Chapter 11: Catholicism is more good than bad

Okay, I have spent a lot of time here pointing out the problems with Catholicism. Almost all of the problems are theological. Catholics might distinguish so much as to call it arguments about dogma and doctrine. But certainly, the largest problem for fallen Catholics is philosophical. The actual community spirit that surrounds this religion is profoundly good.

Catholic charities do enormous good in this world. They serve over 10 million people worldwide every year of their existence. They provide adoption services, disaster relief, family counseling, housing solutions and social awareness. They have over 300 thousand volunteers working with them. And they do all of it for the most part without overtly proselytizing or discriminating in any way. They do what nearly every Christian denomination does, but they do it bigger and better than most.

Catholic nuns get a bad rap that is largely undeserved. Many of these wonderful women devoted their lives to educating children at a time when discipline meant corporal punishment. It was the norm back then. Paddlings were common in those days but were not common in any of the schools I attended. In fact, being whipped by the head nun was so rare at my school that news of it set the entire school on edge. These days, nuns have largely shed their habits and are much less visible in the schools. Unfortunately, their numbers have dwindled precipitously. This is particularly painful at hospitals where their daily presence was a great comfort to millions of sick people.

They are currently producing videos and expanding their efforts to bring back fallen Catholics on the net. Unfortunately, their most well produced ad campaign aimed at us miscreants is loaded with language meant to make us feel guilty about our relationship with God, as if to say we are somehow sinful for not being faithful to Catholicism. I can overlook their heavy handed and misguided attempts to reintroduce the religion to fallen Catholics because it does not occur to them to take on some of the blame for alienating so many of us. And until we return in force and make our voices heard, this old way of thinking is unbalanced.

So maybe you think I am crazy for advocating a return to Catholicism for those of us who hail from liberal minded traditions, but I am unwilling to throw out the baby with the bathwater.