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I also don't tell people that they're going to hell if they don't worship exactly the way I do because I'm aware of my imperfection and my finiteness, as opposed to God's perfect judgment.

I'm glad to hear that. I usually find the two most boorish and preachy people to be ex-smokers and ex-Catholics.

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but I must ask, since you raised it, if you are so happy in your Protestant faith, why did you consider rejoining the Catholic faith up until this thread? Something must be missing for you to have considered a return to the fold.

I must say that I attended Mass shortly after I posted #229, and I was amazed to see how many people took their lunch break to attend. The best thing was the diversity of the congregation. As I looked around, I saw at least 20 different ethnic groups represented. Which is why I see the Catholic Church as the one true Church. You can't fool that many people from such diverse cultures with trickery and chicanery, as has been alleged by others in this thread.

I thought about returning to the Catholic church because I'm a member of one of the mainline denominations (Presbyterian Church U.S.A.--which my mother was raised in) that seems to be speeding toward apostasy. It's hard to tell the difference between the PCUSA and the Democrat Party sometimes. But the congregation of which I'm a member is very conservative, and we probably will leave the PCUSA if the ruling body decides to approve homosexual ordination of clergy. My pastor says he thinks we'll have a good idea by February as to whether the denomination is going to split or not, so I've been waiting to see what happens.

I also have a son who is in 11th grade and has grown up in this one congregation. I don't want to take him out of this church because it's been very good for him. I also have lots of very good friends after being there for 12 years now.

And you are right about the worldwide membership of the Catholic Church. My husband's mother was from Honduras, and she was very devout--went to Mass several times a week. She passed away before he and I met. And I find the discussions about a possible Latin American pope very interesting.

P.S. Didn't I see something this morning about how the Pope said military action is okay in some limited circumstances? It sounded like St. Augustine's Just War doctrine to me, which makes sense.