Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Joe DiMaggio, Fidel Castro, Sinead O'Connor...and MandyU?
I know I can't get the old Bell, Book and Candle ceremony, but I still want to be off the Roman Catholic Church roster. I would like to declare my relationship with the church NULL and VOID...it's Citizen's Divorce Time! Although we are only using mouse stem cells at work and I haven't had an abortion or physically assaulted the pope, I think I've still publicly excised contempt of the church (canon 1369) and could be excommunicated latae sententiae under canon 1364 (Apostasy, heresy, and schism). I have heard that the "baptismal watermark" is held to be indelible, but I'm holding out hope that even though I was baptized and confirmed (complete with the "peace be with you" slap in the face), I can renounce this life philosophy that I decided on back when I was 11 and still in love with Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block. Has anyone out there been pronounced anathema? Any advice on how I could go about getting some official papers on this? I think my plan so far is to write a letter to St. Aloysius and let them in on what I think. I figure at the very least they could write me up in the church bulletin.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
people
I agree with it.
From what I've heard...
...if you send the church a letter denouncing official dogma, you can get excommunicated even without trying to kill the Pope or get an abortion. But ignorance of church law is considered a defense, so apparently you need to not just denounce Catholic dogma but also say that you know you're going to get excommunicated for it.
MandyU
I, like you, was initiated into the catholic faith without my participation in the decision. And, like you I'm afraid I am stuck too.
Perhaps, because we were not of age when we were initated, we can argue that the contract is non-binding :-)
ARB
Another Thought
My wife stopped going to the Catholic church a few years ago (she's a methodist now) but we still receive the "offering" envelopes in the mail every month. The hardest mailing list in the world to get off of...
ARB
Too Young for the Mailing Lists
I never even got on the mailing list since I was about 12 years away from moving out of my parent's house back then! The more I think about the Catholic Sacraments, the sillier it all seems. Why do they need to push young kids to swear to their belief in the teachings of the church? The church should be so sure that their ideas are infallible, that they are willing to hold Confirmation until individuals can debate the issues enough to make adult decisions.
What are they afraid of?
I have a growing suspicion that even the heads of religious institutions doubt their belief. It explains the rush to baptize, confirm and the general process of making it hard for people to leave the herd. Pull them in when they don't know any better and talk about "having faith" and hope they are too lazy or afraid of not belonging to do anything about their doubts later.
* Taunting the Church *
Come on Scaredy Pants! I'm just a girl! It's only a little letter....so far...
I'll post if I ever really get excommunicated.
Mandy U