Oh.....
Here’s the Distorter Reporter letter. My response later. Can’t be late this morning. Martha has a math final first period. Don’t want to be responsible for any problems there.

I have been a member of three very different Roman Catholic churches. Growing up in the ’50s, I was part of a pre-Vatican II church that possessed great clarity in its beliefs but at the same time was very pastoral. The greatest identifying feature of Catholicism was not eating meat on Fridays. The church did not take itself so seriously; one very popular book was I’ll Die Laughing (a book of cartoons about altar boys). Once in a while a “mean priest” would say something cruel or judgmental and an angry person or family would leave the church. When this happened, the “fallen away” Catholics would be gently encouraged to return with the suggestion to pay no attention to the offending priest, who probably really didn’t mean what he said. And it was also the church that supported John Kennedy’s campaign for president, endorsing the notion that the church of Rome would not and should not tell him how to be president.

The Vatican II church was of course a church of excitement, energy and experimentation. It was a church of possibilities. It was most notably a shining light and leader in this country in the fight for civil rights. Cardinal Lawrence Sheehan of Baltimore courageously went to city hall to speak on behalf of open housing legislation in the face of opposition among many Catholics in the community.

The current Catholic church is one of repression. It is a sad church -- you don’t hear much laughter these days. It is circumscribed by a rigid orthodoxy and defensiveness that has taken all the humanity and compassion out of Christianity. Instead of reaching out to others with love, the church reaches out to punish anyone who dares dissent in even the smallest detail. And there are plenty who encourage those with doubts or areas of dissent to leave the church, just as many in this country often say, “America -- love it or leave it.”

Yes, it is a sad church indeed. The only saving grace is that my experience tells me it will not last long. For I find that the church is constantly changing, and it will soon change again. I believe that the fourth Roman Catholic church in my lifetime is about to appear, and while I don’t know what it will be like in many respects, I do know it will be more Christ-like -- more loving, more compassionate, more understanding and, yes, more tolerant.


PATRICK J. PERRIELLO SR.
Baldwin, Md.