my experience) it is for one of two reasons.
- They are ignorent of what the Church TRULY teaches.
- They know what the Church teaches and have decided it is too hard. “Lets be intilectualy honest, once saved always saved and faith alone are far more easy. Wrong and deluded, but easy.”
1
1234
Guest
Ha!
good show, gurney…
Most of the former RC’s I know simply believe that the RCC is WRONG.
Nothing about ignorance, nothing about lazy.
As a matter of fact, for many, their current church requires a lot more from them.
Sorry.
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SpiritMeadow
Guest
I came here with no ideas of ever leaving the church. The fact that I disgreed with Her on many issues didn’t bother me a great deal. I had never had the occasion to meet ultra orthodox Catholics and find them akin to fundamentalists whom I consider dangerous across the board.
A very good friend told me about her Catholic experience. She, her husband and her priest were in sync theologically. They were very happy in the Church. Her priest was reassigned and a new one on his first Sunday held up the CCC and announced “if you don’t accept every word in this book, you are separated from the Church and not entitled to communion.” They never returned. I realized that I was not about to invest years in a parish only to have this happen to me.
I have left for the Anglican faith which I find simply refreshing in its friendship and openness. The service is nearly identical, all my favorite rituals are in place.
It’s not about being too hard to be Catholic, its that the Church is not available to people. It is not available to gays, divorcees, second marriages and folks like that. I will not turn over my conscience to any institution. The Episcopal faith would be shocked at the suggestion. They are based on bible, tradition and reason. If anything Catholicism is in a sense too easy, since it does your thinking for you, you need only obey. For those who like that kind of structure, its easy. For the rest, most simple ingore what they don’t like. Eight-five percent of all Catholics contracept for instance, and I would agree that this is not the teaching of the church. I finally realized that the extreme right here were right in trying to drive me out. It is hypocritical to remain in a church that you are in serious disagreement with.
When I met Father Bill, my new priest, he told me first off that he was ordained in the Catholic faith. I said that I was an unhappy Catholic. He and Rev. Barbara both burst into gentle laughter. “We get a lot of Catholics here.” The first parishioner I met was also a ex-Catholic.
As I see it, Catholicism has lost Europe, is losing America, and Latin America and a good deal of the East. It’s being split in many directions, much of it going to evangelicals. The ultra orthodox here say they are fine with a church 1/10 the size if it can be purified of dissent. I wish them well.
A very good friend told me about her Catholic experience. She, her husband and her priest were in sync theologically. They were very happy in the Church. Her priest was reassigned and a new one on his first Sunday held up the CCC and announced “if you don’t accept every word in this book, you are separated from the Church and not entitled to communion.” They never returned. I realized that I was not about to invest years in a parish only to have this happen to me.
I have left for the Anglican faith which I find simply refreshing in its friendship and openness. The service is nearly identical, all my favorite rituals are in place.
It’s not about being too hard to be Catholic, its that the Church is not available to people. It is not available to gays, divorcees, second marriages and folks like that. I will not turn over my conscience to any institution. The Episcopal faith would be shocked at the suggestion. They are based on bible, tradition and reason. If anything Catholicism is in a sense too easy, since it does your thinking for you, you need only obey. For those who like that kind of structure, its easy. For the rest, most simple ingore what they don’t like. Eight-five percent of all Catholics contracept for instance, and I would agree that this is not the teaching of the church. I finally realized that the extreme right here were right in trying to drive me out. It is hypocritical to remain in a church that you are in serious disagreement with.
When I met Father Bill, my new priest, he told me first off that he was ordained in the Catholic faith. I said that I was an unhappy Catholic. He and Rev. Barbara both burst into gentle laughter. “We get a lot of Catholics here.” The first parishioner I met was also a ex-Catholic.
As I see it, Catholicism has lost Europe, is losing America, and Latin America and a good deal of the East. It’s being split in many directions, much of it going to evangelicals. The ultra orthodox here say they are fine with a church 1/10 the size if it can be purified of dissent. I wish them well.
