Hi, Paula —

First, let me thank-you for sharing your feelings about the recent events in the Church. I believe sharing your feelings within the Church is important to the growth of everyone involved.

That said, let me bring to your attention that there are certain e-mails we will not reply to. You can see a list of them on the Questions We Don't Answer page. (Note Number 4, No queston in your e-mail.)

Nevertheless, in brotherly Christian charity let me address what you have said. I think there are a few misconceptions you have been taught about the Church.

You stated in your question:
I cannot believe the Cardinals did not really listen to the Holy Spirit.

They did! The cardinals, didn't literally choose the next Pope; the Holy Spirit working through the cardinals chose Pope Benedict XVI.

You stated in your question:
I just cannot stay in a Church that chooses:

• the moral issues above charitable ones

All charity we give to the world, as Catholic Christians, has its basis in the truth or moral teachings of the Church.

You stated in your question:
I just cannot stay in a Church that chooses:

• to be strict and not open
• not to speak against poverty and corruption
• not to respect women, and
• not to read the signs of our time.

Pope Benedict XVI and Pope St. John Paul II were very close friends and worked together to publish some of the most important documents that Pope John Paul II gave final approval to.

Prior to the election of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ratzinger had an important role in the Church. He was responsible for ensuring that the Catholic Faith was being taught throughout the world as Our Blessed Lord Jesus would want it to be taught. If we didn't have a person like this in the Church, people could teach anything they wanted to teach, like:

• Satan is a good and holy angel.
• Evil doesn't exist; it's just the absence of good; like a vacuum.
• Hell does not really exist.
• Everyone goes to Heaven no matter what they do in life.
• Actions and decisions do not have any consequences.

Our new Pope was responsible for ensuring that the Catholic faith was taught correctly around the world.

You stated in your question:
This is a Church for a restricted group of people that have no feelings for the individual human aspect of its members.

I couldn't disagree with you more Paula. He has been Pope for less than 48 hours and the Mass Media want to label him as Vatican's rottweiler.

• Although I have never met you personally, do you think it would be fair for me to say things about you, without first getting to know you?

I've read some of Cardinal Ratzinger's theological works. This man has a lot of knowledge and wisdom. We all have different personalities, so if you were expecting a "clone" of John Paul II,
you set yourself up for a little disappointment. To that extent, it is an adjustment for all Catholics; let's face it, we haven't had a new pope in 26 years!! We are use to John Paul's personality, character, and mannerisms.

You stated in your question:
I am thinking about leaving the Church today, as I think many Christians are doing, although I will keep all my faith in Christ. This is not His Church.

You are correct!

The Catholic Church is not:

• Benedict XVI's Church
• John Paul II's Church
• nor any other previous Pope's Church.

It's Jesus' Church! and it was Jesus' decision to have the Holy Spirit choose each successive Pope of the Church down through the ages through the college of cardinals.

It was also Jesus' decision to have each successive Pope of the Church:

• protect and safeguard the teachings and doctrines He left His Church before his Ascension
• clarify teachings and doctrines of the Church during periods of confusion in the future, and
• to speak out on issues of faith and morals unheard of in Jesus' time:
  • e.g. cloning, (IVF) In Vitro Fertilization

Finally, let me share with you a hypothetical situation you will be able to emphasize with.

After Pope Benedict XVI passes from this earthly life, we will have a new Pope. Based on what I am able to find out about the new Pope, I may be disappointed with some of his previous or future personal acts or decisions. He may be known for some immoral behavior, or for making bad administration choices, etc. Nevertheless, as Catholics, it is critical that we separate impeccability from infallibility.

1. Papal Infallibility means that the Pope, when pronouncing definitively and dogmatically on matters of faith and morals, is protected from teaching errors.
   
   infallibility should not be confused with impeccability.
   
   
2. impeccability is best defined as being sinless, or never making a moral mistake.

A favorite argument of non-Catholic Christians concerns the first Pope, Saint Peter, and his not eating with the Gentile converts. This is mentioned in Galatians 2:11-14; Saint Paul says that he corrected and rebuked Peter. Surely, the argument goes:

• If Saint Peter were not infallible, then how could he be the first Pope (if the Pope is infallible) or, if Saint Peter were the first Pope and was not infallible, how could all the other Popes be infallible?

This argument is easy to refute by a close reading of the text. It is made very clear in the Scripture that Saint Peter did not in fact teach or solemnly define something which was wrong. In fact, quite the opposite — Saint Peter had argued that Jewish and Gentile Christians should eat together — but he just wasn't living up to his own teaching! Saint Paul rebuked him, not for an error in teaching, but rather for hypocrisy. St. Peter was not impeccable; or in other words, he was not sinless.

