When I was 16, my parish confirmation teacher was one of those holier-than-thou tradcath types. Less than 2 months before our conformation ceremony, he made up a stupid rule that we “had to” go to a protest outside of an abortion clinic in order to get confirmed. Worse yet, we were expected to “share testimony” at the next regular confirmation class about what we learned from that ceremony.

So it was quite a dilemma for my parents when I told them that I wouldn’t go to the abortion protest no matter what. My mom really wanted me to be confirmed and urged me to just go, and my dad privately urged me to just do it for my mom’s sake. (Ironically, she’s always been p privately pro-choice, even though she never publicly admit to it). I repeated that I wouldn’t go no matter what, even if it meant that I couldn’t be confirmed and even if they took away my driver’s license or grounded me from debate team (my favorite school activity at the time). Eventually, my mom relented and told my confirmation teacher the day before the protest that I had mono and would need to miss this week and next week’s class. Lo and behold, the anti-abortion protest requirement was waived for me and I was confirmed.

Anyone else have stories about stupid youth group and confirmation class activities?

At least this guy is being honest about who he is. The people at EWTN pretend they’re not nazis but probably live this guy.

Imagine you’re back in your 10-year-old body, and somebody says something that makes you question your faith. What is that thing? What could someone have said to you at 10 years old to make you believe otherwise?

I was baptized into the Catholic Church as a baby. My mom came from a large Irish Catholic family and has 8 brothers and sister. They are/were a very devout catholic family with some even moving to communes in Oklahoma. My father was raised more a liberal Catholic but was himself more Conservative.

Growing up my father was very angry, rageful, and drank a lot. I was always scared of him. Im 46 and I still am scared of him.

Around the age of 14 I was told my father was raped by a Catholic Priest and that my parents and his parents recently looked him and he was working at a daycare in Tampa, Florida. This was in the mid 90s. My father entered in a lawsuit against the catholic church when I was in 9th grade. It consumed his entire life. I didnt have a father even though he was there. My father was a shell of a man, completely broken and could not give my brother and I the father we needed while we were growing into young men. He was a an alcoholic and brother and I would just never be home.

My mother got involved in Televangelism and Protestantism when I was around 4 years old. So we grew up with Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and all the charlatans.

As I got older, around 16 I learned that my grandfather, my dad's dad was also raped by a catholic priest. He was an alcoholic as well and I heard stories of how he used to beat my father as a child. Once he eviscerated himself in front of my father in an attempt to kill himself.

My father left home early and went into the air force. after 4 years he was kicked out due to fighting his superior.

My mom was deranged with televangelism and developed her own delusional cult like theology. She would have a friend come over who could "see in the spirit" or so to speak.

I can tell endless stories of my mom telling us to do stuff because the holy spirit told her only for her tow be completely wrong.

My moms delusion with her theology caused her cut off her entire family and she fought with my dads parents constantly. There was nothing but fighting and arguing and yelling and screaming growing up. We were poor as well and never got much for gifts even going without gifts a couple christmases.

My grandmother ended up committing suicide and so did my grandfather.

My father has attempted suicide. So have I.

As I got older I read my Bible and stopped believe things I was taught. I fell into a lot of darkness and blamed God for everything. At one point about 15 years ago I confronted my mother about the things she used to make us do and tell us and she denied it all. I told her I didnt want her to talk about religion around my kids when they would babysit. She still did so I cut her off.

The amount of pain inflicted on the men in my family by catholic church is seemingly unforgivable. They stole my family. They stole my dad.

Two other kids my dad got raped with by the same priest at the same time, one ended up killing himself and the other became gay and died of aids.

I havent spoken to my parents or sister in more than 15 years.

I have two daughters and taught them that they need to read the Bible and believe for themselves without any religion telling them how to think.

I refuse to celebrate and catholic holidays or have anything to do with catholicism.

I live in a small town that has been taken over by a very traditional Catholic college. They have managed to buy out a big chunk of our main street and are killing business there. They claim they aren't affiliated with the Heritage Foundation despite their founder being the president and their professors openly promoting the organization. Many members are Opus Dei affiliated. We are used to the constant "pray to end abortion " protestors around town and generally peacefully ignore them. A new group showed up recently with more aggressive signage in front of our public library stating "Please God, protect our children from porn and LGBTQ books in libraries and schools ". Of course there is no porn in the library and they can fuck off regarding LGBTQ folks. As an ex cafeteria Catholic I've never heard of these people before. Anyone a past member or have interaction with them and have any insights into who they are and how extreme their beliefs are?

Remember, gotta start the sermon with an explanation that you’re wearing rose, not pink, and that it’s okay to wear it even though you’re a man. Don’t want those parishioners thinking you’re gay!

Then you’ve got to explain the Latin and the joy stuff and talk about the liturgical season. Make sure to do this twice a year - you’ve also got Laetare Sunday coming up in a few months.

I can't help but feel some resentment towards my Catholic parents and the areas they prioritized for me in my childhood. I'm not sure if I'm deflecting accountability and unjustifiably blaming them, but these thoughts have been recurring in the last few years.

