Pride and Prejudice

[foolintherain]

These are not good times to be a Catholic in MA. Reconfiguration has closed or will close many churches and it is upsetting a great number of people. Many would have closed anyway for lack of patronage or age of the structures, a fact which makes closing harder for some. But that is not what the critics see. Instead they see the sexual abuse scandal and the redistricting as a result of that sad fact. They look at the closings and the people displaced and say, “I’m sorry, but you got what was coming to you.” They say that our church has abandoned those people and truthfully some do feel abandoned. That our beloved church could easily account for any monetary settlement without having to close parishes and sell buildings and land by instead “scraping the gold from our churches in the Vatican!” They call our leadership proud and vain and arrogant and in doing so call me these things! How do I respond to that?

 

[AlanFromWichita]

The first thing you must do, is realize that their misinformed remarks about the Church are not a problem for you.
Matt 5:11-12:

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Also realize that it is proud and vain to judge, which these people are doing. Now I’m doing it to them. The truth is, nobody can reasonably deny that sins are committed by members of the Church, but she’s what we have to work with. She’s doing what she can to protect herself from the sins of her members and leaders. What church, if any, do these people belong to which is apparently run and attended by perfect people? Are they qualified to cast stones?

Alan

 

[foolintherain]

Thank you, Alan. I have said that to them. We are sinners led by sinners and are they so different? It doesn’t seem like that is enough to justify our stain glass windows and guilded chalices or such. Judging from the lack of responses maybe this is a hard question for a lot of Catholics. I just don’t understand if Christ teaches us tollerance why there has to be so much interfaith, inter-“Christian”-faith squabbling. Perhaps it’s a bigger problem on the whole? The problem of secularization and privitization of religion that has made faith seem almost offensive to some. It’s very, very sad. I pray for them. I don’t think they do the same for me.