During these times of transition, we have to keep in mind that even though a future Pope may be displaying scandalous public behavior, (that he is not impeccable); on issues of faith and morals, we can always rest assured, that he is infallible because of Jesus' promise in Matthew's Gospel.  (Matthew 16:13-19)

You stated in your question:
I will keep all my faith in Christ. This is not His Church.

It IS Jesus' Church. There is only one Church that can trace its roots all the way back to 33 A.D. to Our Lord's Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven: the Catholic Church.

One of the things I love about being Catholic is that it is incarnational. This means God has decided that he wants us to partake in His work of redemption, especially in a state of grace through the Eucharist.

Instead of thinking about leaving the Church, I would encourage you to do three things:

1. Pray the Rosary on a daily basis.
2. Go to sacramental Confession, and
3. In addition to making your Sunday obligation, if possible, go to daily Mass.

You stated in your question:
I really hope the Pope will look to the Catholics around the world that are crying and
in so much pain with this choice.

The only Catholics that are crying and in pain around the world are people who are in the Church, who claim to be Catholic, but don't believe in the Church's teachings.

They are referred to as:

• C.I.N.O.'s (Catholics In Name Only), or
• Cafeteria catholics, who pick and choose what they wish to believe.
  Also known as moral relativists, they are playing a deadly game of "personal pope" with their life.

Being a faithful or practicing Catholic assumes that your public and private words or speech match your actions and behaviors. Good examples of public figures, who are not faithful or practicing Catholics, are Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. They publicly claim to be practicing Catholics but their actions are anti-Catholic; they promote abortion whenever they can.

Sadly, they were probably never taught what their Particular Judgment is. Just Google it:

• Particular Judgment

1. Customs, disciplines, theological opinion and local practices can change.
2. Dogmas, doctrines and teachings on faith and morals cannot change.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Dear Paula,

The Church is open to all people. That does not mean the Church bases Her doctrines on public opinion polls. Divine Revelation limits the Church to teach that which the Holy Spirit wants Her to teach.

Sometimes we get the idea that Jesus was a wimp. We think that He was lenient or indulgent but the message of the Gospel is mercy and salvation, not leniency and libertarianism. Mercy forgives sin, but still calls sin, what it is: sin. Christ Himself, said the following:

This text is very important. It tells us two things.

1. He makes it clear that the Gospel is not going to be accepted by everyone and it is not to be watered down in order to appease public sentiment. To the contrary, the Church has a counter cultural mission. As you point out, the Church must defend the poor, the hungry and the marginalized. The Church does that and will continue to do that under the administration of Benedict XVI. Nevertheless, part of being counter cultural, means speaking out against sinful behavior and heresies that devour souls. The Church's primary mission is to save souls from damnation. Hence, She must preach the entire truth, in charity.
   
   
2. Christ is speaking to his Apostles. He makes it clear, in verse 40, that the Apostles, now the bishops in union with the Pope, speak for Christ. Therefore, the Pope cannot allow priests and so-called "catholics" to continue in heresy in the name of Christ and His Church.

I'll leave you with the words of the first Pope: Peter, the Fisherman:

God Bless you,

John DiMascio

Dear Paula,

I think it was Ratzinger himself who said, before the conclave, that the Holy Spirit does not select the Pope, cardinals do, and then the Holy Spirit guides him.

He said that we have too many popes, so much so, that we can't put blame on the Holy Spirit! Whatever you think about Benedict XVI — and I think you will be surprised — Christ will take care of His Church. Also don't forget that the truth makes us free. Truth is important. It is not an imposition of one side's subjective view. It is reality. In the Church's case, it is revealed reality.

Yes, there is corruption in the Church. There was awful corruption in the Judaism of Christ's time, yet He worshipped at the Temple and respected the chair of Moses. In addition, there have been other epochs of awful corruption in the Church. I think we are just coming out of one of them, however reluctantly, which is now being exposed and dealt with. I think the new threat, if any, will be the corruption that will hide inside orthodoxy and good liturgy, the best place to hide. That said, it won't mean that orthodoxy and good liturgy are bad, only that people can be bad. In saying this, I am not referring to the Pope. I think he is very aware of the issues in this area.

As for your specific concerns, as a woman, I believe that the Church's stand against contraception, abortion, divorce, and other such things are the most pro-woman of any religious organization. Women have bought a bill of goods of false liberation, and they are nothing but hurt by:

• abortion
• divorce,
• contraception, and
• the so-called gay agenda for families.

As for married priests, it is already here, except within the Latin Rite. A married priest has told me he didn't think the married priesthood is a good idea.

As for women priests — which is often the crux of the issue — we have no more power to change that, than to change the law of gravity. It was instituted by Christ.

• Why?

Maybe one reason is because priests are to be servants, and men need to learn to be servants. :-) But mostly because they are alter Christi's, (other Christ's) and Christ, Himself, must image the Father. Because women, in their femininity and maternity, witness to their own inner power, and cannot be transparent functionally in persona Christi, (in the person of Christ), they cannot represent Christ in His imaging of the Father.