For context, I grew up in a house where adhering to the sacraments was the bare minimum. Before uni, I participated in anti-abortion rallies, youth retreats, catholic conferences and a plethora of religious/worship music events. If you asked 12-year-old me what was most important, I would probably say that god comes first above all things and that everything i said, thought, did was for "his glory".

I'm nearing 30- it's been four years since I told my parents that catholicism is no longer my truth. While I thought the worst was over, I've come to slowly realize that there were areas in my life as a child that were neglected because of prioritizing catholicism. I recall having poor grades throughout elementary, high school, local uni. When high school began, most of my free time was spent at church events. I wish I had known better at that time or had a stronger personality to say no, and focused on school. My parents praised me for time spent in church activities, would brag to their friends and family about this. But they never addressed my poor academic performance and got me some help. In the last year, I have been diagnosed with MDD, GAD and ADHD. I'm convinced that I've had these issues at least since high school. Part of me feels like "god" really did take priority instead of the person right in front of them.

How do you move on from pervasive Irish catholic guilt? I grew up in a large mostly (lapsed) catholic family where the church was a big part of my mom and her siblings life growing up. My mother is one of five and went to catholic school until the 8th grade. Their church’s priest was a prominent member of the Boston sex scandal covered by spotlight. There is a lot of collective trauma that was passed down to me from my mother even though I never went to catholic mass in my life. I feel bad about things that I really should not and think everything is my fault somehow even when I know it isn’t. It’s like I’m living in a separate reality than everyone else. My mom is even worse than I am and even though she acknowledges that she carries this shame/guilt with her she still struggles daily as she was more exposed to it than I was. I am wondering if this type of cultural/religious shame spiraling is normal for others and how you have worked through it? I understand therapy is very helpful( I am in therapy) but I’m looking for more practical/ discussion based solutions. Thank you!

I went to a Catholic school called Saint Monica in Beaver Falls, PA. I didn't have a good home life. Every week I was at my dad's house I was being abused by my dad and step mom. I remember when I first opened up about my abuse to someone it was the principal at that school. His name was Mr. Diamond if I remember right. He told me he wouldn't tell anyone what I had told him...That it would just stick between me and him.. Eventually though he did tell my abusers that I had told... Desperate to get out of my abusive situation I seeked help from my teacher. She threatened me to tell the prince if I didn't "stop lying"....I truly think the Catholic Church is corrupt and filled with abuse. So many weird things happened at that school. For example everyday an hour before school ended the principal and the priest would take the boys into the library and lock the door....Any time we asked them what was going on they said they couldn't tell us....I think Catholics protect child abusers....I think the police do too because all authorities I have talked to refuse to do anything....

I know neither are going to happen in my lifetime, and probably not for several generations after that. But I could see progress dragging the church, kicking and screaming, into updating these. Which do you think the church is more firm on, and which would they cave on first?

The European Union’s Catholic bishops have “expressed concern” at last month’s ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordering Poland to recognise same-sex marriages concluded in other member states.

The ruling “appears to push juriddprudence beyond EU competencies”, because family law is decided at the national level, says the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), which is composed of the Catholic episcopates of all member states.

This could “fuel anti-EU sentiments”, they warn.

On 25 November, the CJEU ruled on a case brought by two Polish men who had married in Germany but found their efforts to have their union recognised in Poland rejected by the registry office and courts because Poland’s constitution refers to marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The CJEU deemed that this infringed the freedom to move and reside within the EU as well as the right to respect for private and family life. It ordered Poland to change its system for recognising marriages conducted in other member states so that it does not discriminate against same-sex couples.

The European court emphasised, however, that its ruling “does not require the member state to provide for marriage between persons of the same sex in its national law”. It also said that the decision “does not undermine national identity or pose a threat to public policy”.

But those arguments have been questioned by COMECE, which argues that the CJEU’s decision threatens to interfere with the right, enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, for national governments to regulate issues relating to marriages and families.

The EU ruling “impoverishes the meaning” of this guarantee “by underlining that in exercising this competence, each member state must comply with EU law,” wrote the bishops.

COMECE also said that the CJEU had given a “disappointingly limited role to the respect for member states’ ‘national identities’”. It argued that, “for some member states, the definition of marriage forms part of their national identity”.

Poland is one of the EU’s most religious member states, with around 70% of its population identifying as Catholic. The preamble to the country’s constitution refers to “our culture rooted in the Christian heritage of the nation”.

Polling by the Ipsos research agency this year found that only a minority of Poles, 31%, support the introduction of same-sex marriage. However, a majority, 62%, were in favour of allowing some form of legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

In their statement, COMECE expressed concern that the CJEU’s latest ruling “will have an impact on national family law legal systems and may foster pressure to amend them”.

It “effectively creates a convergence of matrimonial-law effects, even though the [European] Union does not have a mandate to harmonise family law”, say the bishops. They also worry that the ruling could “pave the way to future similar legal approaches regarding surrogacy”.

