Despondent Converts (to the Catholic Church)

Inside Catholic ^ | March 8, 2010 | Thomas Howard

[NYer]

 

I receive, not infrequently, inquiries by mail from recent converts to the Church who, after a year or so as new Catholics, find themselves wondering about this and that. All of these letters are from former Evangelicals who have read themselves joyfully into the Church. With their earnest, muscular, biblically oriented background in the free churches, or in the Episcopal Church to which they had migrated because of its liturgy, at some point they had come upon such books as Newman's Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, or Karl Adam's The Spirit of Catholicism, or The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or one of the volumes from the recent flood of testimonials from erstwhile Evangelicals recounting their own itinerary to the Ancient Church.

 

In most cases, they have, in the course of this reading, been dazzled by the sheer serenity of the Catholic Church, derived from its immense antiquity, its undoubted apostolicity, its liturgy and sacraments, its Magisterium, and its unswerving fidelity to the Deposit of Faith over the last two millennia -- often in the face of heresies, war, tyranny, and sin in the camp. The marks of their own piety hitherto have been the great marks of Reformation and Evangelical Christianity: sedulous personal study of Scripture, with its corollary of exhaustive familiarity with the whole Bible; an atmosphere of talkative friendliness and "sharing" of spiritual matters among their fellows; meaty biblical preaching on the part of the clergy; a somber distrust of the pitfalls to be found in 19th-century German historical/critical methods of Scripture scholarship; and a strong sense of "knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior" on the part of every individual. Until their entry into it, these good people understood the Church to be, quite simply, the dispersed aggregate of all individuals scattered across the globe who believe in Christ.

 

Any lifelong Catholic reading this will anticipate straightaway the questions such a convert finds himself entertaining: Why does no one greet me at Mass? There's not much animated Christian fellowship around here. Nobody sings the hymns -- and there seems to be an impoverished fund of hymnody in any case. I'm not sure what to make of the preaching: As often as not, it doesn't sound like the fruit of studious and prayerful preparation. But most puzzling of all, the pastor seems to have identified himself with the dissenters in the Church. He appears to have espoused what Popes Pius IX and X would have called "Modernism." The homilies often seem to reflect popular notions on morals and politics championed by the New York Times, NPR, and the Washington Post.

 

How shall I respond to my correspondent? What would you say? What would Benedict XVI or John Paul II or Cardinal Newman say?

 

 

A start might be made by encouraging our friend to reflect on the question as to what the Catholic Church is. Certainly the ambience in a Catholic parish is different from that found in the Evangelical churches of his background. The observations are understandable; so it may be helpful for him to canvass again the reasons that moved him to make his obedience to this ancient Church in the first place. What is the Catholic Church?

 

It is what it claims to be. It is the Church of God's New Covenant with man, built by Jesus Christ on the foundation of the prophets and apostles. And -- as was the case with Israel, who was the bearer of God's earlier Covenant with her -- the Church is God's people. But it is God's people -- human beings who turn out to be weak, wayward, and often untrustworthy. The Hebrews, as often as not, made a hash of things. Their very first high priest (Aaron) made them a golden calf to worship. They had wicked priests, wicked kings, unfaithful prophets, and no shortage of bad men in their midst.

 

But God looked on them as His Spouse, as He does on the Church. In both cases, the very thing that God Himself was bringing into being was shot through with human sinfulness and failure. God's forbearing grace was at work, century after weary century. A faithful Catholic does not throw in the sponge over the phenomenon of bad Renaissance popes, other than to deplore their evil doings: the Church, Christ's Mystical Body, does not stand or fall with the faltering fidelity of us mortals. (It is interesting to note in this connection that no pope, be he never so wicked, ever taught from Peter's chair that his simony, avarice, luxury, nepotism, and lechery were anything other than sin. He never substituted the euphemism "style of life" for the stark category "sin." Dante, a fierce Catholic, had half of his popes in hell.)

