I've been thinking a lot about Catholicism lately. The national eruptions of child molestation accusations and convictions bother me enormously. How can the Vatican down to the lay people NOT be appalled and sickened by what has been revealed? How can people continue their dedication to this denomination? I was baptized and confirmed many moons ago, but I fervently distanced myself from the church, notably when I arrived at college. In school, I took time to research other religions and to listen to their practitioners. I wanted to understand the power and surrender of "faith" and the shunning of empiricism, counterpoint, free will, and philosophical risk. In short, my journey showed me that there are no correct beliefs or answers, and to succumb to a dogma is to relieve oneself of the single trait that separates man from animal, the ability to reason. Establishing this point of view and buttressing it through experience and thought moved me far away from the papacy and its teachings. Now, it's easy to remark that people stop going to church because they're lazy or weak, but former Catholics must come up with the reasons for why they left the church.

My reasons for leaving Catholicism are four-fold. It's true that each point requires its own discourse, but, here in the blog, I'll just raise the issues to get others to think about them. They are:

1. I don't believe that Christ is the Son of God, the absolute, fundamental tenet of Christianity.
2. I don't agree with the historical actions of the Catholic Church, all executed in the name of Christ.
3. I don't agree with the rigid rules of practice, perpetuated in the name of tradition.
4. I don't agree with the politics of the papacy.

If those are my stances, the Catholic Church may skip over my application to be a bingo barker. Fine. After I explained all of these points to a Catholic friend of mine, in essence, he replied, "Okay, we don't want you in the church." Huh? What about the shepard reuniting the lost sheep with the flock? I didn't expect my friend to say, "Hey, you're right. I'm through with this religion, too." I figured that he'd, at least, drop a point or two, attempting to bring me back into the fold. The Catholic Church wants its laity to evangelize and reach out to those who have strayed. My friend's response, in my opinion, is indicative of the church's inflexibility and aversive to dissent. Of course, his lack of parry to my thrust only firmed my position, but I'm still not satisfied with just opinions loaded in my brain, waiting for the right discussion to discharge. I thought to myself, "This isn't for me anymore. Therefore, if I can be confirmed officially into the church, can I now renounce my affiliation to the Catholic Church?"

Over time, I hope to do just that. I've joked about un-confirming myself and had a brief discussion with a priest years ago about such an endeavor (he didn't take me seriously, I think, because I'd been drinking...oops). I'm currently researching ways to set up new discussions with local Catholic priests to investigate formally removing myself from the Catholic Church. I plan to pursue "un-confirmation" with the same ardor I used research and reason to form my post-Catholic opinions. The ultimate goal is to meet Francis Cardinal George of the Archdiocese of Chicago. An audience with Cardinal George would be a feat, but why wouldn't he want to speak to me?