So earlier today I was reading an article about how the number of people thinking of leaving the Catholic Church is up 30% because of the abuse scandals that are finally coming to light. Although I understand the frustration, I can’t agree with that thought process. Just for the sake of knowledge I am Roman Catholic, and leaving is absolutely not an option. There are a few things people need to understand:
1-ANYONE involved in any of these acts, regardless of the level, once proven guilty in a court of law…not a court of public opinion….needs to be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. From the Pope on down, there has to be accountability. And…
2-The Church is not a building. It’s not an institution. The Church is a thought process and a way of life. We are the Church, and anyone involved in atrocities like this are NOT the Church.
But it doesn’t end there.
As Christians we were entrusted with a very simple, yet nearly impossible set of rules. All of which are based on love. Not love of money, power, or anything material, it’s love for each other. Now let me ask you, how many people who claim to be followers of Christ do we see committing or endorsing acts like bias…of any kind, murder…regardless of stage of life or criminal act, theft…of object or trust. It’s embarrassing how many isn’t it? It’s people like this who drag us all down because we are immediately lumped in with them. Now I don’t know if it’s frustration from the lack of response from hierarchy or fear of persecution from association that are making people want to leave, but the way I see it, all leaving does is empower the devil. It’s up to US to restore the Church. By running from, or ignoring evil only makes it easier for it to happen until the point that some evil acts will be seen as acceptable.
Not on my watch.
It’s more than just loving Christ, we have to act on our faith. A phrase I’ve come to using at the end of my correspondence is reminding everyone to live the faith. Belief isn’t enough, even the devil believes in God.
Live the faith.
Not long ago I was having a conversation with several people on this topic. The group was made up people of different faiths and what I’ll call it devoutness, all of whom felt the need to square off against me. I will absolutely always defend my faith, which always makes me think of something my son said to me once. In short he told me that he thinks it’s awesome that I’m always willing to stand up for Christ because in his words “People need to know that Jesus still got shooters”. Not gonna lie, it felt pretty great and sad to hear him say that. Great that he recognizes my faith and sad that he too often doesn’t see it in others. It’s up to us to make the change and fix the problems. Remember to live the faith, God bless
Faith like Water 