 

Whereas Protestantism, when discord, heresy, or scandal arises, can always split off and start a new parish or denomination, the Ancient Church has no such option. As was the case with the Hebrew Covenant, earnest and faithful men had no warrant to hive off into the wilderness and start things over if there was unfaithfulness in the camp. We recall Elijah and Hezekiah, and Simeon and Anna and Joseph and Mary: faithful Hebrews in the temple, and eventually the synagogue that fell under the power of "scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites." These faithful men and women never thought of starting up a new, pure sect.

 

Fortunately for us, the Church has been served by godly and faithful pontiffs for a very long time now. It is an article of faith that the Church Herself will never teach falsehood. If a given priest or bishop ever sponsors novel or unscriptural ideas in place of the Deposit of Faith, it is of course to be deprecated, and parishioners in such a parish or diocese have to try to fix their gaze on what the Catholic Church teaches. If Father X, in the name of affability, is distributing Communion to non-Catholics, or tacitly endorsing abortion, or winking at moral disorder in the parish, we know that confusion, infidelity, and disobedience are at work here. But the Catholic Church is a hierarchical Church. Only rarely might it ever fall to a layman to try, on his own authority, to set things right. He may, in a pinch of course, venture inquiries. But the Catholic's ordinary duty is fidelity to the Church and to her teaching -- which is to say, of course, to Sacred Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Petrine authority in Rome.

 

But all of this brings us to the question as to why we go to Church in the first place. A Protestant goes for the preaching primarily, and then for the fellowship. Why, on the other hand, does a Catholic go to Church? We go to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass; to join ourselves with the ancient and apostolic Church as she joins herself to her Head and High Priest, Jesus Christ, in his eternal self-offering to the Father, which offering was made present in our history, once and for all, at Calvary, as a perfect oblation of thanksgiving, and as the propitiation for our sins.

 

A Catholic lives there. This is the lodestar, the anchor point of everything, the Still Point of the Turning World. All other aspects of Catholic life -- private prayer, the rosary, the divine office, the sacraments, retreats, pilgrimages, and works of mercy -- find their wellspring here. This has been going on for 2,000 years. Other factors -- war, plague, one's own weaknesses and sins, domestic tragedy, clerical infidelity -- can never dry up this fountainhead of Catholic life.

 

These remarks, of course, do not bring easy consolation to a confused or distressed new Catholic who finds things different from what he may have expected. But he will find that fidelity in his own prayer life, habitual participation at Mass, and an attitude of self-effacing expectation will draw him gradually into the ancient company of Simeon and Anna, and Bede, and Brother Lawrence, and Francis de Sales, and all men and women who have made up the body of the faithful from the beginning.

[NYer]

---

Tom Howard is retired from 40 years of teaching English in private schools, college, and seminary in England and America.

[NYer]

There are some interesting comments posted at the thread’s link.

[mgist]

Converts make the BEST Catholics.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

A Protestant goes for the preaching primarily, and then for the fellowship. Why, on the other hand, does a Catholic go to Church? We go to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass

For the refreshments, in other words?

[Campion]

Converts make the BEST Catholics.

Even cradle Catholics can be converts, given enough grace and determination. ;-)

[SumProVita]

I’ll look at the comments at the link, but I honestly think that not enough attention is placed on CONTINUING to learn about the Faith and there needs to be a greater role via the sponsor(s) to bring converts more fully into participation in the parish. This is certainly being done in some parishes....but not enough.

[trad_anglican]

For the refreshments, in other words?

This is true, though perhaps not in the way you intended.

[wbarmy]

Only rarely might it ever fall to a layman to try, on his own authority, to set things right.

And that is the ultimate problem. His opinion is that the believers should just shut up and obey, right or wrong. The Bible says that we are to search out and study, and that we are responsible. What would my children think if I stayed under the preaching of a man who taught against what I was teaching them in the home. In my home Abortion is evil, adultery is always wrong, pedophilia is worthy of death as is rape, and Homosexuality is equal to murder and bestiality. I can have on fellowship with nor be "yoked" with such evil or anyone who accepts such evil.

[trad_anglican]

there needs to be a greater role via the sponsor(s) to bring converts more fully into participation in the parish

This is undoubtedly true. Though I, as one of them, can tell you the first thing you can do is to stop calling us "converts."