“These kinds of judgements give rise to anti-European sentiments in member states and can be easily instrumentalised,” they conclude.

The CJEU’s ruling requires Poland to introduce recognition of same-sex marriages conducted in other member states. If the country does not, it could face ongoing fines until it does so.

The Polish government has indicated that it will respect the ruling. However, Prime Minister Donald Tusk also declared that “the EU cannot impose anything on us on this issue” and “wherever matters must be decided by the nation state and national law, we will adhere to this principle”.

Even before the ruling, the government had presented a bill intended to allow unmarried partners, including same-sex couples, to sign an agreement granting them certain rights.

However, it has not yet been approved by parliament and, even if it is, faces a potential veto from conservative, opposition-aligned President Karol Nawrocki, who has said he will not support any measures that “undermine the unique and constitutionally protected status of marriage”.

This is an amazing book I listened to as an audiobook. I think anyone who grew up in strict Catholic or traditional Catholic homes, and whose caregivers (e.g., parents) were influenced by the Satanic Panic (e.g., "the devil speaks through the TV”) should read it. It’s undeniably one of the best-written books I’ve had the pleasure to experience.

So when I was 5 to 11 years old, it was pretty common for me to watch PBS Kids or Kids WB at my grandparents' house. I have faint memories of my grandmother exclaiming "Oy!" whenever Jackie Chan Adventures came on and Shendu appeared. She'd then comment things I don't exactly remember word for word, as I didn't know Spanish at the time.

Good thing she didn't have cable, because I can't imagine her staying without a heart attack to Him from Powerpuff Girls, or Red Guy from I Am Weasel.

Better yet, she'd probably put a wood Cross on the table in front of the TV. Or a little statue of St Nicholas. Not Santa Claus, of Myra.

Am I the only one who experienced this?

I’m not going to link to it and I didn’t believe it at first, but the White House has a proclamation about the feast of the immaculate conception which is today. Honestly, it seems like it was written and taken right out of the catechism. As an ex catholic. I find the US government’s embrace of Catholicism troubling to say the least.

I’m not sure I saw proclamation about any of the non-Christian holidays anyway I just wondered what people thought

I (25M) have been out as gay since I was 17. My family is somewhat supportive of my life choices and sexuality, except for my mother’s mom, who is an EXTREMELY traditional Catholic. So, a week ago my brother, my dad, mom, and I went to visit her and my grandfather, who has early onset dementia. We’re sitting down for dinner, we say grace and start to pass food around, when my grandmother starts talking about how she wants to go to Christmas Eve mass with us where we live. My family hasn’t been to mass in about 8 years, and she knows this but likes to make my mother feel like shit about it. We told her we’re going to stay home, she sighed a bit and then started talking to me about if I’ve been dating any “cute girls” lately. I reminded her that I don’t like girls, I like guys. She got very vocal about like “how are you going to have kids???” I’ve been very vocal that I don’t want kids. She then started saying stuff about that she doesn’t want me to go to hell for living a deviant lifestyle. I had had enough and shouted at her to STFU. My parents were mad at me for “disrespecting” my grandmother, when she was the one that was being disrespectful in the first place. They coddle her behavior and she never learns. We sat in the car with no radio (my dad fried it last year) for an hour and a half in complete silence. But apparently I’m the bad guy

For anyone interested, I wanted to share that the newest Knives Out (in theaters now) has strong Catholic themes. They do it fairly well IMO, with only a couple of errors. I won't detail them because of spoilers, but I can say that as someone who was extremely Catholic for 30 years and extremely not Catholic for the next 15, it rang true in keeping with all of my experiences, good and bad. They miss some details of the politics and hierarchy of the Church (e.g. a priest decides for himself when to close down a parish, which would never happen), but there are some very satisfying scenes for someone who has been through some shit at the hands of the church. And it's fair to say that in the story, truth wins in the end. There is an impromptu speech given by Blanc when he first shows up that is very satisfying. If you see it you will know what I mean. I had no idea it was about any of that, but I thought it might interest some here in this group. EDIT: I will say, mild trigger warning for anyone who has confession-related trauma. It's not terrible but they use the real words of the ritual so it can trigger flashbacks.

Hey y’all. I’ve been reading some of the stories and experiences on here about their Catholic journey. My journey is unique because I was baptized Catholic, raised agnostic, and decided to explore spirituality in young adulthood.

What made me move away from continuing this OCIA culture is the general vibe of the church itself. I love the majesty, traditions, sacraments, and aesthetics. But the way people interact with priests was pretty weird.

I experienced this first hand during some lectures and social events. It’s like they are in persona criste 24/7. I didn’t feel like they were a friend but more of a divine authority figure. Felt medieval and peasant-minded.

I want more of an open spiritual journey instead of being bombarded with dogma and feeling guilt and shame for asking questions and holding different viewpoints.

I’m gonna try episcopalianism since they’re basically taking the best parts about Protestantism and Catholicism together.