B
bracken
Guest
I was born a Catholic, educated in a Convent school married aged 24 in a Catholic Church to a man who was virtually a lapsed Catholic.
At 37 when my Children were 6, 4,and 6 months, I found it impossible to take them all to church with me and control them.
My husband worked shifts and was only off 1 Sunday in 4 so I used to go to Church when he was home to look after them.
We had moved to a new area where I did not know anyone well enough to trust them to look after my children every Sunday morning…which I felt would be an imposition anyway, and all my family lived miles away.
The Parish priest visited me in the week
I found him to be a rather rude man who, when offered a cup of tea, said “have you not got anything stronger”
I found some whiskey at the back of a cupboard and gave him a measure.
His conversation was challenging and I was uncomfortable
and then he asked why I didn’t go to Sunday Mass more regularly.
I explained and he said "if you can’t make the full commitment, don’t bother coming at all.
and then he made for the door and was gone.
I was amazed and devastated.
That was how I left the Catholic Church.
First I thought if I was not a Catholic I could not be a Christian but eventually started going to Church in other denominations.
First was Pentecostal then Baptist and then CoE.
I even started studying under a JW but found them to be so full of hate, particularly towards Catholicism, that I stopped.
26 years later, 2008, I had a "word from God " and left the CoE.
The same week I had to go to visit a Catholic priest because I had been asked to be Godmother.
I ended up telling him the whole story (I have given you the short version!) and he agreed, I had had a word from God.
He apologised for the priest who was the cause of my leaving and I made my confession then and there and returned.
My husband arrived to pick me up at this point.(his leaving was caused by a thoughtless priest too)
The priest spoke to him too and he also came back to faith and has not missed a Sunday since.
When I was going to other Churches I threw myself into studying theology and scripture and gained a certificate which allows me to be a reader/lay preacher in the Church of England.
I do not consider this time wasted as, although there are many differences between CoE and Catholicism, there is much in common and I have always been aware of what the differences were.
Things have changed in the Church since I left. there is a different attitude to things and this is as a result of Vatican II.
I am busily studying the Catechism…which is a large book now compared to the little thing I had to study when I was a child.
I am also reading books on Catholic theology, papers published by the Vatican, the writings of saints like Catherine of Sienna …in fact I am studying anything Catholic that I can lay my hands on.
I find that there is very little I need to adjust in my thinking now.
I did have a protestant influenced problem with things like purgatory, praying to saints and the blessed Virgin, but once I discussed these things with the priest, read the Catechism and prayed about it, I have nothing I cannot accept.
Now to my problem:
I recently joined a forum and in process of discussing various topics, was vehemently accused of being a “liberal Catholic” and denounced roundly by one of the Catholic members.
This has hurt me greatly.
(the priest who led me back has left and the new one is not so approachable)
I have never lost my deep faith in God and have met many truly Christian people in other denominations and cannot say that because they are not Catholic they will not go to heaven.
In fact, I think the Catechism says something similar.
I think it is because of this view that He called me Liberal…
I truly believe that the Holy Spirit guides us all to the place where God wants us to be in our Christian walk.
He has certainly guided me.
But this person rejects this as well.
I also said that the Catholic Church is important but God has to be more important than the Church…this too he thought was wrong.
I have taken up too much space in explaining my position to go into a lot of detail about this…but in fact, there is little else I have said that this man could take exception to.
Is my attitude wrong?
I do not think I can move from these things but I do not wish to lose what I have gained at the end of this particular long journey.
I would appreciate your candid comments.
At 37 when my Children were 6, 4,and 6 months, I found it impossible to take them all to church with me and control them.
My husband worked shifts and was only off 1 Sunday in 4 so I used to go to Church when he was home to look after them.
We had moved to a new area where I did not know anyone well enough to trust them to look after my children every Sunday morning…which I felt would be an imposition anyway, and all my family lived miles away.
The Parish priest visited me in the week
I found him to be a rather rude man who, when offered a cup of tea, said “have you not got anything stronger”
I found some whiskey at the back of a cupboard and gave him a measure.
His conversation was challenging and I was uncomfortable
and then he asked why I didn’t go to Sunday Mass more regularly.
I explained and he said "if you can’t make the full commitment, don’t bother coming at all.
and then he made for the door and was gone.
I was amazed and devastated.
That was how I left the Catholic Church.
First I thought if I was not a Catholic I could not be a Christian but eventually started going to Church in other denominations.
First was Pentecostal then Baptist and then CoE.
I even started studying under a JW but found them to be so full of hate, particularly towards Catholicism, that I stopped.
26 years later, 2008, I had a "word from God " and left the CoE.
The same week I had to go to visit a Catholic priest because I had been asked to be Godmother.
I ended up telling him the whole story (I have given you the short version!) and he agreed, I had had a word from God.
He apologised for the priest who was the cause of my leaving and I made my confession then and there and returned.
My husband arrived to pick me up at this point.(his leaving was caused by a thoughtless priest too)
The priest spoke to him too and he also came back to faith and has not missed a Sunday since.
When I was going to other Churches I threw myself into studying theology and scripture and gained a certificate which allows me to be a reader/lay preacher in the Church of England.
I do not consider this time wasted as, although there are many differences between CoE and Catholicism, there is much in common and I have always been aware of what the differences were.
Things have changed in the Church since I left. there is a different attitude to things and this is as a result of Vatican II.
I am busily studying the Catechism…which is a large book now compared to the little thing I had to study when I was a child.
I am also reading books on Catholic theology, papers published by the Vatican, the writings of saints like Catherine of Sienna …in fact I am studying anything Catholic that I can lay my hands on.
I find that there is very little I need to adjust in my thinking now.
I did have a protestant influenced problem with things like purgatory, praying to saints and the blessed Virgin, but once I discussed these things with the priest, read the Catechism and prayed about it, I have nothing I cannot accept.
Now to my problem:
I recently joined a forum and in process of discussing various topics, was vehemently accused of being a “liberal Catholic” and denounced roundly by one of the Catholic members.
This has hurt me greatly.
(the priest who led me back has left and the new one is not so approachable)
I have never lost my deep faith in God and have met many truly Christian people in other denominations and cannot say that because they are not Catholic they will not go to heaven.
In fact, I think the Catechism says something similar.
I think it is because of this view that He called me Liberal…
I truly believe that the Holy Spirit guides us all to the place where God wants us to be in our Christian walk.
He has certainly guided me.
But this person rejects this as well.
I also said that the Catholic Church is important but God has to be more important than the Church…this too he thought was wrong.
I have taken up too much space in explaining my position to go into a lot of detail about this…but in fact, there is little else I have said that this man could take exception to.
Is my attitude wrong?
I do not think I can move from these things but I do not wish to lose what I have gained at the end of this particular long journey.
I would appreciate your candid comments.
. God bless you.
Heaven knows I am not always right! As for being conservative, traditional, liberal, etc., I don’t pay attention to labels. I pay attention to the heart and soul of a person, not what they are called by others.