BishopAccountability.org

Catholics say they won't let evil win despite church scandals

By Julie Philipp And Virginia Butler
Democrat and Chronicle
March 5, 2019

https://bit.ly/2TABcCs

[with video]

As the Lenten season begins, Catholics are being called to reflect upon their faith at a time of horrific scandal and growing concern about the future of the church. Those observing Lent are required to make personal sacrifices, even as they gain greater understanding of the church's own astounding hypocrisy. They are devoting themselves to prayer amid a growing chorus of pain from people victimized by church leaders.

With all of this turmoil, how does it feel like to be Catholic today?

I recently sat down with four area parishioners who remain very committed to their faith:

  • Ben Anderson is a software engineer who lives in Fairport, where he and his wife are raising their six children "in a Catholic environment where they live and breathe Catholicism."
  • Steve Barnhoorn is from Honeoye. His Catholic roots originate in Holland, where his father's family held on to their beliefs despite near starvation during a famine at the end of World War II.
  • Judy Dickinson of Irondequoit and her husband were born into the church and have spent years studying its teachings. "My whole family are Catholics, both sides of the families. Most of my friends are Catholic," she says.
  • Marcia Mendola grew up going to St. Michael's on N. Clinton Ave, but has attended St. Louis Church in her hometown of Pittsford for the past five decades. "You hear that 'you are what you eat,'" she says of the Eucharist. "Well, I happen to eat Jesus himself so he becomes part of me, and frees me to do his work."

With the camera rolling, they talked about being devoted Catholics and how they view the Church during these turbulent times.




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