It's increasingly tough to be a Catholic progressive these days. The conservatives are in a feeding frenzy, using the same scary tactics the "Tea Party Patriots" are using in government. Until about five or ten years ago, things like gay marriage and contraception were not emphasized - Time Magazine said the American Catholic Church had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuality. Then the conservatives found they could gain power by picking on every little issue and forcing the bishops' hand on everything. And so began the Great Purge.

First they took on the prayers used at Mass. In 1998, the English-speaking bishops had approved a very nice, literate translation of the Mass. Right-wingers pressured Rome about the text, and Rome had a secret committee prepare an entirely new translation, using convoluted, pretentious, churchy-sounding language and made-up words.

Civil gay marriage should be a non-issue to the Catholic Church, since nobody's suggesting that the churches should be forced to officiate at gay marriages. Same with contraception in employee health insurance, since nobody's forcing anybody to use contraception. But the conservatives are putting heavy pressure on the bishops on these issues, and the bishops are giving in - I think they've been weakened by the mess they made of the child molestation scandal. I also think they're hiding behind other issues to attempt to move the light away from the molestation fiasco.

I'm on the board of a community organizing program that is heavily dependent on a grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). One of our projects is getting 2-1-1 telephone information service to direct people to social services in the area. Since somebody might call 211 and ask for abortion information, we can't use any Catholic money for the 211 project, and we can't even have information about our 211 project on our Website. The fact that 211 can also give information about alternatives to abortion, doesn't make any difference.

Our Annual Diocesan Appeal in Sacramento supports a number of charities that have Catholic roots, but no longer have an official connection with the Catholic Church. Sacramento's Francis House got its start at St. Francis Parish, and it provides wonderful services to homeless people. The longtime director of Francis House died recently, and was replaced by a Methodist minister who had spoken in favor of gay marriage and of the services provided by Planned Parenthood (although she opposes abortion). The diocese stopped funding Francis House this year. I wrote to our bishop and asked for a refund of my contribution - to his credit, he sent my check back. Still, I had been proud that my diocese supported formerly-Catholic charities that had opened their doors to everyone - and I can't have that pride any more.

And then there is the current attack on the nuns [although I see real hope in this, because the nuns aren't likely to give up easily]. It seems there's a new right-wing attack coming from the bishops every day, and it's disheartening.

Still, I'm not ready to leave. I still insist that this is my church, and I'm not leaving until they drag me out the door. I'm going to keep fighting until the end of my days. And hey, it isn't all bad. I can ensure that my home parish is good, and I've been quite successful at that. And I'm an associate member of the Sisters of Mercy, and I feel right at home with them.

And I still believe that in the long run, the forces of moderation will prevail and the right-wing idiots will shrink back into the woodwork.

-Joe-