[Andyman]

I converted 11 years ago and have never looked back. Well, I have looked back and wished that I had converted earlier.

[Steelfish]

Good for you! Well said!

[Campion]

For the refreshments, in other words?

For the Refreshment.

"I only want my rights; I'm not asking for anybody's bleeding charity."

"Then do. At once. Ask for the Bleeding Charity. Everything is here for the asking, and nothing can be bought."

[C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce]

[vladimir998]

“Why does no one greet me at Mass? There’s not much animated Christian fellowship around here. Nobody sings the hymns — and there seems to be an impoverished fund of hymnody in any case. I’m not sure what to make of the preaching: As often as not, it doesn’t sound like the fruit of studious and prayerful preparation. But most puzzling of all, the pastor seems to have identified himself with the dissenters in the Church. He appears to have espoused what Popes Pius IX and X would have called “Modernism.” The homilies often seem to reflect popular notions on morals and politics championed by the New York Times, NPR, and the Washington Post.”

Go to a Latin Mass parish and your problem will probably be solved.

[vladimir998]

Prayer of St. Bonaventure (died 1274 A.D.) [Eucharist as refreshment]

Pierce, O my sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of your love, with true serene and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with love and longing for you, that it may yearn for you and faint for your courts, and long to be dissolved and to be with you. Grant that my soul may hunger after you, the bread of angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supernatural bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delight of taste; let my heart hunger after and feed upon you, upon whom the angels desire to look, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of your savor; may it ever thirst after you, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the richness of the house of God; may it ever compass you, seek you, find you, run to you, attain you, meditate upon you, speak of you and do all things to the praise and glory of your name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, and with perseverance unto the end; may you alone be ever my hope, my entire assistance, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my fragrance, my sweet savor, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession and my treasure, in whom may my mind and my heart be fixed and firm and rooted immovably, henceforth and forever. Amen.

[notaliberal]

Converts make the BEST Catholics.

Baloney!

[Theo]

If “going home to Rome” improves someone’s faith in Christ, more power to them.

That said, “convert” is an odd term to use. Never really thought of moving from one denomination to another as “converting.” Always thought of moving from lack of faith to faith in Christ as “converting.”

[MrChips]

Two points: (1) Did not the charismatic movement begin in the Catholic Church? (2) As a convert myself, it is not the serenity which bothers me; it’s the systemization, the extent to which the Church has become an “ism”, one in which the magic and the everyday expectation of the miraculous seem to have been lost.

[Trailerpark Badass]

For the refreshments, in other words?

Hmmm, refreshments for the soul.

I like that!

[steve86]

Go to a Latin Mass parish and your problem will probably be solved.

Someone will greet him at Mass?

[Nosterrex]

This is not unusual. Many converts join the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church out of a sense of romanticism. It takes a little time before reality sets in, and they begin to realize that it was not what they thought it was going to be. Reality can be a bummer.

[mgist]

Even cradle Catholics can be converts, given enough grace and determination. ;-)

So true.

[Campion]

Many converts join the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church out of a sense of romanticism.

"Romanticism" is a bad reason to join. The only good reason to do something like that is because you believe it to be true.

But I know a good many converts who are not like the ones you describe at all.

[Campion]

Someone will greet him at Mass?

Repeatedly!

Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo

[steve86]

Good point!

[moodyskeptic]

Catholic Mass is quiet, boring and the singing is half hearted.... and I love it! We are not there to sing, to hold hands, to hear rousing oratory, or to gush to our neighbors. The silent constancy of 2 thousand years of tradition is profound, and this apparently baffles outsiders.

When your Protestant sect goes wobbly and accepts abortions, gay priests and sanctions gay marraige, you may give the Roman Catholic Church a good hard look. Just don’t expect the RCC to act like those popular megachurches with the hugging and the overt singing and the paid pop music bands. Catholics are at their best when they worship silently, and that silence drives some converts crazy.

