Has there ever been a comfortable time to be a Catholic?
You have to wonder. The Inquisition. The Reformation. Today’s pedophile scandals. Strange investigations into women religious. Bishops weighing in on political issues, seemingly at odds with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ guidance. My column today at Your Daily Tripod speaks a bit to this challenge, especially in light of Anne Rice’s departure and a moving essay titled “Excommunicate Me, Please,” by Illinois Appellate Judge Sheila O’Brien.
I was away from the Church for most of my adult life, and that may make it easier for me to be at peace with today’s swirl of controversy. I consciously chose to leave the Church. I consciously chose to return five years ago. I’d like to see women as priests. I’d like to see priests be able to marry. But those aren’t dealbreakers for me, anymore than the detestable fact that we have had some priests who did unconscionable things to children and with money, things that were then covered up. Effecting change happens from within, not from without, when it comes with this imperfect Church’s problems. And, at the end of the day, I know firsthand the poverty of spirit that occurs when one doesn’t have a relationship with God. I’ve rediscovered one as a Catholic, and like Jacob wrestling with the angel, I’m not letting go.
