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This kind of conversation fascinates me because it is evidence of two distinctly different mindsets — and some would say distinctly different Churches — in Catholicism.

I was raised in a Catholicism where the rules were clear and simple - you accepted the Church teachings, or you didn't. Your "opinion" didn't matter. Thus, when I reached the point where my opinion didn't agree with the Church, I never felt I had any right to challenge the Church, nor did I necessarily "decide" to leave it. It's more like I just recognized I wasn't in it anymore, with literally no alternative.

And though some here believe this "two distinctly different churches" is a heretical, nonexistent or trivially resolved matter, I saw it rip my own family in half - not over me, but over whether Catholics should have a "say" in the interpretation of Church teachings. The pro-feminist American Catholic Church, which was in open defiance of Rome, was accepted by one parent, while the Traditional Catholic Church was accepted by the other. Then Rome itself started to change, and now we have Francis.

So whether I'm a Catholic remains a mystery, because I still believe the level of choice I have in deciding the matter remains unresolved, because Catholicism itself is now unresolved - unless you feel free discarding the teachings of the Pope, which is a whole issue in itself. That's why this quote, this article, means so much to me - its an acknowledgement of the depth of this rift. Because though it affects millions, and is addressed by Rome in a variety of ways, it is not at all acknowledged as a legitimate problem of conscience BY Rome, even now, even after so many "Catholic" churches have gone their own way.

Also, that people have actually found it necessary to curse me over these observations is something I've found astounding. Especially since we've reached the point where many absolutely "solid" Catholics believe they can call the Pope a heretic! My theory is that these unresolved schisms have driven some Catholics insane - they need it resolved, and so they simply pick a side and then go militant over it. So they're really not into Catholicism, but mere stress relief. As a result, like the liberals many "Catholics" have become, they indulge in brittle aggressiveness to defend their "safe space."

Talisker you make excellent points. What you see and what you (and your family) are experiencing are both very real. Most will currently blame it on Francis but there has been a rift in the Catholic Church since Vatican II. It has just reached its boiling point via Francis because he is the most emboldened Modernist pope since that time. Catholics are trying to make sense of the crisis in the Church and what you are seeing and experiencing is the direct result of that.