General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMore Americans than ever are leaving the Catholic Church after the sex abuse scandal. Here's why.
YORK, Pa. On Palm Sunday, Barbara Hoover exited Brougher Chapel with a palm frond in her left hand.
The 76-year-old retiree sized up the church in front of her and sighed, visibly upset. I dont know why Im still here, she said, throwing her hands up. I dont know why I still go. I guess the ritual.
In Portland, Oregon, Norma Rodriguez, 51, hustled up the steps of St. Marys Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, eager to get a good seat before the service started.
A lifelong Catholic, Rodriguez attends Mass weekly, praying for everyone she knows. She hasnt been deterred by the sex abuse crisis thats engulfed the Catholic Church for the better part of two decades. Its not her place to pass judgment, Rodriguez said.
This whole thing, it makes me pray more, she said. It just makes me pray for humanity, makes me pray for forgiveness.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/more-americans-than-ever-are-leaving-the-catholic-church-after-the-sex-abuse-scandal-heres-why/ar-BBWblKW?ocid=spartanntp
TlalocW
(15,388 posts)With the Catholic Church, you've got a criminal organization that routinely hides its child-abusing clergy. With Evangelicals, you've got example after example of hatred and hypocrisy from its leaders routinely supporting policies and politicians that hurt the most vulnerable among us in opposition to what the magical surfer dude they claim to follow decreed - as well as proclaiming Trump a great Christian with one breath while condemning everyone else.
They both offer self-serving reasons for their drops and the increase in, "nones," especially Evangelicals who say that churches need to be more conservative, etc. But the reason behind the phenomenon can easily be seen in their bathroom mirrors.
As a secular humanist, I couldn't be happier that more people are leaving these institutions and the horrible morality found in a bunch of fairy tales written by Bronze-age goat herders.
TlalocW
Boomerproud
(7,963 posts)As someone raised Catholic (back in the 60s and 70s) I can only add one more word to her statement-fear. It's a powerful force