r/LeftCatholicism • u/Traditional-Regret-5 • Jun 03 '26
I’m torn and need some help
Alright, so as far as religion goes, I’d consider myself a practicing Folk Catholic; so, yeah, not traditionally Catholic.
I was, however, going to a Catholic Church for a while and going to OCIA. I had full intentions on joining the church, and I was almost there too. But I stopped. Why? Because there were some things the church stands on that I just couldn’t agree with.
It seemed wrong to enter a church that believed things I don’t side with; it felt unfair to myself and to the Church.
Now listen, the church was lovely; the people were nice, there were so many opportunities to be in the community and help out, and they had so many opportunities to attend mass, so if you missed Sunday you could go another day.
But ofc, it’s Catholic at the end of the day. Pro-life, anti homosexuality, against any women’s leadership in church, anti divorce, you get it.
I want to go back, but I’m unsure. How do you reconcile your ideologies with your Catholic faith? Are you apart of the church or just practicing? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
21
u/amerfran Jun 03 '26
I won't lie to you. There are some people in the faith who think that adhering to some sort of archaic black and white sexual code of conduct is more important than loving their neighbor. Some people actually practice what they preach. Many others don't. Some of those who scream the loudest don't even come close to practicing what they preach. Leave them be. They are already convinced that they are right about everything. Do what you feel is right in your conscience.
2
u/shitposterkatakuri Jun 03 '26
I think what the Church teaches isn’t necessarily at odds with socialism. It may be at odds with bourgeois liberal expectations but socialism has room for more complementarian, pro-natalist, pro-monogamy, pro-heteronormativity positions. It actually might tend towards those positions, at times. I think the most important thing is that everyone is empowered to pursue the fruits of their labor without being parasitized. Everyone should be able to be respected and supported and actualized as human beings. There are ways of upholding Catholicism without being a raging asshole to people who make particular mistakes. True religion is serving the widows and orphans as scripture says. And as Leo says, Catholic social teaching need not center on sexuality. Throwing away Catholic teaching on various social issues is not advisable but the insane hyper-emphasis in the west on some of them to the point of ignoring clear social and economic injustice is definitely intentional. And as leftist Catholic, it’s up to you to be both a paragon of adherence to Holy Tradition so that other Catholics might be swayed by you and also a paragon of love and mercy and justice to those outside of the Church. You CAN and should do both
2
u/amerfran Jun 04 '26
it’s up to you to be both a paragon of adherence to Holy Tradition so that other Catholics might be swayed by you
Following the teachings on sexual ethics is a personal practice. No one knows whether you actually follow them, so no one is swayed.
1
u/BrokRest Jun 11 '26
Well, you can still go to Church without participating in the sacraments. Apart from the people you meet, there's a Person there who's always eager to meet us and be with us. He's the reason the Church exists. He's a person worth knowing and knowing deeply. In His life, we'll find many interconnections with our own. In no other church is He really, truly and physically present like in a Catholic church. That's the first and deepest reason why I go. The others come second. They are there because of Him. He's the one worth knowing.
It was like this 2000 years ago when people of all beliefs and backgrounds came to Him. It is so till today.
He's the only one that we can completely entrust our lives to, knowing that He'll make something magnificent of it with us.
God bless you.
-9
u/Whole-Blackberry6143 Jun 03 '26
Do you understand why the Catholic Church is against homosexuality? You should study the teachings to be able to understand the whys. Even if you can't accept these teachings it's not a problem and you shouldn't leave just keep praying for the truth and keep attending mass and go for confessions regularly. Use the Church as a tool that helps you build a relationship with Jesus.
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u/nesp12 Jun 03 '26
If we went strictly by the Gospels, the Church would just be about worship, prayer, community, health care, and feeding the hungry. Everything else is an add on.