Why remain Catholic?
"Free smells"
Tonight, I’ll be giving a talk at my parish on the topic, “Why remain Catholic?” (I’ll share more on that later.) In preparation, I posed that question to Catholic Twitter, and received hundreds of responses. They were thoughtful, funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, provocative, and insightful. I’ll share below a number of them. And I’d love to hear your response as well!
My favorites were centered around specific stories and memories:
A lot of people wrote about the Eucharist:
Some discussed the intellectual tradition:
Others shared stories of why they left the Church:
And while some responded in ways that further made the point, some responded in kind ways that opened up a conversation centered on compassion:
Some questioned the framing of “Why remain Catholic?”:
This made sense to me, and cohered with some of my experiences during my atheist phase. Along similar lines, some shared how Catholicism felt inescapable, even after leaving:
Also similarly, some shared how Catholicism is an experience of chosenness, rather than choosing:
Many responded with Simon Peter’s question in John 6:
Some gave links to their stories:
Others shared how they cling to the unspoken language of the Church:
Some wrote about the imperfections and sinfulness in the Church, and how it frames Catholicism for them:
Others focused on the universality of Catholicism:
Others (jokingly?) shared how vice helps to keep them in. I can definitely relate to this:
One stays to fight the misogynists:
Others shared the importance of Catholicism to their family history, culture, etc.:
Also, art and tattoos:
And the weirdos and the parody:
A number of people shared their love for Catholic teaching:
Some channeled their inner Thomas More a la A Man for All Seasons:
There were also responses that I didn’t entirely understand (and/or had to look up), but that I think merit sharing:
And, because I’ll be speaking at a Jesuit parish, I’ll finish out this (very non-exhaustive) list with:
There were so many responses, including many stories of why people have left the Church. Thanks so much for everyone who shared. And if you haven’t already, I’d love for you to share either on Twitter or here in the comments!
There are lots of things I like and lots of things I dislike about the Church. Many of them have been named here.
But, in the end... the *reason* I remained Catholic is the same reason I remained a heliocentrist, the same reason I believe in evolution, the same reason I (after a period of crisis) reaffirmed the conclusions of Marbury v. Madison, the same reason I overcome my fear of the dentist when my dentist tells me I need to get my teeth cleaned: because, whether I like it or not (mostly not, much of the time!), the dang thing is *true*. Mr. Blanchard is characteristically on point here.
But it's kind of weird, when you think about it. Nobody ever asks, "Why did you remain a Darwinist?" and, if they did, nobody would answer, "Well, I find the idea of steady evolution over time very beautiful" (even though it is). Certainly nobody asks, "Why did you go to the dentist if you hate it?" and it would never occur to anyone to reply that they like the flavors of tooth polish.