Dear Jilliane,
I did not participate in this thread, but I was pinged by BlackElk.
Your later response showed humility and thoughtfulness. If some of us (including me) seem kind of surly at times, it is because we have seen people with an agenda who pose as something else. Certain words and phrases tend to cause us to release the safety.
Few Catholics these days are instructed in what comprises the Deposit of Faith. Even those of us who have been more or less properly instructed find the study to be a lifelong undertaking. When there are too many priests, scholars and commentators of all political stripes (including William F. Buckley and Sean Hannity) who confuse these things, it is understandable that some things that are unchangeable would appear to be up for grabs.
You will find many well-informed people on this site, including some who have responded. Often these responses are marked by good, solid references to reinforce their argument. Elk is usually light on those references because he never quite got that Internet-thingy down. However, he will be quick to defend an honest person with whom he often has a disagreement (e.g. Hildy). He also is very well read on papal writings and is more than a little familiar with Church history.
I believe that you want to be a good Catholic, but not necessarily “more Catholic than the Pope.” That’s fine. For my part, my Catholic Faith has been an anchor. It is my home. Although I am far from perfect in the practice, the depth of what the Church is and what she offers has already been felt keenly in my life. We are blessed to be near an Institute of Christ the King church. Not having the distraction of innovative priests and lay people has really helped us instruct our children in what the Church is. To where else would we go? Her Founder has the Words of Eternal Life?
That last question mark should be a period.
Nice to hear from you Dr. There is no religion I would rather be, no other faith I could ever be.
In regards to words and phrases that cause some to release the safety, I too am sensitive to flags but there has to be more than flags to outright denounce another person’s heart and motive. As a parochial student throughout my schooling (except college), religion classes were daily and consisted of so many pillars: catechism was pounded into my head for as long as I can remember. In digging for the truth, I am very literal (to my repeated points that the article was not informative about the exact nature of the accusations).
I can quickly assess something with hair on it disguised as something else. I think there are people on this posting who also have that ability and realized I wasn’t disguised as something else. Perhaps those who felt it necessary to insult me only prove they are dishonest to themselves about their current status of full spiritual consciousness.
I know I’ve not arrived. But, I should have exercised restraint and compartmentalized my annoyance in a tiny box.
You are right, I will never consider myself more Catholic than the Pope or any person who has devoted their life to theology.