[Nosterrex]

I have no scientific poll to base my views, but I have known a few of my friends that have joined the Eastern Orthodox Church because of their love of the Greek fathers, such as Athanasius or Cyril; however, the church today is not the same church as it was in the fourth and fifth centuries. It is easy to fall in love with the church fathers, but having to live with flesh and blood Christians is much harder.

[AnAmericanMother]

Lewis always has the mot juste.

Apropos of the topic of this thread:

Work hard, then, on the disappointment or anticlimax which is certainly coming to the patient during his first few weeks as a churchman. The Enemy allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavour. It occurs when the boy who has been enchanted in the nursery by Stories from the Odyssey buckles down to really learning Greek. It occurs when lovers have got married and begin the real task of learning to live together. In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing. The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what He calls His "free" lovers and servants—"sons" is the word He uses, with His inveterate love of degrading the whole spiritual world by unnatural liaisons with the two-legged animals.

Desiring their freedom, He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits, to any of the goals which He sets before them: He leaves them to "do it on their own". And there lies our opportunity. But also, remember, there lies our danger. If once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt.

- Screwtape

[mgist]

That said, “convert” is an odd term to use. Never really thought of moving from one denomination to another as “converting.” Always thought of moving from lack of faith to faith in Christ as “converting.”

I think Jesus last request to God, regarding Christians, that we "remain ONE", is valid.

John 17:

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Three times in His final request to our Father, Jesus requested that we remain ONE.

[SuziQ]

The homilies often seem to reflect popular notions on morals and politics championed by the New York Times, NPR, and the Washington Post.

Thankfully, we have had only two priests, in the last 22 years at our Parish who did this. One was a much older man, who had been a Missionary in Latin America for many years, and leaned HEAVILY toward the left. I described his sermons as reflections on the "Gospel According to the New York Times". Thankfully, he was extremely hard to understand during his homilies, so most folks couldn't understand what he was saying, anyway. The other was a younger priest, and every time he said Mass and preached, my husband would, as soon as we got into the car after Mass, would turn to the kids and say "OK, here's what Father Brian said that was wrong." ;o)

We have been blessed with the most recent Pastor, Father Mike who is a wonderful homilist, and just a nice man. He and I teamed up and won an "Iron Chef" competition at our Parish one Sunday afternoon. ;o) The two Associates we've had since he's been here are also terrific priests.

The first Associate, Father Manny, is a young Colombian priest who is very outgoing, and was popular with kids and older folks, as well. He was moved to another Parish because there is a very large Hispanic population there, so he does at least one Mass in Spanish each Sunday.

The Associate who followed Father Manny had a difficult time, at first, because he is the polar opposite in personality. Father Adam is very quiet, but has a wonderfully dry sense of humor. He is also an EXCELLENT homilist, but it's hard to hear him up in the Choir Loft, where we are when we sing for Mass. I told him that last week, so maybe he'll speak up a little better next week. ;o) I told him a few months ago that I have been able to use pieces of his sermons in my Confirmation Classes this year. He also did an excellent job a couple of weeks ago when we had a 'Teaching Mass' for the combined 9th grade Confirmation Classes. He shared with the kids how he himself had fallen away from going to Mass when he was a teenager, because he just wasn't getting anything out of it. He said once when someone explained to him, in detail, about the Sacrifice of the Mass, he realized how important it was, and started going back, then decided to become a priest. I hope his message got through to the kids, and their parents who were also in attendance.

[SuziQ]

C.S. Lewis was brilliant. Thomas Howard is a C.S. Lewis ‘Scholar’. We met him, in Boston, many years ago.

[SuziQ]

Converts make the BEST Catholics.

When my Mama and Daddy first got married, he asked her if he should convert, for the sake of the kids. She said if that's the only reason he wanted to convert, then don't do it, because, as she put it, "We already have enough bad Catholics.".

14 years and six of their eventual eight kids later, he decided to convert, but didn't tell her he was going through instructions. He surprised Mama when he made his Confirmation at the same time my older sister made hers.

She always said he was a much better Catholic, than she, a cradle Catholic.

[vladimir998]

you wrote:

“Someone will greet him at Mass?”

