I must admit that my knowledge of Catholicism is old; about 60 years old or so. I have not kept up with all the “new” goings on in Catholicism so I probably do not speak from “current” knowledge but there is something to be said about then and now.
My family or shall I say my mother was a staunch Polish Catholic that survived Siberia, the Middle east and all sorts of hell in the middle and her savior was the Virgin Mother and she was going to pay her back by raising her children “right” in the faith.
I was an alter boy, saw the priest drunk on many occasions before Mass but hey, they represent Jesus so it must be OK.
I was taught that eating meat on Friday would result in my going to hell and if children died before they were baptized, they also went to hell. This was drummed into me by “adults” so I had to believe them.
Recently I was appalled to learn that eating meat on Friday is allowed and baptism is just an initiation party into the Catholic community; you will not go to hell if you die before you’re baptized, you won’t even go to purgatory because the Church big-wigs have decided there is no such thing as purgatory.
Imagine after hundreds if not thousands of years they decided that maybe they were wrong about their sacred pronouncements. Maybe they did not hear correctly what God was saying to them?
Having been raised a Catholic and knowing full well the fear, awe and terror instilled in me by priests, nuns, bishops, cardinals and my mother if I dared to stray, I might say that I am slightly pissed to learn they were all full of ignorance?
Can’t blame my mother, she never really knew all the theological nonsense that the Church was grappling with, her heart is pure and she blames all the problems in the Church (pedophiles) on “man” and sinful humanness; she prefers to speak to Mary.
When I hear that the Church has now adopted the “historical-critical method” of interpreting the Bible (John Paul II) I am amazed at its openness and willingness to even discuss matters of faith with the unwashed. Pope Benedict XVI and his return to the past, reminds me how quickly the Church can turn back and again shut the door, demanding blind obedience.
I will learn about the new Catholicism as I should but I better hurry up before we return to the old Catholicism and again have to eat fish on Fridays; which I do to this very day.
My family or shall I say my mother was a staunch Polish Catholic that survived Siberia, the Middle east and all sorts of hell in the middle and her savior was the Virgin Mother and she was going to pay her back by raising her children “right” in the faith.
I was an alter boy, saw the priest drunk on many occasions before Mass but hey, they represent Jesus so it must be OK.
I was taught that eating meat on Friday would result in my going to hell and if children died before they were baptized, they also went to hell. This was drummed into me by “adults” so I had to believe them.
Recently I was appalled to learn that eating meat on Friday is allowed and baptism is just an initiation party into the Catholic community; you will not go to hell if you die before you’re baptized, you won’t even go to purgatory because the Church big-wigs have decided there is no such thing as purgatory.
Imagine after hundreds if not thousands of years they decided that maybe they were wrong about their sacred pronouncements. Maybe they did not hear correctly what God was saying to them?
Having been raised a Catholic and knowing full well the fear, awe and terror instilled in me by priests, nuns, bishops, cardinals and my mother if I dared to stray, I might say that I am slightly pissed to learn they were all full of ignorance?
Can’t blame my mother, she never really knew all the theological nonsense that the Church was grappling with, her heart is pure and she blames all the problems in the Church (pedophiles) on “man” and sinful humanness; she prefers to speak to Mary.
When I hear that the Church has now adopted the “historical-critical method” of interpreting the Bible (John Paul II) I am amazed at its openness and willingness to even discuss matters of faith with the unwashed. Pope Benedict XVI and his return to the past, reminds me how quickly the Church can turn back and again shut the door, demanding blind obedience.
I will learn about the new Catholicism as I should but I better hurry up before we return to the old Catholicism and again have to eat fish on Fridays; which I do to this very day.
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