Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Jeremiah 10:21 – For the shepherds are stupid,
    and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
    and all their flock is scattered.
When I was young, I looked to my parents for guidance. When I joined the Church back in 1996, I looked to the Church, and sometimes my parents were at odds with Her. Now, my parents are looking all the wiser again. I simply cannot, in good conscience, go along with her social, economic, and environmental teachings. Feeling pretty scattered here.
We still have the Good Shepherd and we still have His infallible teaching through His (His!) Church. is important to look at the whole of the Church teachings, not what is now, in general public perception, the teaching du jour.
I can’t think of a single dogmatic teaching on society, the economy, or the environment that I can’t assent to.
And I’m opposed to the welfare state, support free markets, and believe the man-caused disaster known as global
coolingwarmingclimate change is a pernicious myth.Crisis, and that’s what we are experiencing in God’s Holy Church right now, is also the best time for goodness to get the upper hand. If all this mess merely forces Catholics to look deeper and deeper into their faith and learn with firm understanding that there are now unacceptable contradictions attempting to corrupt the faith by confusion. They will then learn which to believe (that which has long been carved in stone) then great good can eventually come from it.
The oven has to get very hot in order to bake a great tasting cake. We are merely feeling the heat right now. Not all will like the cake, but not all seek eternity with God either.
DJ Hesselius-
Listen to the Church, not random folks who assure you they (or whoever they’re interpreting) are the Church.
The Pope has not even TRIED to teach, in a binding way, anything questionable. The folks who suddenly think the Pope’s every word and judgement is binding…. argh. But is ever the way.
Since the inception of Vatican II it has been necessary to learn and teach the faith from the Baltimore Catechism and when it became available the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In a word one could say it is necessary to practice what could be called hermeneutic of rejection in search for the truth.