On Being a Lapsed Catholic

As you know, I am not afraid to write about politics or sports or even personal issues. In many ways, by expressing my views, it is a catharsis for me. And then, I find an inner piece and deal with what is next.

 

Today, this commentary is about how I deal with my approach to my faith, my religion if you will. I would be considered by some as a lapsed, or cafeteria, Catholic who still holds to many of the dogma, but not so much to the doctrine.  .

For clarification, let me start by telling you that until the summer of 1969, those of you who knew me since or through elementary and High School will remember that I served Mass as what was once called an Altar Boy. (And if you read my book, Coming of Age, it was that part of my life in a novel.) Even after I postponed that decision, I still occasionally served Mass when I was asked or was needed.

As I grew older, I found myself disagreeing much more with the doctrine, the man-made rules. For example, I came to believe, after attending other religions' services, that the minister or preacher had a better understanding of what families and married couples faced, as he was married with family issues to face, as well.

I came to believe that celibacy should be voluntary, not mandatory. And as one who reads and understands history, I read why it became a doctrine.

Also, I came to believe that women should be permitted to be priests, as well. History and reading the Bible showed me the importance women played in the life of Christ and in the early church. Especially Mary Magdelene and the Blessed Mother, Mary.

The Acts of the Apostles is very clear on this.

It wasn’t until the Council of Nicea, when Constantine led the bishops to force the church to become a patriarchy. And many of the customs in the Catholic church are found throughout the beliefs of the pagan Roman Empire.

There are other issues which I could discuss, like birth control, eating meat on Fridays, the falsity of Hell, penance vs confession, and the big one, the sexual abuse by the clergy of minors in their charge, and the resulting cover-up of these crimes by the Vatican.

These are all commentaries for another time.

Finally, I will tell you that while I raised my children as Catholics, they witnessed my own transformation over time, understanding for why I lapsed from the church, becoming a Christian and no longer a Catholic, and having raised them to be independent thinking adults, made their own choices for themselves and their children. All I ask is that they provide a good moral compass, show kindness to others, and understand that they love and are loved by those whose lives they may touch.

Even those who do not follow any religion can appreciate that. Isn’t that really what Hammurabi, Socrates, Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and Jesus taught?

 I think so.