OK.
This is the thing.
On this Board I am known as the Catholic hater, which is unfair.
I am the 'bad thing about Catholics' hater.
YOU...yes YOU...with your fervent respectful insightful knowledge of your faith has made me think again.
I don't just hate for no reason. I have many and varied reasons.,,
HOWEVER you have shown me that there is a beauty in TRUE Catholic faith historically ( even though I find it misguided in so many ways)
Religion is still shit butt YOU are not.
NEVER let the turkeys get you down
There is a lot of baggage with being a Catholic... the whole child abuse thing, the attitude towards contraception in providing healthcare, some very dark episodes in history, etc, etc.
These days, people tend to hear negative news, and the loudest fanatic voices from the lunatic fringe, screaming about abortions and stuff.
Not many hear of Pope Francis calling those people out as being obsessed with abortion, whilst they ignore much greater human catastrophes like war, climate change, refugees, etc.
Who has read His Holiness' great Laudata Si? In which he calls for protection of the natural environment, concerted action to tackle the climate emergency, and greater love, compassion, and respect for all God's creatures.
A Pope not afraid to tell Trump that he isn't a Christian, Christians build bridges, not walls.
Did you know the Catholic Church is the world's largest non-governmental healthcare provider?
Come to our Parish... you won't find anyone banging on about abortion, contraception, or gays.
You will find a parish family that doesn't try to convert others, that openly welcomes the LGBT community as our sisters and brothers.
A socially, racially, ethnically diverse family, where tolerance, respect, and compassion is the norm.
We collect for the local food bank, we support refugees and immigrants... we fully support 'Refugees Welcome'.
CAFOD is always one of the first organisations on scene in disaster areas... As soon as a disaster happens somewhere, you should see the amount of money raised straight away in our Church to support CAFOD's work on the ground.
You will find people living their faith, not quoting Bible verses at others... Faith, hope, and charity.
I think you need to differentiate between the headlines you hear about the Catholic Church, mostly revolving around the centre as some kind of monolithic block, and what happens at local parish and diocese level.
We are involved in the campaign against the arms trade, stop the war coalition, climate and environmental action, etc, etc.
This evening I will get on my electric bike to celebrate Mass for the Feast of St. Thomas, in our sister parish š“āāļø They do Mass different to us there. Their Church is very different to ours... They are socially focussed on inclusivity of the LGBT community, and tackling domestic violence throughout the city.