Well, Smokey, I'm not just an observer. I'm in the middle of it. Being Catholic is part of who I am - and it is a good part of who I am, just as the peace movement and the civil rights movement were part of the identity of those who participated. So, yes, I do take it personally. I am appalled that such a thing could happen in my church. I have always been in the "loyal opposition" of the Catholic Church, criticizing countless things - but it has always been MY church.
But this isn't a quarrel about women priests or birth control or divorce and remarriage or a thousand other important issues I have debated - this is about a systemic failure.

And the leaders of the Catholic Church are responding in ways that are, for the most part, both appalling and incredibly stupid. I never had much faith in the bureaucracy of the Vatican before, but the response of the last six weeks has been outrageous.

And still despite all that, most of what I directly experience in the Catholic Church is very good, and most of the people I directly encounter in the Catholic Church are very good.

So, how do I balance all that out? And although I totally acknowledge the sex abuse scandal, how do I respond when good people are attacked along with the bad?

And yes, I do feel that there are very few people here who have a real understanding of religious faith of the non-fundamentalist variety. It's not a matter of authority or obligation, it's not a matter of doing something you're supposed to do, it's not a matter of passing judgment on anyone - it's part of who you are.

-Joe-

P.S. Read the post from ollaimh at 12:44 and tell my why I shouldn't take it personally....