They do at my parish. You can’t help but trip over people waiting in line for confession when you walk in the front door!

[mgist]

She always said he was a much better Catholic, than she, a cradle Catholic.

That is a beautiful story. Your Mama was a smart lady. I think the testimonies of Catholic converts (and the Holy Spirit) inspired me to be a better catholic.

My mother isn't as devout as my grandmother, but her integrity is a HUGE testimony to my grandmother's Catholic faith. At this point, I relish going to daily mass for Lent. My mother used to drag me to church on Sunday's. She only goes on Sundays, but still has the heart of a saint.

[steve86]

Another good point! Many at our community’s little Latin Mass parish receive the Sacrament of Confession each week before Mass!

[mgist]

Catholic Mass is quiet, boring and the singing is half hearted.... and I love it!

I'm amazed at how special the daily masses are during the week. Most of us go to Sunday mass out of obedience. Daily morning mass is full of people who absolutely are in LOVE with God. I really recommend it. Perpetual adoration is very special to me. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Today a traveling priest on the Lenten Mission, Fr. Morin from Minnesota, reminded us that study of the scripture is very important. The Magnificat realy helps understand the daily gospel, Bible Study groups are even better.

He called Psalm 1, the Queen of all Psalms: Psalm 1

Blessed is the man . . 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Gospel Study)

[RedDogzRule]

“It is easy to fall in love with the church fathers, but having to live with flesh and blood Christians is much harder”.

I’ve heard Orthodox monks say almost the same thing, verbatim. They were referring to life in the monastic community, though. The flesh is the spiritual battleground.

[vladimir998]

Ahhh, Screwtape Letters. One of my all time favorite books. The man was brilliant.

[Theo]

I concur. Those of us who follow Christ should consider ourselves to be ONE body of believers. No particular denomination should consider itself to be the only legitimate body.

[tiki]

My granddaughter went to one of the Stuebenville conferences, she was very uncomfortable because they are very evangelical and emotional and that certainly doesn’t fit her personality.

What I told her is that the Catholic Church accomodates so many forms of the faith from contemplative to evangelical but the Mass is the Mass and will always be the Mass. It isn’t entertainment and the homilies aren’t always good or digestible but we have Jesus in the Eucharist and Jesus as our focus, not ourselves.

If you need to express your faith in a way that the Mass doesn’t address then start an evangelical group. If you like to pray the rosary, then start a rosary group. If you have a certain private devotion that you’d like to spread, such as the Divine Mercy or The Sacred Heart, start a group. You can start a catechetical group or a Bible group, just stay within the guidlines of the Church.

In most churches if you want to use the parish hall all you have to do is ask for a time when it is not in use.

[mountainbunny]

Catholic Mass is quiet, boring and the singing is half hearted.... and I love it! We are not there to sing, to hold hands, to hear rousing oratory, or to gush to our neighbors. The silent constancy of 2 thousand years of tradition is profound, and this apparently baffles outsiders.

You have hit upon something here. Mass is not primarily about communicating with or getting closer to the other people present.

Protestant converts to Catholicism may still be in the mindset of Man's community vs. God's community. If so, those who teach RCIA, convert sponsors, and religious need to do a better job of explaining the differences.

In most all Protestant churches, Communion (when it is performed at all) is performed without a belief in transubstantiation and with the intent of bringing the immediate community together. I have never heard of a Protestant church denying Communion to anyone under any circumstances.

Catholics, on the other hand, don't partake of Communion primarily to be part of our immediate Church community. We do so to be closer to God, and we have to be worthy before we partake.

That's why non-Catholics and those who separate themselves from the Church through their actions aren't welcome to partake of Communion - for non-Catholics, there is no guarantee that they understand or accept transubstantiation, and they may not understand the risk to their souls if they participate. For Catholics in sin, they are rejecting God's forgiveness and are acting in an incredibly disrespectful way.

Give me a quiet, meditative Mass any time.

[Lorica]

The silent constancy of 2 thousand years of tradition is profound, and this apparently baffles outsiders.

