Fr. Longenecker muses about ex-Catholics

He writes:

Monday, October 18, 2010

Ex Catholics and Protestants

Larry at Acts of the Apostasy blogs here about the curious fact that Catholics who bail out still refer to themselves as Catholics. He gives a list of what they call themselves: ex-Catholics, liberated Catholics, thinking Catholics, free Catholics etc etc. Why do they have to cling to the name Catholic I wonder? Have you ever met anyone who trumpeted the fact that he was an 'ex Anglican' or a 'Post Presbyterian' or a 'Liberated Lutheran'? I'm sometimes called an 'ex Anglican', but I wouldn't call myself that.

It's a sad thing when anyone has to define their spiritual status in terms of a denial rather than an affirmation. Every convert to Catholicism that I've known has praised their Protestant background and affirmed it. They've simply moved on to something bigger and fuller. It's not so much a case of rejecting what they had before, but a case of finding and embracing 'More Christianity'. This is a positive and ultimately joyful process.

On the other hand, when you listen to the 'ex Catholics' more often than not all you get is a stream of anger, rage, frustration and bitterness against the Catholic Church. Sometimes it is understandable. Some people have been genuinely wounded by the hypocrisy, sin and scandal of Catholic Church leaders. Others have been let down spiritually by poor catechesis, awful liturgy, bad administration and general incompetence. Some have left because they really didn't find what they needed in the Catholic Church and this is a failure of Catholicism. However, all these things don't account for all the ex Catholics. There are more who have left through their own sin, their own lack of faith, courage and perseverance.

What is unfortunate is that so many of them ultimately define their spiritual status as a negative. They're defined by something they're not instead of something they are. This is the empty heart of all of Protestantism as well. Although there are so many strengths within the Protestant churches, there is still an empty place--a kind of sore point or open wound, and it is their underlying anti Catholicism. Even when they are outwardly tolerant and positive towards Catholics there is still this deep antipathy, a profound knowledge that 'the Catholics can't possibly be right'.

There's a lot more. Interesting.