Ma'am, that is false. I do think there is some small blame for an adult not doing his own homework, but when I adduced your lousy catechism it was not to blame but only to account for the difference between what you were taught and what the Church actually teaches.
The Church in which Aquinas and Bonaventure are held in high respect does not discourage independent thought. The Church of Eckhart, Catherine, and Ebner does not turn people away from a personal relationship with Christ.
We are privileged in our time to be encouraged to read the Bible and to study. We Lay Dominicans are required to study, and happily shoulder the easy and delightful burden, even though among our older members are those who felt Sister Mary Yardstick's wrath.
If, however, you insist that the cruelty and heresy inflicted on you is what the official teaching of the Church is, I must disagree. It simply is not so, and you were indeed horribly catechized.
if the authority I went to was no better catechized than that priest, checking out the teaching I received to ensure that it contained no error, would not have been worth the effort.
Did you not hear of Aquinas, of Dante, of Chesterton or Belloc? Did no one speak to you of Newman? Did you not read Augustine or in the sermons of Gregory the Great? Who told you not to? Did they make you afraid or tell you you were unworthy to go the the great and clear springs and restrict you to the muddy water of the local priest? Why did you listen? I don't get it.
I do think there is some small blame for an adult not doing his own homework,
Perhaps so, but what with the way the Catholic church teaches that one is to NEVER, EVER under any circumstances to question the teachings and authority of the clergy, you just didn't do it.
We were scared to death of the priests and nuns. They had power, so we were taught, over the destiny of our souls, and the thought of challenging someone who has the power to not remit your sins and send you to hell was terrifying. Nobody in their right mind would take the risk of angering the priest in that way. It just wasn't done. What the priest said was it. Final. No questions asked.
You submitted or burned.
What child is going to take that risk? Once I was an adult and could read and understand myself, I knew that I was free in Christ so could no longer be intimidated into believing what the Church taught and since I couldn't reconcile the differences between what I read and understood in Scripture, I left.
.... but when I adduced your lousy catechism it was not to blame but only to account for the difference between what you were taught and what the Church actually teaches.In your case, I understand that and I do believe you.
Nope. Never heard of them as a Catholic.
Did you not read Augustine or in the sermons of Gregory the Great? Who told you not to?
Nobody. You can't search out something you were never told of.
Did they make you afraid or tell you you were unworthy to go the the great and clear springs and restrict you to the muddy water of the local priest?
No, I don't recall EVER hearing of any of those men.
Why did you listen?
See previous post. It's not worth risking eternity in hell by challenging the local priest. We were afraid of them. You just stayed off their radar.
I don't get it.
That's likely because it appears that you had a different Catholic experience than a great many of us.