In any case, priesthood is not about power, it is about service. Think of priests as waiters, and the Pope as the head waiter. We, the faithful, are the clientele, the point of the whole enterprise. If male clerics lord it over others in domination, we can prophetically challenge them and know that judgment awaits them. We don't need to become like them, to be Catholic.

Even though this is a cross for you, remain faithful. Christ will be faithful to you.

Mary Ann

Hi Paula,

Thank-you for your kind words.

You stated in your reply:
I cannot agree with a Church that values sexual morals more than doctrine.

The Church values both sexual morals and doctrine.

If there is an appearance that the Church is stressing sexual morals more, it's probably because of the sexual struggle that goes on within both men and women; we call this concupiscence. It should also be noted that in a private revelation the Church has approved at Fatima, Our Blessed Mother told the three children that more souls go to Hell, because of sins of the flesh, than for any other reason.

All of us are human and we have a "natural" desire for sexual pleasure, but God through his Church has told us that sexual pleasure has a specific purpose within the life of a Christian.

• When?
  <Within the marital covenant, meaning, within Marriage.>
  
  
• For what purpose?

1. For babies (procreative), and
2. For bonding (unitive)

• The openness to fertility
• The fecundity of marriage

Through NFP, couples can use the infertile periods of a wife's cycle to bond as husband and wife. The reason why this is permitted by the Church is because there is still an openness to new life by the married couple. [Find out more.] [Benefits.]

Like I've said in some of my previous AskACatholic.com replies:

I recommend you buy a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and read it, a little bit every day, until you're done.

Hope this helps,

Your Catholic brother in Christ,

Mike

Hi Paula,

You keep on saying the Church cares more about moral teaching than other things.

The moral Teachings of the Church are the moral Teachings of Christ.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. While Christ forgives a repentant adulterer, He does not condone the adultery. Therefore, those Catholics who choose to divorce and remarry, without first seeing if there are grounds for annulment, are making an active choice to live in adultery.

The Church has no authority to change Christ's teaching against adultery. Christ also said, pick up your cross and follow me. He never promised us the Christian Life would be a self-indulgent rose garden.

I am a 44-year-old single man and Christ teaches me to be celibate and chaste.

The fruit of the spirit is self control. We all struggle to keep the precepts of our faith but the key word is struggle. It's one thing to fall due to weakness, it's another thing to decide to live outside the bounds of Christian morality. Believe it or not, people can live without sex. Those of us who are single are called to do so. People don't need to be ruled by their emotions. Emotions, although a gift from God, can deceive the soul into thinking certain relationships are right.

Nevertheless, we have the Word of God which tells us otherwise. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us and Holy Mother Church as a sure anchor to keep us from floating adrift. If we choose to reject these, then it is our choice, not cruelty on the part of Christ, or His Church.

As to the needs of the poor, the Catholic Church does more for the poor than some governments.
In my state of Massachusetts, Catholic Charities is the second largest provider of social services to the needy. It's a close second to the state, and from time to time, has actually spent more on poverty-related programs than the state.

Christ calls Catholics to give charitably.

• The Church may collect and distribute this charity, but if Catholics don't give, what is there to distribute?

The Bible teaches us to give 10% of our income to charity so before we start clamoring about what the Church does for the poor, we need to ask:

• Have I given 10% of my income?

If we don't ask this question, then we are hypocrites.

The Church does have its share of idiots. The Catechism does not teach women to stay in abusive relationships. If a priest told a woman to do so, he was speaking for himself, not the Church.

In fact, the woman has a duty to herself and her children to get them out of that situation.
I believe the Church would confirm this.

I hope this helps.

God Bless,

John DiMascio

Dear Paula,

The Church hates social injustice as much as sexual sin — probably more. The Church hates wife abuse and does not say that women should be having as many children as possible.

Some Protestant sects say that, but never the Catholic Church. You seem to be someone with a fantastic heart who is moved by the immense suffering in the world. Sometimes, I think we don't realize how sexual sin contributes to this suffering —

• the way divorce hurts children
• the way abortion tears women's and men's lives apart
• the way molestation and other forms of sex abuse try to annihilate the human person
• the way that fornication breaks hearts, minds and bodies, and
• the way sexual license leads to sex slavery and abuse of women.

Regardless, sexual sin is not the worst sin; pride is. The Church has always taught that. There are many worse sins. I think you would enjoy going to the Vatican web site searching for the topics you are interested in. They have it in Portuguese. The site can be found here:

The Vatican web site in Portuguese

To read pages on the Vatican web site in other languages, (See Below.)

Good luck — You seem like someone I would love to meet and know.

Mary Ann