Yes, so much to unpack, here. But that is not for me to do, that’s on the author of the post to pursue some honest, however painful, reflection.
To say that you feel betrayed by [whom ever], you maybe already connected all the dots from the present, where the disagreement is right in front you, to the past, where now you’re like “what was I thinking?” Right?
You admitted so much by mentioning the Democratic Party. And what about that pride of yours that drove you to a completely different church and faith for, for what exactly? Marriage is a Sacrament, not some convenient date on a calendar. Part of the I Do’s pertains to progeny, and promising to raise them IN the faith, did you get that line on your wedding day? Was your then- “non serviam” not the beginning of years full of small and barely noticeable changes in direction off of the Right path? And ultimately leading you here?
We all make mistakes. So. Many. Mistakes.
Just remember, you live in the Now, where God works. Repair what you can from your past to make amends, and place your faith not with people but with God, he’ll take care of the rest.
This simply means that they're allowing serious repentants, which seems reasonable. However, I understand the author's concerns, since institutional capture begins with the tip of the wedge, but the logic should hold firm. While I still attend the Catholic Church, I've also gone to a traditional Latin Mass at SSPX. It was crowded, and I had to go down to an overflow room in the basement -- it seems that many people are taking refuge in tradition. So, for those concerned about the Church post-Vatican II, I'd recommend SSPX as a safe alternative!
By the way, transgenderism is sin, specifically the original sin of Pride. They're attempting to put their own ego and desires over and above Natural Law, and attempting to bend the creation to their will. This of course can only end in ruin.
I was raised Catholic too and after the church supported the debacle in June with the LA Dodgers I restored a personal practice with the Hallow app and priests who have been rejected and go unrecognized by the Vatican like Fr. Frank Pavone. My refuge is in Christ, who hears our prayers and transforms our pain, and no one can take that away. I'm so sorry for yours.
I have the same concerns! I have returned to my Catholic faith since my daughter declared "trans" two years ago, after having been attending Lutheran church for many years (my husband's original faith). I returned to Catholicism because it is the last stronghold against trans ideology besides a few other denominations that are more foreign to me. The Lutherans went woke. The Methodists, Presbyterians, many non-denominationals, and even the Episcopalians! This is a real concern for Catholicism! Many priests are actually gay, even if they don't act on it. I won't know where else to turn if the Pope goes woke on trans. Thank you for bringing this to our attention because things could literally change overnight. Keep praying, as will I! 🙏
God does not change. We must still love our daughters and sons as 1 Corinthians 13 teaches, "Love is patient, love is kind... does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth;..."
I will not rejoice in the falsehood of the Trans ideology. I will thank my Father in heaven for my brothers and sisters in the Catholic church who refuse to let go of truth.
I am a believer in the God of the Bible, the Nicene Creed. The Lord Jesus Christ's prayer was that His Church would work and worship together, no divisions. Let's all get together, give God the glory and ask Him to deliver us from evil, lead us not into temptation, lead us and our Trans identifying children to Him.... in paths of righteousness for His name sake.
So glad you are seeking to worship and obey the one and only true God.
I’m so sorry for your pain and confusion. I don’t want to comment too much on the Churchs’s intentions re transgender people, except that there is no reason to think it will ever accept the completely irrational definition of ‘sex’ which is held by transgender people. It will always accept responsibility for pastoral care of the human beings involved, a pastoral care that involves deep respect and a commitment to healing, not punishing the innocent. This is orthodox and central ecclesial practice in our Church.
However, I’m truly worried about the decision that caused you to leave the Catholic Church in the first place. The rules you apparently broke are completely unknown to me. I think they must be specific rules imposed by the Bishop of your diocese. He has a right to make rules for the church of which he is the head, but those rules must not contradict the essentials of the faith as held by the Magisterium with the Pope. In all this, the ‘Vatican’ is practising essential pastoral care and respect; your Bishop was not. The Vatican’s stance on transgenderism is very very careful; your Bishop’s stance on your marriage was not. Hold on. Trust God, who eternally loves you and your husband and your child; and don’t be afraid of the Chief Shepherd, who’s doing his best to follow Jesus’ example, and is certainly ultimately perfectly orthodox. He’s about reconciliation, not schism.
