I do not consider it a failure of the Church, but a failure of the individuals. The comfort I speak of is not that souls are lost, but that the Church remains the beacon of truth and light and facilitates a path to Salvation for those who seek it. I am comforted in knowing that the Church does not and will not compromise its message for the sake of headcount.
I do not consider it a failure of the Church, but a failure of the individuals. The comfort I speak of is not that souls are lost, but that the Church remains the beacon of truth and light and facilitates a path to Salvation for those who seek it. I am comforted in knowing that the Church does not and will not compromise its message for the sake of headcount.
Overall, I agree, however, the fact is that the souls are lost. That is a sad thing, to be grieved.
I understand what you are saying here.
Ellison left, as many do, not because the Church is wrong, but because he could not accept her teachings.
To think that the Church’s “failure to garner every lost soul for Christ” is a failure is to think that Jesus was a failure.
Jesus proclaimed the Truth and for some that Truth was not acceptable or not enough to make them a His follower. Even some who walked with Him for some time turned away when He revealed the doctrine of the Eucharist.
Some do see it as failure when a Catholic leaves the fold of the Church, but I agree with you that like Jesus, the Church proclaims the Truth and leaves it up to the individual to accept or reject it, and like Jesus, the Church does not alter the Truth to suit the individual.
I left the Church because I wanted to live as I wanted to live without reproval or guilt. I came back because I found that living that way was demoralizing and dehumanizing and fruitless. I pray that others like me will discover the Truth as I did.