First, let me say that while I'm a former Catholic, I do feel for those who are experiencing the loss of familiar places, and of churches that are important in their family history. A couple of years ago, I drove through my old childhood neighborhood in Gary, Indiana, and I swear I could not even recognize the front of the house I used to live in. It was very disorienting to have such a bedrock piece of my memory to have seemingly vanished, so I do empathize with those seeing their churches being turned over to other uses.
That said, in addition to the deleterious changes that have taken place in the Catholic Church over the last forty-plus years (most noteworthy among them the lawsuits the RCC has had to settle) there is also the fact that many of us have left that church permanently. Some have gone to other denominations or religious traditions, and many, like me, have just abandoned the idea of organized religion altogether.
We are home, although it's not one that you would necessarily recognize as your home. We wish you all well, but we are not coming back.
Thank you for the post and ping! That is a very interesting statement but you have provided no rationale for the decisions. We are witnessing a similar phenomenon here in this diocese. I would truly appreciate your insight into how and why people leave the Catholic Church. Thank you again.
You are always welcome back. Just because a few priests or bishops made unwise decisions, doesn’t mean that the entire Catholic Church is bad.
Compare with a few bad teachers does not make the entire school district bad.
You are still a Catholic.