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jmcrae
Guest
It will always be the only Church that was ever founded by Jesus Christ. That is the only thing that actually matters. Everything else is unimportant. If they ask me to stand on my head every Wednesday and sing Yankee Doodle to remain in full communion, I will do it, out of love for Jesus. Nothing else matters.
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PaulDupre
Guest
Same with me. In my annulment proceeding, I paid a total of $35 for form filing fees (a lot of forms). There were no other costs associated with my annulment. The fee was not a hardship for me, but I’m sure that if I couldn’t have afforded it they would have waved the fee. I took nearly a year, but it was not expensive.INCORRECT
Could someone remind the archbishop to send me a bill? I haven’t gotten one from the annulment I was granted 30 years ago. I did have to pay my lawyer for the divorce, though.
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bhangragandhi
Guest
There is a famous saying that goes: “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” The Church is very welcoming of all sinners, because we are all sinners. But the Church has a duty to teach against sin, be it greed, lust, pride, or in the cases you cited, having sex outside of the bounds of Holy Matrimony.
No one is asking you to. But if you accept the Bible and Tradition, you will realize that your Christian conscience should be formed by these things. We cannot overlook passages such as Romans 1, the Genesis destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and other Biblical passages condemning the sins of practicing homosexuality or any other sex outside of marriage.
The Anglican Church was founded in the 16th century because the English King, Henry VIII, was sad that he could not get an annulment. (Died, beheaded, died, died, beheaded, survived I believe the rhyme goes for the fates of his six wives.)
Anybody can be a blind follower no matter where they are. If you want an example of critical church thinkers, look at St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine. The Doctors of the Church were people who did a lot of thinking and wrote on Catholicism. People like G.K. Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolkien did too.
It is sad that people only give lip service to the Church. But what is equally sad is those who pick and choose what they like from the Gospels. What is extreme rightism? Is it stating what the Bible and Tradition state? Contraception implies that conception is a mistake, a broken system that needs fixing. God forming you in your womb can never be a mistake.
You will also notice as an Episcopalian that you are in a church that is in the midst of a huge riff over the ordination of a practicing gay bishop. As of right now, episcopalian parishes are joining more traditional (and dare I say, Catholic-like?) dioceses.
Secularism is to blame for that. Catholicism and Christianity as a whole for that matter is designed to challenge the world we live in. Jesus was a radical. So are we. The problem is, sticking to morals is very unpopular in the Western world. Rather, it is more popular to give lip service to God, referring to him in vague, “inclusive” worship services than present the true sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharist. It is quite popular to forget God and shun His Word in favor of secular inclusiveness, confusing loving the sinner with loving the sin. However, the Church is growing in the East and in Africa. Maybe someday soon these places will be the new centers of Catholic thought, replacing cities such as Loyola in Europe.
The word orthodox means " adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion". Is that an insult? To adhere to the tenets of a religion which Christ himself built? I take it rather as a compliment.
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam.
G
gurneyhalleck1
Guest
When I met Father Bill, my new priest, he told me first off that he was ordained in the Catholic faith. I said that I was an unhappy Catholic. He and Rev. Barbara both burst into gentle laughter. “We get a lot of Catholics here.” The first parishioner I met was also a ex-Catholic.
As I see it, Catholicism has lost Europe, is losing America, and Latin America and a good deal of the East. It’s being split in many directions, much of it going to evangelicals. The ultra orthodox here say they are fine with a church 1/10 the size if it can be purified of dissent. I wish them well.
