- How old were you when you left?
- What are some of your early childhood memories of growing up Catholic?
- Describe your relationship with God at the time you left the Catholic Church.
I may post your comments as separate blog posts so others can interact with them. Thank you in advance for sharing your story!
This is a story, based in the present, of an octogenarian mother Lucy D'Angelo and her quinquagenarian son Gerald.
ReplyDeleteIt all started when Gerald--who has long since left the Church--said, apparently noting the hypocrisy and seeming relativism creeping into the Church, "How can God prohibit Catholics to eat meat on one Friday and then [after the Vatican II council] permit it the next?" I saw an old film Gerald took of Lucy (probably in her late 50s) inviting over to her house a priest unrelated to us but nevertheless named Fr. D'Angelo. Lucy was complaining that they removed the altar rail from her church that she attended since she was a kid. Lucy still loves the Latin mass, but doesn't have access to it and has almost completely lost her faith; she doesn't attend church anymore. Her and many of my aunts, uncles, and other relatives definitely need our prayers. My Nebraska aunt is still a faithful Catholic, and she says that the '60s did a lot of damage on my relatives' faiths (most all are baptized Catholics). Anyways, this coupled with attending a Church with many liturgical abuses (nuns and students saying "homilies," distorted rock guitars in the sanctuary, liturgical dancing [not sure that's an abuse, though, but it is kinda weird], etc.) really made me look at Vatican II. I do still believe the council was infallible and credible, but the interpretation and aftermath still seem a little askew. I am sure 50 years from now we'll look back and say, "Wow, the Holy Spirit's strategy was the best possible, and He undeniably guided that council and the Church onto the right path."