Faith lost with limited knowledge of religion
By Elizabeth Rich
Roxane Marquez’s April 20 column "Why a ‘good Catholic girl’
lost her faith," was a very disheartening article on the Catholic
Church.
In the article, Marquez touched on just about every fashionable
issue with which to bash Catholics, yet I find it surprising that
she never cited the highly obtainable and relatively new "Catechism
of the Catholic Church," which explains all Catholic doctrines in a
very clear way. I encourage those who are disgruntled with the
church to read about its practices before engaging in
discussions.
It is too often that fallen-away Catholics rely only on the
limited knowledge of the Church they received as children in
religion classes. It is no surprise that as adults, their
elementary knowledge of the mere surface of the dogma does not hold
up to the university-level intellect they have achieved. Why is it
that they broaden their knowledge of the philosophies of the world
and of science and technology, while neglecting to broaden their
understanding of the complex Catholic faith?
There is still a deepness of devotion in the Catholic Church
that I am still discovering. I will never have time to learn about
all the aspects of the faith, but I have found there is certainly
more to it than the seemingly ritualistic "candles and incense"
rhetoric Marquez writes about. It is unfortunate she has neglected
to find meaning behind the celebration and has resorted to adopting
the usual arguments about the church that are thrown in by people
with no authority or expertise in the church’s history, practices
and beliefs. The Catholic Church welcomes all people, especially
sinners, because Jesus came for sinners, not the
self-righteous.
If Marquez had consulted the "Catechism," especially points
2357-2359 on page 566, she would have found that the church teaches
that homosexuals "must be accepted with respect, compassion and
sensitivity." Homosexual acts are "contrary to the natural law:"
they "close the sexual act to the gift of life," just as sex with
contraception does.
As my dad has always explained to me, the church hates the sin,
but loves the sinner. I am proud to belong to a church that upholds
its beliefs, stands firm in its morality and is consistent in
proclaiming the truth and in defending life.
Rich is a second-year student majoring in English/American
studies.