Spirit, I went in the exact OPPOSITE direction as you did. After having left the RCC for about six years, joining the then-Episcopal (now Anglican in our diocese here) Church, I eventually found that they had sold-out their morality and made their moral theology very subjective and relative. All of the “exclusions” you are mentioning are not exclusions at all but simple Gospel/NT teachings. The scriptures are clear about homosexuality. What you are doing is following the trends of today. For thousands of years, Judeo-Christian religion has told us that homosexuality is a sin and a choice, period. We must love the sinner, but if they are living in a sexually-active gay lifestyle, they may not have communion. Episcopalians are like the “cool” parents vs. the “good” parents. Sometimes in a divorce, one parent (often the dad) tries to be the kid’s “friend” and let him do whatever he wants. The other parent ends up looking like “bad cop” because she holds the line, expects more out of the child, and has rules that aren’t always fun. You’ve chosen the “cool” parent but in the end, you won’t grow spiritually and you put yourself in danger. Homosexuality, promiscuity, cohabitation, abortion, and all of these other hip modern lifestyles are just that, modern.
Bishop Schofield, the wonderful conservative Anglican Bishop of this Diocese said once in one of his bulletins: He who is wedded to the age he lives in is doomed to become a widow"
I think it’s true. Homosexuality is just as bad as divorce. But, again, Anglicans are “cool” with divorce as well.
When I heard my priest back in the Episcopal church condoning cohabitation, divorce, etc. I knew that I needed to return to my Catholic faith and that I was in the midst of a spiritual storm. Once you leave the Catholic Church and enter the “anything goes” cool zone, beware!!
As I see it, Catholicism has lost Europe, is losing America, and Latin America and a good deal of the East. It’s being split in many directions, much of it going to evangelicals. The ultra orthodox here say they are fine with a church 1/10 the size if it can be purified of dissent. I wish them well.
Spirit, I went in the exact OPPOSITE direction as you did. After having left the RCC for about six years, joining the then-Episcopal (now Anglican in our diocese here) Church, I eventually found that they had sold-out their morality and made their moral theology very subjective and relative. All of the “exclusions” you are mentioning are not exclusions at all but simple Gospel/NT teachings. The scriptures are clear about homosexuality. What you are doing is following the trends of today. For thousands of years, Judeo-Christian religion has told us that homosexuality is a sin and a choice, period. We must love the sinner, but if they are living in a sexually-active gay lifestyle, they may not have communion. Episcopalians are like the “cool” parents vs. the “good” parents. Sometimes in a divorce, one parent (often the dad) tries to be the kid’s “friend” and let him do whatever he wants. The other parent ends up looking like “bad cop” because she holds the line, expects more out of the child, and has rules that aren’t always fun. You’ve chosen the “cool” parent but in the end, you won’t grow spiritually and you put yourself in danger. Homosexuality, promiscuity, cohabitation, abortion, and all of these other hip modern lifestyles are just that, modern.
Bishop Schofield, the wonderful conservative Anglican Bishop of this Diocese said once in one of his bulletins: He who is wedded to the age he lives in is doomed to become a widow"
I think it’s true. Homosexuality is just as bad as divorce. But, again, Anglicans are “cool” with divorce as well.
When I heard my priest back in the Episcopal church condoning cohabitation, divorce, etc. I knew that I needed to return to my Catholic faith and that I was in the midst of a spiritual storm. Once you leave the Catholic Church and enter the “anything goes” cool zone, beware!!
G
gurneyhalleck1
Guest
As I see it, Catholicism has lost Europe, is losing America, and Latin America and a good deal of the East. It’s being split in many directions, much of it going to evangelicals. The ultra orthodox here say they are fine with a church 1/10 the size if it can be purified of dissent. I wish them well.
Catholicism has not lost Europe, Europe has lost its Catholicism. Big difference! And look at the wonderful, beautiful things Europe has gained since turning its back on its faith:
euthanasia
legalized drugs and prostitution
gay, lesbian marriages
total promiscuity
relaxed laws against pedophiles
nudity on television
atheism
complete selfishness
And Catholicism is not losing America. People are joining the Catholic Church in droves in the U.S. There is a real renaissance going on in the Church here in the States. EWTN and Catholic Answers as well as a ton of other Catholic media is flourishing. Catholics are better-catechised now than they’ve ever been. Just look in these forums and at your local church…
Sorry to say this but the 77-million Anglican Communion is truly floundering. It is dwindling in every nation except for on the continent of Africa where CONSERVATIVE and traditional Anglicanism is being taught by men like Bishop Akinola.