The US Catholic Bishops have issued a letter in May reaffirming the Catholic Church’s stance against transgenderism. This is a firm teaching that is not going to be upended. This is not your local non-denominational church that one day decides it’s okay to live a gay lifestyle. These teachings are not going to change. Think of the Catholic Church’s stance again contraception and abortion. These are moral teachings rooted in sacred scripture.
I do not believe this will happen. They have stayed strong with not allowing women to be priests despite all the recent noise around this. I believe it is the fine line of not excluding transgenders who want to detransition.
Ex Catholic speaking. As a woman and mother of a male child, there are many things I find unacceptable with this a other organized religions. In effect they are cultish as well. They preach ideology, recruit children, believe their God is the only god, ask for "donations" from members even though they have untold wealth etc.
I find it odd there is no mention of the many child victims and their parents of pedophilic priests who's families have been torn apart and experienced suicides of those same children as adults.
There is a difference between being spiritual and religious. Most of the best people I know are not religious. (Belong to a church) I made the choice to believe myself equal but different to a man, something the church disagrees with. Misogyny is unacceptable.
I also chose to keep my son safe from predators, as is my job. Pedophilic priests are also unacceptable.
Our current Pope is a socialist and has fallen sway to collectivism. He doesn’t realize it,which makes it even more dangerous. He is falling for being “ kind” instead of proclaiming the search for truth.
The title of this piece is exactly how I feel. I am a cradle Catholic. I stayed away from mass for a few years right after my son came out as "trans". I was so upset and angry for a few years. Then a year and a half ago my husband died from a chronic illness. I went into speak with my parish priest about some spiritual issues related to my husband. I mentioned that my son's sudden trans identity was a huge strain on our marriage for several years. I wanted to talk about how I felt guilty and distressed that this issue came between us for the last few years of his life. My husband did not affirm our son. But he was considerably less upset about the situation than I have been.
In the conversation with my priest he made it very clear that he was not at all on board with the transgender ideology. He stated that the world has gone nuts on this issue. It is against nature and nature's God. A few months later I wrote to him after he gave a touching homily tangentially related to trans. It was a general discussion about how lonely and confused young people are today. The prevalence of self harm and suicide. I asked him to expand on that topic and talk particularly about the evil of transgender, child body mutilation, lack of proper mental health on this issue, the ubiquitous nature of this topic in schools and health. I begged him to start addressing this. He completely ignored me! When pushed he mumbled something about waiting for diocese guidance. If a leader in a church, who I know is personally against this, is afraid to talk openly about it we are in a bad place. After going back to church I was looking for spiritual solace for my grief for both my husband and the loss of my son to this horrible ideology. I feel adrift at sea with no help. The Catholic church has dropped the ball completely on one of the most evil issues of our time. No courage.
This response may be a bit off, but then maybe not. Mary’s third and final message (Our Lady of Fatima) was that the last pope will be the antichrist. The Church has kept this hidden of course. Has it started?
I can understand your concerns - but it sounds like the Catholic Church got this right so far (i.e. forgive the repentant.) That’s nowhere even approaching “acceptance” of transgenderism.
That said, it has been alarming to see that many main line Christian churches are displaying rainbow flags and claiming that “love” means acceptance of any version of reality. I think these churches are desperately trying to appeal to younger demographics. It’s not going to work - what is the point to attending church if anything goes? Drinking at the local bar is a lot more fun and less hypocritical.
I also think to some extent the Christian churches are struggling to define their position on transgenderism because it simply didn’t exist until recently. Back in the day, cross-dressing men were counseled to abandon their perversion, but no one thought they were “women”. And there weren’t females pretending to be males, except maybe the occasional women trying to access male privileges. Again, no one even considered that these women were “men”, they clearly knew they were pretending. So this is a new thing that the Church never had to deal with before (contrast this to homosexuality which clearly is mentioned in the Bible.)
your place of refuge is with god. and it is in the church whether the church leaders go astray or not. our priests, and pope are mortal men and have failings. keep your faith , the pope will have to answer for this someday.
Yes, so much to unpack, here. But that is not for me to do, that’s on the author of the post to pursue some honest, however painful, reflection.
