Expert: Sal - 3/12/2009

Question
Where do I go when the Church is in such bad shape? I am unbaptised but I had to leave my last parish because they believe that everyone will go to heaven and that there will be no second comming and in my present parish the priest recently told us that there is no sensible reason why non Catholics and catholics should not marry! The bishop in my area also is a strong Obama supporter. I have been called a Fundementelist, the present pope took part in Islamic prayer, the pope before him was the author of the fameous Assisi incident. Where do I go? What do I do?

Answer
Dear Jason:

I feel your pain. I, too, have had to leave one Catholic Church to attend another because the priest decided to change the church to support his liberal ideas. Your situation seems to be much worse than mine in that my next Catholic Church had a much more faithful to the magisterium priest. One insight I can offer is not to lose hope-- pray always. Don't be so quick to see the pope as an enemy of the Church. Sometimes popes may do something that at first glance appears uncatholic, but upon reflection is the right thing to do. Praying with Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and for that matter Protestant heretics does bother me, but I have come to see it as an attempt to eventually bring them into the One True Church. By opening lines of communication we can bring the Truth to them. Popes don't deny the truth of the faith by meeting and praying with other religionists. Remember that John Paul II did believe that all people should be Catholic. So keep going to Mass, but just don't get involved in the heretically junk that is going on at your parish. Another bit of advice: try to find others who agree with you at your church. That will help you cope with all the nonsense that is pushed as Catholic theology.

I will pray for you,
Sal