The Side Effects of This Whacky Diocese
This is the only time I hope no one I know is reading this blog, but this has been weighing on my mind. We have spent the past week, with a fellow homeschooling, TLM family. They have been so kind to us and a lot of fun. Many other families have come to visit and I have gotten a deeper look at the “Orthodox” Catholic movement in this diocese-people who have always lived here and have been formed here. I have kept a huge distance because I was scared. I see why now.
There are no “normal” Catholics here. There are no Catholics who really love the faith that do not have a peer understanding of “being in the world” means so to speak. Everything is an issue that was brought to us by Satan-TV, Harry Potter, pants, electricity, cities, abortion, etc. I am not at all saying that parents should not be discerning about these issues and they may or may not have hidden dangers. Actually, what I think I am saying is just that, parents should be discerning perhaps instead of jumping on the “that’s evil” bandwagon and giving parents who have chosen a different route some leeway as far as being “real Catholics”.
The orthodox Catholic movement here spend there time praying in front of a Planned Parenthood in Schenectady every Thursday and Saturday morning. OK cool. I have not been, I do not have time. I protested before I became a mother, and still continue to do things like attend Holy Hours for Life, vote pro-life, I organised a Baby Shower at my old NO parish last year etc. Things more “Mom friendly” if you know what I mean. I was told a few days ago that these are not authentic pro-life actions. Organisations such as Birthright are fence sitters in the war against abortion because they do not protest in front of the abortion clinics. My jaw dropped. This is not Catholic in philosophy.People are not supposed to neglect their families to protest. Even when my father was ordained as a deacon, he was not supposed to take that his ministries to the point of family neglect (when he had one before moving to Albany).
The priest who runs the abortion protesting movement in the one who tells people they have to go protest in Schenectady or else they have not proven themselves in his eyes. Um, is it me or is there something scary about this?