To say that you feel betrayed by [whom ever], you maybe already connected all the dots from the present, where the disagreement is right in front you, to the past, where now you’re like “what was I thinking?” Right?
You admitted so much by mentioning the Democratic Party. And what about that pride of yours that drove you to a completely different church and faith for, for what exactly? Marriage is a Sacrament, not some convenient date on a calendar. Part of the I Do’s pertains to progeny, and promising to raise them IN the faith, did you get that line on your wedding day? Was your then- “non serviam” not the beginning of years full of small and barely noticeable changes in direction off of the Right path? And ultimately leading you here?
We all make mistakes. So. Many. Mistakes.
Just remember, you live in the Now, where God works. Repair what you can from your past to make amends, and place your faith not with people but with God, he’ll take care of the rest.
Sadly you are probably right to be concerned about the church.
This simply means that they're allowing serious repentants, which seems reasonable. However, I understand the author's concerns, since institutional capture begins with the tip of the wedge, but the logic should hold firm. While I still attend the Catholic Church, I've also gone to a traditional Latin Mass at SSPX. It was crowded, and I had to go down to an overflow room in the basement -- it seems that many people are taking refuge in tradition. So, for those concerned about the Church post-Vatican II, I'd recommend SSPX as a safe alternative!
By the way, transgenderism is sin, specifically the original sin of Pride. They're attempting to put their own ego and desires over and above Natural Law, and attempting to bend the creation to their will. This of course can only end in ruin.
I was raised Catholic too and after the church supported the debacle in June with the LA Dodgers I restored a personal practice with the Hallow app and priests who have been rejected and go unrecognized by the Vatican like Fr. Frank Pavone. My refuge is in Christ, who hears our prayers and transforms our pain, and no one can take that away. I'm so sorry for yours.
I have the same concerns! I have returned to my Catholic faith since my daughter declared "trans" two years ago, after having been attending Lutheran church for many years (my husband's original faith). I returned to Catholicism because it is the last stronghold against trans ideology besides a few other denominations that are more foreign to me. The Lutherans went woke. The Methodists, Presbyterians, many non-denominationals, and even the Episcopalians! This is a real concern for Catholicism! Many priests are actually gay, even if they don't act on it. I won't know where else to turn if the Pope goes woke on trans. Thank you for bringing this to our attention because things could literally change overnight. Keep praying, as will I! 🙏
Try an Eastern Orthodox Church. You can even find them giving services in English.
God does not change. We must still love our daughters and sons as 1 Corinthians 13 teaches, "Love is patient, love is kind... does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth;..."
I will not rejoice in the falsehood of the Trans ideology. I will thank my Father in heaven for my brothers and sisters in the Catholic church who refuse to let go of truth.
I am a believer in the God of the Bible, the Nicene Creed. The Lord Jesus Christ's prayer was that His Church would work and worship together, no divisions. Let's all get together, give God the glory and ask Him to deliver us from evil, lead us not into temptation, lead us and our Trans identifying children to Him.... in paths of righteousness for His name sake.
So glad you are seeking to worship and obey the one and only true God.
To God be the Glory.
I’m so sorry for your pain and confusion. I don’t want to comment too much on the Churchs’s intentions re transgender people, except that there is no reason to think it will ever accept the completely irrational definition of ‘sex’ which is held by transgender people. It will always accept responsibility for pastoral care of the human beings involved, a pastoral care that involves deep respect and a commitment to healing, not punishing the innocent. This is orthodox and central ecclesial practice in our Church.
However, I’m truly worried about the decision that caused you to leave the Catholic Church in the first place. The rules you apparently broke are completely unknown to me. I think they must be specific rules imposed by the Bishop of your diocese. He has a right to make rules for the church of which he is the head, but those rules must not contradict the essentials of the faith as held by the Magisterium with the Pope. In all this, the ‘Vatican’ is practising essential pastoral care and respect; your Bishop was not. The Vatican’s stance on transgenderism is very very careful; your Bishop’s stance on your marriage was not. Hold on. Trust God, who eternally loves you and your husband and your child; and don’t be afraid of the Chief Shepherd, who’s doing his best to follow Jesus’ example, and is certainly ultimately perfectly orthodox. He’s about reconciliation, not schism.
