Reply #35: Like you, I was raised Catholic in the suburbs of Boston

[dddem]

I went to 8 years of Catholic School, and I'm wondering where to go now. I think the straw for me came when my parish priest defended himself for discussing politics from the pulpit. I don't remember the exact words, but the message was that if he didn't tell us right from wrong, then how would we know. Both my kids looked at me with panicked faces. I know they were afraid I would either speak up or walk out. I did neither, but after mass, I calmly explained the the priest SHOULD have advised his parishioners that they needed to educate themselves on the issues before deciding who to vote for, and that "thou shalt not kill" applies equally to pro-choice as well as pro death penalty. Not to mention illegal wars.

I've also told my children that there is a difference between faith and religion, and that faith is important, religion is merely a way to express faith.

As I've asked my ultra-catholic mother, "You don't actually believe that God is Catholic, Do you?".