Why this blog, and why should someone remain Catholic amidst current scandals? Let's talk.
Please read this post first.
Hello and thank you so much for your goodwill and for sharing your time by reading this blog! I’m brand new to blogging, but I am compelled to give it a try by a challenge from my pastor and a broken and yet hopeful heart.
It’s August of 2018 as I write this first post, and last week, a scandal of previously unimaginable proportions involving the widespread sexual exploitation of children and young men by Catholic priests and bishops was revealed to the world. Then, just yesterday, allegations arose that the cover up of the abuse and the protection of perpetrators in positions of power involved the very highest levels of the Vatican, so far as to potentially implicate the Pope. Wise and insightful mentors have already warned me not to be surprised if the news get worse and that we are perhaps entering in upon a great and terrible storm—whether it proves to be cleansing or destructive or both remains to be seen.
My heart is broken for the victims, for the Church, and for Christ himself as he bears the pain and the horror of these sins. If you are a victim reading this or are suffering from the victimization of a loved one, no words will be adequate to console you, but please know I am profoundly sorry nonetheless. This is an evil of almost apocalyptic proportions. Jesus warned repeatedly and especially against those who would do the slightest harm to children, as perhaps He foresaw and wept over our day.
My heart breaks for the Church, as she lies terribly wounded by those who would destroy her from within. My friends, horrible evil is at the heart of these abuses, and nothing would please evil more than to see you lose your Catholic faith. You might be shocked to hear me defend Catholicism amidst these revelations, but I invite you, in the pages to come, to explore why with me. The essential question this blog will address is why I, a random rank-and-file lay woman in a back pew, remain Catholic amidst these horrors. Why should anyone?
Finally, my heart is nearly destroyed for the suffering of Christ himself, who carries the weight and feels the pain of each of these horrendous sins on the cross, and then is subjected to a loss even more wounding to his Sacred Heart—that of people turning away from His love, the belief in His goodness, and the way to salvation through the Church He established. Beyond harming children, what greater pain could evil cause Our Lord than to steal from Him your soul? Don’t let it happen, my friends. Let us remain steadfast in the storm.
So, here at StillCatholic.com, simply and from the heart, I will explain why I remain in the Catholic Church.
It’s a question I get in different forms from friends quite often, so I will post in response to those questions, as well as invite readers--who I consider new friends--to ask and respond. Please be very clear, however, that I am not any sort of authority. I am not a priest (obviously!), and I am not an apologist. I will attempt to answer in all good conscience in strict accordance with Church teaching, but I, unlike the purity of the teaching itself, am subject to error.
Therefore, in effect, if you pose a question, you are simply asking your Catholic friend what she thinks, not an authority for an official response. If I say something right and it is edifying or helpful to you, it’s by the grace of God. I also beg the grace from God that nothing I say in error would ever cause you any harm.
Stay Catholic, my friends!
Firmum Retineamus,
AnnaMaria