A Catholic Lite friend of mine (formerly Catholic now Episcopal) mentioned to me yesterday that he and his wife saw the movie “Stigmata.” He called it “thought-provoking.” “Did you know that there was a Gospel that the Vatican hid from the world until 1940?” he asked. I told him that was a steaming pile of garbage and attempted to give him a short lesson in the tradition that the Scripture came from. He wasn’t buying it. He said the movie showed that we don’t really need the priesthood. A movie shows us we don’t need the priesthood? That’s just absurd. I’ve heard non-Catholics using Scripture to defend their position against the necessity of the priesthood, but a crappy movie? He didn’t see a problem with that.
I’ve known many people who have grown up in the Catholic Church and turned away from it by converting to an easier path or simply following a path of their own. I fell away from the Church in college and returned about four years ago. I’m continually reminded that the catechesis I received in my youth was woefully inadequate. “Jesus loves each one of us like there was only one of us. Have some punch and cookies.” Even adult converts to Catholicism have told me their preparation in RCIA lacked depth. I would welcome any readers’ comments about their experiences in RE or RCIA. If you have lengthy comments please email me and I will post them.