Do the math and read the stats, you’re incorrect on this one…
Catholicism has not lost Europe, Europe has lost its Catholicism. Big difference! And look at the wonderful, beautiful things Europe has gained since turning its back on its faith:
euthanasia
legalized drugs and prostitution
gay, lesbian marriages
total promiscuity
relaxed laws against pedophiles
nudity on television
atheism
complete selfishness
And Catholicism is not losing America. People are joining the Catholic Church in droves in the U.S. There is a real renaissance going on in the Church here in the States. EWTN and Catholic Answers as well as a ton of other Catholic media is flourishing. Catholics are better-catechised now than they’ve ever been. Just look in these forums and at your local church…
Sorry to say this but the 77-million Anglican Communion is truly floundering. It is dwindling in every nation except for on the continent of Africa where CONSERVATIVE and traditional Anglicanism is being taught by men like Bishop Akinola.
Do the math and read the stats, you’re incorrect on this one…
B
bhangragandhi
Guest
Well said Gurney 
T
TexCatholic4JMJ
Guest
Spirit Meadow,
Here in El Paso, the largest Episcopal Cathedral left the “main”
Episcopal Conference just last year. Another Episcopal
Church pastor here in El Paso and many of his parishioners joined
RCC. He is now a priest in the Midwest and several of those
who had been in his parish, are now parishioners in several of
the Catholic Churches here.
I also met a very charismatic priest in another city who supported
a reversal of secularism (He had been Catholic) and established
a small Episcopal Church. Then he was sought by a large Episcopal Church in a big city and left his small parish to flounder.
It now numbers families in the low teens because the new female
pastor is not so charismatic. Doesn’t sound as if their progressive
teachings are holding the congregants. A few of his parishioners
returned to the Catholic Church, some nowhere and others to
other Episcopal Churches with male priests.
Then many Episcopal Bishops have also left for the RCC.
I have been told from a good source, that there are others priests
in the Episcopal Church who have started their “journey home”
who have obstacles they need to hurdle first.
So What on earth could be bringing them “Home”?
Here in El Paso, the largest Episcopal Cathedral left the “main”
Episcopal Conference just last year. Another Episcopal
Church pastor here in El Paso and many of his parishioners joined
RCC. He is now a priest in the Midwest and several of those
who had been in his parish, are now parishioners in several of
the Catholic Churches here.
I also met a very charismatic priest in another city who supported
a reversal of secularism (He had been Catholic) and established
a small Episcopal Church. Then he was sought by a large Episcopal Church in a big city and left his small parish to flounder.
It now numbers families in the low teens because the new female
pastor is not so charismatic. Doesn’t sound as if their progressive
teachings are holding the congregants. A few of his parishioners
returned to the Catholic Church, some nowhere and others to
other Episcopal Churches with male priests.
Then many Episcopal Bishops have also left for the RCC.
I have been told from a good source, that there are others priests
in the Episcopal Church who have started their “journey home”
who have obstacles they need to hurdle first.
So What on earth could be bringing them “Home”?
D
d_floyd77
Guest
Basically because I couldn’t be a Catholic. When I converted it was great. I saw a bright future of change and participation in something new. Then reality hit and I fell into my old ways and honesty, being Catholic only increased the guilt. I refuse to confess the same sins every week and obviously I haven’t been receiving communion, which as we know is the center piece of the faith. I have no time to pray so when I try it is dry and has no depth. Every little glimmer of hope is refuted by a light being shined on my faults and sins. I don’t go to mass anymore because it would be hypocritical of me to do so.Ha ha fooled you…
But seriously, what i want to know is, why do people leave the Catholic religion.