You should check out New Polity on Gender. https://youtu.be/FrNkJAUK1Tw?si=luL2oR7UAAPqJuPC
The US Catholic Bishops have issued a letter in May reaffirming the Catholic Church’s stance against transgenderism. This is a firm teaching that is not going to be upended. This is not your local non-denominational church that one day decides it’s okay to live a gay lifestyle. These teachings are not going to change. Think of the Catholic Church’s stance again contraception and abortion. These are moral teachings rooted in sacred scripture.
I do not believe this will happen. They have stayed strong with not allowing women to be priests despite all the recent noise around this. I believe it is the fine line of not excluding transgenders who want to detransition.
Ex Catholic speaking. As a woman and mother of a male child, there are many things I find unacceptable with this a other organized religions. In effect they are cultish as well. They preach ideology, recruit children, believe their God is the only god, ask for "donations" from members even though they have untold wealth etc.
I find it odd there is no mention of the many child victims and their parents of pedophilic priests who's families have been torn apart and experienced suicides of those same children as adults.
There is a difference between being spiritual and religious. Most of the best people I know are not religious. (Belong to a church) I made the choice to believe myself equal but different to a man, something the church disagrees with. Misogyny is unacceptable.
I also chose to keep my son safe from predators, as is my job. Pedophilic priests are also unacceptable.
The universe is non denominational.
Our current Pope is a socialist and has fallen sway to collectivism. He doesn’t realize it,which makes it even more dangerous. He is falling for being “ kind” instead of proclaiming the search for truth.
The title of this piece is exactly how I feel. I am a cradle Catholic. I stayed away from mass for a few years right after my son came out as "trans". I was so upset and angry for a few years. Then a year and a half ago my husband died from a chronic illness. I went into speak with my parish priest about some spiritual issues related to my husband. I mentioned that my son's sudden trans identity was a huge strain on our marriage for several years. I wanted to talk about how I felt guilty and distressed that this issue came between us for the last few years of his life. My husband did not affirm our son. But he was considerably less upset about the situation than I have been.
In the conversation with my priest he made it very clear that he was not at all on board with the transgender ideology. He stated that the world has gone nuts on this issue. It is against nature and nature's God. A few months later I wrote to him after he gave a touching homily tangentially related to trans. It was a general discussion about how lonely and confused young people are today. The prevalence of self harm and suicide. I asked him to expand on that topic and talk particularly about the evil of transgender, child body mutilation, lack of proper mental health on this issue, the ubiquitous nature of this topic in schools and health. I begged him to start addressing this. He completely ignored me! When pushed he mumbled something about waiting for diocese guidance. If a leader in a church, who I know is personally against this, is afraid to talk openly about it we are in a bad place. After going back to church I was looking for spiritual solace for my grief for both my husband and the loss of my son to this horrible ideology. I feel adrift at sea with no help. The Catholic church has dropped the ball completely on one of the most evil issues of our time. No courage.
This response may be a bit off, but then maybe not. Mary’s third and final message (Our Lady of Fatima) was that the last pope will be the antichrist. The Church has kept this hidden of course. Has it started?
Yikes! That's a scary thought.
I can understand your concerns - but it sounds like the Catholic Church got this right so far (i.e. forgive the repentant.) That’s nowhere even approaching “acceptance” of transgenderism.
That said, it has been alarming to see that many main line Christian churches are displaying rainbow flags and claiming that “love” means acceptance of any version of reality. I think these churches are desperately trying to appeal to younger demographics. It’s not going to work - what is the point to attending church if anything goes? Drinking at the local bar is a lot more fun and less hypocritical.
I also think to some extent the Christian churches are struggling to define their position on transgenderism because it simply didn’t exist until recently. Back in the day, cross-dressing men were counseled to abandon their perversion, but no one thought they were “women”. And there weren’t females pretending to be males, except maybe the occasional women trying to access male privileges. Again, no one even considered that these women were “men”, they clearly knew they were pretending. So this is a new thing that the Church never had to deal with before (contrast this to homosexuality which clearly is mentioned in the Bible.)
your place of refuge is with god. and it is in the church whether the church leaders go astray or not. our priests, and pope are mortal men and have failings. keep your faith , the pope will have to answer for this someday.