Just like a prayer

I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with a staunch pro-life couple for a story in our upcoming “Respect Life” supplement.

These are the days when I realize that I cannot do this job for long. Every fiber of my being cries out against it.

They were nice people, really. They invited me into their home for the interview and ordered pizza. They were nothing but kind and courteous.

But seriously, these folks are more Catholic than the freakin’ Pope.

Upon my first few moments with them, I learned that the wife home schools their 3 school-age boys while also caring for an infant. Of course she does. Send them to (gasp!) school?

The angle on this story is that these two make a monthly pilgrimage to the big city for a novena at one of the local churches…they pray the rosary, then process down to the women’s clinic for some quiet protest.

I brought the photos to our photographer for scanning. He looked at them, and said “Ah, the Main Street Crazies.”

Indeed.

The one thing I can say in their favor is that at least they are quiet protestors. These aren’t the people screaming obscenities, or holding up giant fetus signs, or shooting doctors. They’re quietly loony.

Before we began the interview, they handed me two typed sheets of their “thoughts.” I started reading, and just wanted to scream. Here’s a sample”

It is interesting how the prophesy of Fatima is becoming a reality. It was foretold that the evils of Russia would spread throughout the world. In fact, Russia was the first country to legalize abortion. Lenin directed many of his attacks toward family life…Lenin hated religion…it looks very much like the liberal agenda in our country today. Unfortunately, the majority of Catholics are sleeping and do not see the evil of the ultra-liberal politicians, who are getting a free ride from liberal media.

(yep. that nasty liberal media again…)

It is very critical that we elect pro-life and pro-family politicians to the office so that we can protect not only traditional marriage and the lives of the most innocent, but also elect God-fearing judges. Otherwise OUR FREEDOMS WILL BE TAKEN AWAY by rulings like Massachusetts made recently on gay marriages.

(emphasis mine. I fail to see how anyone’s freedoms are infringed upon by allowing gay couples the same rights as straight ones…but that’s just me.)

Contraception closes the door to God and hardens hearts. We need to acknowledge this important fact. Priests should not be afraid to preach on this subject.

(Hi there. My name’s Erin, and I’m on birth control. Pleased to meet you.)

There’s not enough orthodoxy preached in the pulpit. The priests are afraid.

I wonder where the whole of the Catholic church (the body of the Church, that is…not the controlling entities) stand on these issues. Do most people believe as this couple believes, or are there more people who feel as I do? Will the American Catholic church remain intact, or is there a split on the horizon? Or, will the disillusioned Catholics end up dropping off, leaving the Church in search of something else…something more progressive, less tied to the past? And if that happens, I wonder who will be left…I suspect it will be a lot of rosary-clutching old women and a smattering of people like this couple.

1 thought on “Just like a prayer

  1. Erin….its so sad to read this. You have the fullness of the Christian faith in the Church and you don’t even realize it.

    The church isn’t in the business of making sure every adherent is comfortable in their sin. The church is the business of adminstering the sacraments given to Her so that its adherents can attain the grace necessary to live holy lives. The church also has a responsibility to call “sin.” The church takes sin seriously which is why you are bothered by it! Thank God it does take sin seriously!

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