I guess my husband had "lousy catechesis," too. He was trained by Jesuits through grad school, but by the grace of God, he was brought out of the darkness into the light of the risen Christ made known to us in Scripture through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Maybe it wasn't "lousy catechesis." Maybe it was as good a "catechesis" as Rome could produce. And yet some men succumb to it and others flee it before finding refuge in the God-given good conscience "purged from dead works to serve the living God."
This calls for speculation.
(In the book, wasn't Gargantua a male?)
What was his graduate degree in and how many theology courses did he take? Maybe he didn't study Penance. If your husband thinks that we teach that penance causes forgiveness then either he had bad catechesis or he missed the point somehow.
Speaking of the point, we were discussing your line
. Yet what does Catholicism preach? Say 10 "Our Fathers and 12"Hail Marys" and you'll be forgiven!!??If you want to change the subject, that's fine, but I like to keep track. I'm arguing that that is a false description of what the Church teaches. Are we going to talk about your husband now?