Well said! It's very hard to explain, but with grace, one comprehends what is happening more deeply than what is said.

[NYer]

What I told her is that the Catholic Church accomodates so many forms of the faith from contemplative to evangelical but the Mass is the Mass and will always be the Mass. It isn’t entertainment and the homilies aren’t always good or digestible but we have Jesus in the Eucharist and Jesus as our focus, not ourselves.

Excellent response that bears repeating! Thanks for the post and ping :-)

[NYer]

(1) Did not the charismatic movement begin in the Catholic Church?

According to Wikipedia:

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal as it exists today is the outgrowth from a retreat held in February 1967 of several faculty members and students from Duquesne University, a Catholic university in Pittsburgh operated by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (a Catholic religious order founded in France in 1703). Many of the students - though not all - claimed to have experienced a movement of God’s Spirit called being “baptized in the Holy Spirit. read more.

As a convert myself, it is not the serenity which bothers me; it’s the systemization, the extent to which the Church has become an “ism”, one in which the magic and the everyday expectation of the miraculous seem to have been lost.

As freeper tiki pointed out in her comment, the Catholic Church is expansive, with something to please everyone. You need to look around and visit some of the other parishes in your area. Frustrated with my former parish, I did just that. Before setting out, however, I asked our Lord to guide me to - a holy priest, a reverent liturgy and a community where my God-given talents could be of use. Remember that "we" are the Catholic Church and you too have gifts that are needed. That is how a community functions. That same day, I compiled a list of several other nearby parishes. A freeper friend suggested that I add any Eastern Catholic parishes. There were 2 - a Maronite and a Ukrainian Catholic Church. Each week I attended mass at a different parish. On March 7, 2004, I stepped into Maronite Church, and knew I was home. It met every qualification of my prayer. Since arriving, I have been invited to join the women's auxiliary, assist the parish centennial planning committee, elected to the Parish Council, successfully written a grant to cover the cost of restoring the stained glass windows and now serve as Director for Religious Education. Ironically, I have never been involved in any parish prior to this one but this is a very small community that is close knit and comprised of both Maronite and Roman Catholics. The liturgy is chanted back and forth between the officiating priest and the congregation, even without an organist. When someone is missing, we call to make sure they are okay and look after each other, much like the early christian communities. Not sure how far you are from Atlanta, but there is a Maronite Catholic Church there. Here is their web site.

[BenKenobi]

This is a good article. I’m a convert to Catholicism myself.

[pbear8]

They will be greeted at my Latin Mass parish and handed a missal and a booklet with the readings and a song sheet, they are also invited to join us in the Hall after Mass. :)

[BenKenobi]

Personally some observations:

1. I like to sing. If there’s singing, I’m going to sing. I enjoy the solemnity and I enjoy perpetual adoration, but I like singing on Sundays at mass.

2. I can take or leave the homily. Sometimes they are excellent, sometimes they are ok.

3. I actually enjoy the solemnity and the quiet spaces in mass. When I went back to visit a friend to my old congregation, I found it way too noisy.

4. I like taking communion every mass.

5. I like when I travel I can go to the local parish and enjoy the mass.

[gitmo]

Our church is full of converts. Families that left the Catholic church and are amazed that they never heard the Gospel while they were there.

[mgist]

No particular denomination should consider itself to be the only legitimate body.

That sounds reasonable enough except when your Faith is accused not knowing the bible, and all kinds of crazy things like "idol worship", for having reverence to biblical figures like Jesus' Blessed Mother, who is the perfect Christian woman, and the Apostles who we call saints.

While I try to restrain from insulting back, I really feel the need to defend the faith. There are thousands of churches popping up everywhere, and are they accountable to nobody. The fact that any John Doe, promising Salvation in the name of Jesus, can come along and claim "Christianity" is not always good. Those are the most slanderous of the Catholic faith, and hurt Christianity as a whole.

[mgist]

What amazing church is that Gitmo? Who should be pride in those accomplsihments.

[lastchance]

Is this the same Thomas Howard who wrote “Lead Kindly Light” and “On Being Catholic.”?