Catholics are not monolithic in their thinking.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

This is just in light of the recent news surrounding the Pope's resignation, as well some recent posts here on DU. So I think it constitutes current discussion.

I think there is a fallacy trap from some that all "Catholics" think one way or another.This is, of course, incorrect.

First of all, the Catholic Church is diverse. Not only do you have Roman Rite Catholics, but you also have Byzantine (Eastern) Rite Catholics, who are considered in full communion with the Vatican but have things such as married priests and differing liturgies. I actually have a great grandfather who was a priest in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which falls under the Byzantine Rite. And the Church in Rome can probably learn a thing or two from them, if only they'd be willing to listen.

But we need to dispell the notion that all Catholics can be catagorized under one singular state of mind. The fact of the matter is there is a diverse school of thought amongst the hundreds of millions of Catholic, and many think in ways some do not stereotypically expect Catholics might think. And I'm not just talking about former Catholics, or lapsed Catholics, or Crhistmas-and-Easter Catholics, or self-hating Catholics; I'm talking about Catholics who are regularly practicing and even devout. I'm even talking about members of the clergy, believe it or not.

There was a friend of our family--in fact, the man who paid for much of my college education--who was a former priest. He left the priesthood in the late 1960s after Humane Vitae was issued (the papal decree decrying birth control), because he thought it was counter productive thinking. He actually ended up marrying a former nun and practicing law. Yet he remained a faithful and devout Catholic until the day he died, with no bitterness towards the church despite the reasons as to why he left the priesthood.

Or take this Op-Ed. It was written by an active priest in good standing with the Church, and was published in the National Catholic Reporter, a well-read and reputable Catholic publication.

Here are just some excerpts. I highly suggest you read the entire piece, however:
___________________________________________________________________________________
http://ncronline.org/blogs/parish-diary/speaking-about-love-love

Speaking about love with love

by Fr. Peter Daly | Dec. 17, 2012

About 20 years ago, I was asked to read the names of people who had died of AIDS as part of the NAMES Quilt display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We were told just to read the names of the dead and not add anything. But at the end of my list of names I felt the need to pray. So I added the standard Catholic prayer for the dead, "Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord," etc.

When I came down from the stage, an elderly couple approached me. They were crying. They told me that I had read their son's name and prayed just after it. They also told me that their own pastor, a monsignor in upstate New York, had refused to bury their son, who died of AIDS, because he was gay. I was, they said, the only priest who had prayed for their son.

The third story was about an elderly gay couple in my rural southern Maryland parish. I'll call them Robert and Harry. They had been together for more than 40 years, ever since Harry was an architecture student at CUA. When Harry's parents were sick with cancer, Robert retired from his job and took care of them until they died. Then when Harry got sick, Robert nursed him, too. I got to know them when Robert came to the rectory and asked me to come anoint his friend. After Harry's death, Robert showed up to plan the funeral. Harry's family would not come, but they did call and tell me that they did not want any mention that Harry was gay and they did not want Robert mentioned.

At the funeral, I started the homily by thanking Robert, who was the "most important relationship of love and friendship in Harry's life." I quoted the book of Sirach in the Bible: "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter" (Sirach 6:14). It would have been inhuman not to mention Harry's best friend and companion.
_________________________________________________________________________

Sure, it's nothing earth shattering compared to what we might read here on DU. But I'm sure many would be astonished that this was written by an active Catholic priest, who has not been defrocked or disciplined by the Church, nor has he left the Church despite apparently having some misgivings as it relates towards some fellow Catholics' attitudes towards the gay community.

Don't assume or presume anything. And don't paint with a broad brush.

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Thanks again, TC.

I will never apologize for things the 'church' (AKA the hierarchy) has done that have been misguided, wrong, illegal, evil, bad, etc. I fully support my parish and the ministries it performs, serving the least among us.

When I think of 'the church' I think of US, not the hierarchy.

[Dawson Leery]

2. One can separate the social work of the Nuns from the ills of the Vatican.

Still, this does not excuse the behavior of the Pope and his henchmen (Cardinals/Bishops).
Nor should this give reason to decrease the criticism of the Pope and his henchmen.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. Of course not.

On the same level, however, one should not presume certain things about people who identify as practicing/devout Catholics, or even members of the clergy.

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Nazi leadership vs the German people argument?

The Vatican leadership speaks for the catholics, catholics are the followers

[joeglow3]

8. Same could be said of us related to all of Bush's policies

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Not all Germans joined the Nazi party

but many did.

Catholics are members of the Catholic Church
I am not

I was never a member of Bush's Party
but many were.

Your argument lacks analogy.

[progressoid]

11. Not exactly.

The organization and operation of the Catholic Church is nothing like the government of the United States.

Nor have I seen hundreds of thousands of Catholics demonstrating in the streets against the policies of the Church the way Americans did against Bush.

[life long demo]

5. Thank you very much for the article

I think of myself as a social justice Catholic.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. Thanks. It's a worthy read.

A lot of us social justice Catholics out there.

Unfortunately, not nearly enough in the heirarchy. The closest we had was the late Cardinal Bernadin.

[Zoeisright]

7. If you give money to the church, you are part of the problem.

You are enabling those rich bastards in the Vatican who are living in the lap of luxury while protecting child sex abusers.

[Jersey Devil]

9. There are other ways of giving to the church that can avoid $ to the Vatican

like donating to special projects of the local parish, like their food pantry to feed the poor, where money is not comingled with regular donations and in kind (food) donations are happily accepted.