Ms Freitas,
sound as you are emotionally dependent on your Mother Church, afraid to live without it and you want to live forever in a state of makebelive: this planet was made in six days, any words in the Book of Genesis is correct no matter what science says, there is a Supreme Being that is just, will punish the sinners and reward the believers in the afterlife, maybe with a cottage for you and yours by a lake up there.

Having worked for child protective services and with juvenile delinquents, I find pedophilia appalling by anyone no matter what their denomination, status, or beliefs.

However, the desire of people to attack the catholic church and to put so much effort into vilifying an organization that they call obscene and irrelevant is the height of hypocrisy and self-contradiction.

If an organization is irrelevant ignore it.
If it's ugly shield your eyes. But the mere fact that hateful and irrational people spend so much time attacking it speaks to its truth.

Those that condemn the wicked are right to do so - but to condemn everyone for simply belonging to the same church is insane unless the teaching of that religion condones such action such as Islam condoning the marriage of female children (6 yrs and older) to adult males.

Jesus taught and the Catholic Church teaches that anyone who abuses a child or misleads him or her toward the path of corruption would be better off dead (have a millstone put around his neck and cast into the sea to be drown).

The title of your blog, with the word "stubborn," implies a negative feeling about being Catholic. "Stubborn" is for donkeys, not Catholics. "Resilient" would be good, but better would be "Gladly Catholic."

I really, really feel sorry for this woman. It is such a waste that an educated woman cannot see the church for what it is, just a decrepit institution in its last throes. I only wish is for this institution to die a slow agonizing death and taking with it the entire hierarchy.

In part I understand Donna Freitas, but in part, with respect, I think you might be in denial.

I grew up Catholic in a boys home in Michigan, taught and ruled by nuns. As I aged, I began to put into perspective my experiences there, something that a youngster is mostly unable to do. A child of six is simply too young to understand what is happening to him.

The Catholic heirarchy hasn't changed. Their addiction to the adulation of parishioners, complacency, unresponsive tunnel vision of self righteousness, and the hubris in judgement and action such as the cover up of priestly pedophelia all the way through the heirarchy, are all symptoms of an unrepentent organization. Even court awards that have broke a few American dioceses don't seem to loosen up the contrition due their victims. Just conditional public blah, blah, blah about how sorry they are.

I quit going. I am sick of the unrepentent hubris.

"people who want nothing more than for you to disappear, to shut up, who could care less for your safety, your sanity, your well-being"

Aaaaarrrgghh. For the love of Christ, pun and capitalization fully intended, could you please insert "NOT" where it belongs in that diatribe, as in "could NOT care less"?

You really are an author and a professor, right?

Of course it's always great to have someone writing on religion who's physically appealing. I'm sure it blinds a few people. When I lived in Utah they called it Osmondization - giving something so much shine and appeal you don't realize there's nothing of substance.

I respect and demand the right of all people to worship as they wish but empty intellectualism is what the Catholic intelligentsia is all about. I'm sure Bernard Law is glad to have you on board to gravy train.

I applaud your resilience to a church that persecuted Jews and others through the centuries and presently looks inward to support their own rather than outward to admit their shortcomings and punish the sexual predators in their midst. I have always felt belief trumps reason and common sense!
Kabala
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The primary ingredient of organizations is people. People that you suggest persecuted others through the century are dead and gone. I guess you could call some really old Catholics as WWII persecutors (if any were). Age old grudges can never be satified; the dead can't be punished.

Formerly a practicing Catholic, I'm now a non-denominational Christian. I have much more freedom to express myself spiritually since I left the Catholic church.
I'm sorry for what happened to you, Ms. Freitas, and am glad you have found healing.

The Catholic Church is the Mother church and none of the daughter churches called Christian have corrected their errors. We are saved by faith in believing God’s promises which include blessings for obedience and many cursings for disobedience. (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28) We can see the world is reaping the cursings. Corrections are needed to be saved from Hell. (Luke 16:17, 19-31). Jesus said to live by every word out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Christmas and Easter are more than pagan religious holidays. They keep the kingdom of God from coming forward because the kingdom of God is where God’s word is King and we live by it:

Exodus 20 Ten Commandments make no likeness of anything; neither bow down to it.
7th day Sabbath of No Work for anyone (Saturday)
Exodus 12 New Year Day is Passover month.
Feasts and Holy Days of No Work are in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23

Deuteronomy 4:2 God says not to add to or take from His word.

We are "saved by faith," not our good works because unity and peace come with IT IS WRITTEN. Muhammad’s God given word was to follow Torah and Gospel, all God’s words, His law. (600+AD after the Cathoci Church). Other religions point to following God’s laws. Peace follows obedience and cleansing.

Divine-Way
God has solutions to world problems we created by ignoring His wisdom.

So you're a stubborn Catholic and not going anywhere, eh?

Judging from your employment profile and publication history, I'd say you're a professional Catholic and, as such, have a little more invested in the Great Gray Irrelevancy than the average Easter bunny.

Many are cold... but few are frozen, babe.

That horrible things happen to people is undeniable, bad things have happened and they continue to happen, and not a single human being---other than the two we Catholics have a special belief in---can say that they have not in some way caused bad things to happen and hurt others in the process. Some more or less than others but--flash!--we are all sinners bar none---popes, Mother Theresa-types, evangelists....everyone.

But does this fact mean that not only the faith of the abused, but everyone else's faith should be null and void? Because bad things, really bad things in many cases, happen? And this is in line with reason? How?

The problem of evil is a tough one, but the extraordinary event we celebrate today gives us all hope. Evil has been defeated; and we are empowered to be on the side that has won it if we but continually choose to do so.

That's what I believe *and* that's what I think. I reject the darkness.

Maybe you should objectively read the bible some time, cover to cover. It is my understanding that catholics never read the book on which their beliefs are based, but rather let the church tell them what it says and teaches. This was one of several reasons for the reformation.
This has the effect of , do as I say not as I do. If more people read the bible instead of the jibberish put out by the church there would be a lot more atheists in the world. And that's a good thing.

I applaud your resilience to a church that persecuted Jews and others through the centuries and presently looks inward to support thei rown rather than outward to admit their shortcomings and punish the sexual predators in their midst. I have always felt belief trumps reason and common sense!
Kabala