The Catholic Church’s archaic practices ill-serve God

Although I am a Roman Catholic, my faith is in God, not an institution. This dysfunctional church needs to be brought into the 21st century.

Does anyone believe if Jesus chose to come into the world 2,000 years later that he would not have had apostles who were women? Neither the apostles he chose nor members of the priesthood (for hundreds of years afterward) were forced into “supposed” celibacy. Also, it rings a bit hollow to talk about abstinence from meat on Fridays during Lent and then advertise that a given parish has “the best fish fry.”

The church needs to get out of people’s bedrooms and stop micromanaging people’s beliefs. If a person is divorced, gay, straight or nonCatholic, he or she should be both welcome at Mass and fully able to participate by receiving communion. What difference does it make if a Lutheran or Presbyterian comes from a different perspective? We are all Christian, and it is un-Christian to exclude non-Catholics from receiving communion at Mass. And I don’t know how an institution that claims to serve God can allow church buildings to sit empty at times because a celibate male priest is not available to say Mass.

To the leaders of the church I say, in my opinion, your unwillingness to speak out against archaic practices has done a disservice to the God you are supposed to be serving and the people who might otherwise be called to hear His word. Indeed, the worst among you remind me of the Pharisees Jesus so often criticized. MICHAEL J. GOODMAN

Pine