Young People and Creating Change

Had a conversation with two young women this week who are practicing Catholics. Both had views about homosexuality and women priests which are different from "official" church teaching. I asked why they didn't express their opinions to their pastors. One said she felt "powerless," and the other suggested that, if she did speak her mind, she would no longer be welcome at her parish. She has young children, and she wants them to receive the sacraments at her church, so she doesn't want to alienate those in power.

If the older Catholics are too tired, and the younger Catholics feel either powerless, silenced or apathetic, will the Church ever change? or will it disappear in its present form? or will it become an orthodox community where only those who "obey the rules" are welcome?

And do we sit by and just let it all happen?

The survey says....

A comment was made that it might be helpful to survey Catholics on their feelings regarding homosexuality and women priests. The writer felt that "This would help me determine where, if at all, I fit in a parish community and the community of lay Catholics at large. Is this a community I can work within as a Christian..."

This brings up the interesting question concerning who or what decides what Catholics think? Do we feel "better" if the majority of Catholics agree with us on controversial matters? Is the Pope's opinion the only one that "counts" eventually, if we are to call ourselves Roman Catholics? Can you still be Catholic and hold the minority opinion, or disagree with the Pope?

Easter and Church

Well, we had a lovely Easter liturgy at our house this morning. We gathered with some friends, read the scripture for the day, shared some thoughts about the readings, remembered Jesus' Last Supper, and sang a good Easter hymn. It was grace-filled.

I miss the beautiful rituals at church - I truly do. And I miss a parish community. But at what price? Someone made a comment on this blog about like-minded Catholics gathering together in small groups to pray. It seems a nice option for now.

So tomorrow's Easter....

How do you feel about going to church?

The conversation has begun!

So glad to see some comments regarding our first post. Interesting that the homosexuality question came up right out of the starting gate. When we had a gay priest as a speaker at one of our meetings, it caused quite a stir.

What is it about this whole issue that seems to arouse so much emotion? There are older priests who resent the number of gay priests in their ranks. There are lay Catholics who cannot abide even the discussion of the topic. There are those who are sympathetic to gays who feel that homosexuals, both in the priesthood and outside it, are discriminated against in the Catholic church. And you never hear this issue discussed in church - even if the priest saying Mass gives every indication of having homosexual tendencies.

Is this the elephant in the living room?

So here are some thoughts to start...

When the pedophile news first broke, I thought we'd all be outraged, start some good conversation about how it came about, fix the problems and move on to a better church. I joined a reform group and tried to take the first steps to help make that happen.

Well, it didn't go quite the way I expected. Yes, people were outraged, but they seemed to get over it. Many felt that as long as things were OK in their own parishes, they didn't have to worry. Others got very defensive - for the church and their priests - and got angry at those who were hoping to change things.

Now, it's 2005. Where are we? Are people still going to church and feeling the same way about it? Is the crisis over? Where do we go from here, if anywhere? Will the church as we have known it our whole lives retain its identity?

Please share your thoughts. You can do this anonymously and it would be wonderful to hear what you think.