posted
I don't know where you live, but move to Chicago and come to my parish!
I was thinking a lot about you this weekend. I did some research on the the history of the magisterium and also the teaching on divorce. Traditionally, both are a great deal more flexible than they seem. You have read enough Thomas Aquinas to know that individual conscience is of primary importance.
It is going to get tougher in the Catholic church in the coming days. The election of our current Pope is not, in my opinion, a good thing for the Church. He, as a Cardinal, did a great deal of power/authority gathering (not infallible, but irreversible?), much of which has a very dodgy basis in canon law and tradition. I imagine much of this is a pendulum swing in reaction to Vatican II.
But he is not the Church.
In 1994 a NYT/CBS poll asking whether "someone can be a good Catholic if he gets divorced and marries someone else the response was 18 - 29 year olds, 94%; 30-44 year olds, 97%; 45-64 year olds, 89%; and 65 and older 87%. You have plenty of company! Catholics get divorced at about the same rate at Protestants and about 70% get remarried.
I also thought about your situation during mass yesterday. Really, come to Chicago. Everything message sent, from the hymns, to the homily was about love and inclusion. Find a parish that "gets it right".
Here's a quote I came across:
In faith, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, love. St. Augustine of Hippo
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It's not too much of a stretch to go to Chicago... I'm just a contract worker anyhow, so if there's a job there, I can flee pretty quickly... so accepting your invitation is within reason.
But I'm just starting to settle in here (Greenville, SC) and haven't even met my local priest yet, and the kids are just getting used to the idea of their school. Maybe it can be worked out locally... *shrug*
if not, I *do* know where to find you Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Come and visit sometime anyway. Old St. Pat's is a remarkable place. In addition to being the oldest Catholic Church building in Chicago it has grown from having 4 registered parishoners to having four thousand registerd families in 20 years. We had 40 adults go through the RCIA program last year.
I promise that you would be welcome.
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St. Andrews was my parish when I lived in Central, and I was never happier nor more involved in the Catholic Church. There was a Church that shared many of my beliefs and was about inclusion and love!
I don't know if they have changed since then . . . I hope not. I kind of doubt it because universiy churches tend to be more open than other churches. (Though this Church deserves to be excommiunicated for using Tripod as a webhost . . . )
That site mentions St. Paul the Apostle Church. I was a eucharistic minister in thge first mass ever celebrated there! Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Whoa! Small World, Icky! I had no idea you were ever up here... I'm in Easley (Dacusville area, if that makes sense to you) so I'm about 1/3 of the way to Clemson anyhow!
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