Comments on: Calling Former Catholics: Why Did You Leave the Church?

By: perkins1375

perkins1375 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:17:06 +0000

Actually “anonymous” I am not wrong. I never claimed that the Church was solely responsible for overpopulation the world over. They are however responsible for very many specific overpopulation problems. There are certainly areas of the world that are impoverished and Catholic but in very many of those cases birth control has been made available to those populations at no cost but was refused and some times even met with violent agression. In fact this has been such a hot button topic for the Church that their official stance has been to deny that overpopulation can even be a problem. If you’re feeling cheeky type “myth of overpopulation” into any search browser and spend the rest of the day reading all about how overpopulation is an atheist lie and the world can easily support 40 billion or more little catholic wallets.

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By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:22:44 +0000

I have nothing against the Catholic Church, I just stopped believing in God, and thus have fallen away from the Church. If for some strange unforeseen reason, I regain my belief (which I doubt will happen) then I would return to being a Catholic, not a member of another faith.

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By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:09:55 +0000

I am not Catholic and have never been, but I grew up in a very catholic neighborhood, and many of my circle of friends and family, including my ex-wife, grew up Catholic.

My ex left the church because it offered her nothing BUT guilt for her various past transgressions; “forgiveness” is a distant afterthought. There’s also the little matter of all the parts of Catholic theology – limbo, purgatory, saints, the Pope, praying to the Virgin Mary – that never actually turn up in the Bible.

I looked at the CHurch when I was younger, and opted not to join for all of the above reasons, as well as some theological ones. I am a Presbyterian now. It just makes more sense.

Also, there’s some politics involved. THe commenter above was wrong – it wasn’t the lack of birth control that led to overpopulation – it was poverty. But it’s hard to miss the fact that all of the parts of the world that were colonized by Catholics are intensely dysfunctional, impoverished, and beset with dictators. I find it inescapable to conclude that had the US been a predominantly Catholic country, we’d have never written a Declaration of Independence or the Constitution that we have.

That said, I have immense respect for many of my Catholic friends, relatives, and have always admired John Paul II.

By: Tim P

Tim P — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:41:56 +0000

I answered the poll with the first choice (switching religions), although there is more to the story. I went through 12 years of Catholic schools and have an extended family that still considers itself Catholic. After all the training and learning in the Catholic system, I finally met my Savior while attending church in a different denomination. It was not so much the church itself, but the idea that you could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that made the difference. I find that those I know in the Catholic faith are too caught up in the rituals and obligation and not taught about or encouraged to seek this relationship. And, I am ostracized by the same family although I am the only member regularly attending church.

By: Ken Colley

Ken Colley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:02:02 +0000

I was born, baptised and raised Catholic (1st Communion, but not confirmation) and left for the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) at the behest of my mother, who was tired of the “distant” nature of our local parish.

The PCA was my home church (and still is) from about age 10 to now. I was a typical evangelical convert, suspicious about Rome and all things papal.

In recent years, I have come to deeply appreciate our Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ and have really gotten a much better understanding of Church Tradition, Church Fathers and all those typically “Catholic” things.

A friend who was in Seminary to become a priest was instrumental in my softening to the Roman Catholic point of view.

I’d probably never go back, but I consider all Catholics that are believers in Jesus Christ my siblings.

By: perkins1375

perkins1375 — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:24:16 +0000

I was raised Catholic but I stopped going to mass when I became old enough to learn about the world around me and see the damage that the Catholic Church has done to it. For the sake of brevity I’ll overlook transgressions like the Spanish Inquisition and just add that it makes it difficult to believe in the infallibility of the church.
The Churches’ stance on birth control has lead to overpopulation in parts of the world that are predominantly Catholic. This has led to strains on the recourses and environments in those areas and has strained the countries and organizations that provide them aid. It has led to the continued proliferation of AIDS, starvation, economic destabilization and war.
The Churches’ handling of the cases of abuse was deplorable. For the shockingly large number of cases that came to the forefront there likely as many cases that were successfully repressed and have never come to light. The Church had a great deal of information in very many of these cases and willfully obfuscated the truth for many years and went to great lengths to protect the perpetrators and, in many cases, established them with a clean slate and a choice opportunity to reoffend. The act of intentional suppressing the facts and actively protecting the offenders makes the church complicit. This was not a “scandal”, a “scandal” is sleeping with the married neighbor. This was a series of brutal crimes against mostly children that was committed and covered up by an organization that claims to speak for God.
The Church has a long and storied history of the subjugation of women. The Churches’ draconian stance on divorce ensures that women are continually viewed as property. It prevents women and their children from leaving abusive relationships and in very many cases has helped to hide abusive relationships from public authority. Instead of helping these women find safety the Church usually recommends religious couples counseling, typically mediated by a priest with no marital experience or formal psychology education.
Nuns are often housed in the poorest and most modest quarters in line with their vow of poverty. Priests often drive late model luxury cars and live in comparative opulence in large homes, some with personal gyms and hot tubs.
The current Pope, Benedict XVI was “infallibly” selected. He wears Gucci and Prada. He was in the Hitler Youth.
So, in my opinion the Church is a dangerously powerful political and money making venture that has always served it’s needs at the cost of the well being of its people and the world.