Please explain your reasons why you left…
Thanks
Dolphy
Basically I left the Catholic religion because it is either impossible for me to follow it, God actually doesn’t want me in it, or for some strange reason I refuse to follow it.
M
mercygate
Guest
Confessing the same sins every week is one sure ticket on the humility train! And it doesn’t “increase” the guilt, it just makes you aware of your dependence upon grace.
So, if you’re not Catholic, you WILL have time to pray?
Have you discussed this stuff with a confessor? The idea that going to Mass makes you a hypocrite is just plain dotty. VERY Protestant. The Catholic Church is one place where everybody is presumed to be a sinner in search of sainthood rather than a full-blown saint ready for Heaven.
Basically I left the Catholic religion because it is either impossible for me to follow it, God actually doesn’t want me in it, or for some strange reason I refuse to follow it.
Q
qui_est_ce
Guest
We have fish fries on all Fridays in Lent and there is beer served. I don’t believe you are required to fast from alcohol on Good Friday - as long as you take it with your meal.I am still trying to figure out what you are getting at with “fish and beer” on Good Friday, which is a day of fasting.
Well, that’s true, I forgot about that.
Q
qui_est_ce
Guest
There is a famous saying that goes: “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” The Church is very welcoming of all sinners, because we are all sinners. But the Church has a duty to teach against sin, be it greed, lust, pride, or in the cases you cited, having sex outside of the bounds of Holy Matrimony.
{snip}
The word orthodox means " adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion". Is that an insult? To adhere to the tenets of a religion which Christ himself built? I take it rather as a compliment.
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam.
Great post.
R
reteeks21
Guest
Catholicism has not lost Europe, Europe has lost its Catholicism. Big difference! And look at the wonderful, beautiful things Europe has gained since turning its back on its faith:
euthanasia
legalized drugs and prostitution
gay, lesbian marriages
total promiscuity
relaxed laws against pedophiles
nudity on television
atheism
complete selfishness
And Catholicism is not losing America. People are joining the Catholic Church in droves in the U.S. There is a real renaissance going on in the Church here in the States. EWTN and Catholic Answers as well as a ton of other Catholic media is flourishing. Catholics are better-catechised now than they’ve ever been. Just look in these forums and at your local church…
Sorry to say this but the 77-million Anglican Communion is truly floundering. It is dwindling in every nation except for on the continent of Africa where CONSERVATIVE and traditional Anglicanism is being taught by men like Bishop Akinola.
Do the math and read the stats, you’re incorrect on this one…
Catholicism is also thriving in Africa! There mission work with AIDS patients (just one example) has given them major in-roads into the “dark continent”. That’s a funny thing considering that at one time protestants dominated Africa, at leas southern Africa.
Q
qui_est_ce
Guest
According to VirtueOnline, which describes itself as the “Voice of Orthodox Anglicanism,”
"The Anglican Communion is currently at risk of becoming permanently divided over the decisions in some Anglican provinces to ordain women priests and bishops, to ordain openly homosexual men and to bless homosexual “unions.” "
So, which Episcopal Communion did you join?
Your post reminds me of Cafeteria Catholics who think they can choose to pick and choose which doctrines apply to them.
Entire Anglican Communities are coming into the Catholic Church with their Pastors:
"***DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) – Parishioners from three Church of Ireland parishes have joined traditional Anglicans from 12 other countries in requesting that the Catholic Church receive them into full communion.
If approved by the Vatican, the move would allow 400,000 traditional Anglicans worldwide to be admitted into the Catholic Church.
It is extremely rare for entire Anglican communities to seek corporate communion with the Catholic Church whereby every member of the parish becomes Catholic and the parish effectively becomes part of the Catholic Church.*** "
catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0706103.htm
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