AIBU to think the Catholic Church should take itself off?

[HolyMalign]

My daddy grew up in a Catholic institution.

I was born in the 70s and we didn't talk about things. I went to church every week, I prayed, I did what you did. But I had a pretty ropey home life and I hated my daddy for it.

It was only when I was an adult that I realised what his childhood was like and why he was so messed up. So I understand, but it's affected me. And it's certainly affected my daddy.

In the last few years I've been following women who have uncovered even more terrible things that the church did, even worse than would have happened to my daddy. Babies in sewers and mass graves. It is disgusting.

But still these fuckers tell people what to do and have such a hold on their lives.

My daddy is in his seventies now and won't have a word said against the church that fucked him over. There must be so many people like him. It's brainwashing. The church has done nothing for him but abuse him and cause him misery and he is not alone. There are millions of other former children and living women out there who have similarly suffered.

Why do we let these people have such power still when we now know they are abusive rapist murderers?

@Herja

I have left the Catholic Church for exactly this reason. I cannot square their treatment of women and children with my religious belief. Or indeed any other major religion. So I now consider myself to be of faith, but not affiliated to any organised religion.

I have come reluctantly to the same opinion and am looking for Quaker meetings to go to.

I'm not Catholic but I am Christian. What is so important but often really hard to do is to differentiate faith from the institution of the church and to accept that different people are drawn into the institution for different reasons and not all of them good. One of the biggest teachings of the Bible is that people do the wrong things. Repeatedly. And that God knows this and loves and forgives us regardless.

The Catholic church absolutely has done a lot of things wrong. As an institution I believe it needs reform. But that doesn't mean all Catholics are complicit or that their faith is a bad thing. If your dad's faith gives him comfort, why does it matter to you what he believes?

Organised religion has a lot to answer for, the Catholic Church stands out because it has such a huge influence, maybe not as much now as it used to, but historically it's had a huge amount of power.

The fact that we are still having to argue for abortion rights, and they've had the power to stop women having bodily autonomy, whether those women are even Catholic or not.

Add in the cover ups of abuse, things like the Magdalene laundries etc.

I don't think individuals who follow the Catholic faith are wrong, most of my family are Catholic in fact. But should an institution based on faith and belief really have so much power?

The Catholic Church are responsible for terrible atrocities without a doubt. I'm a half hearted Catholic, I don't blame God for those atrocities I blame men and women who carried out horrible acts in the name of God.
Tbf most large organised religions piss on women erode their rights, thankfully many people are not longer blinded by fear. My parents were terrified of upsetting religion their parents too.
There are religions today that rule entire communities.

Ex Irish catholic here , I totally agree op

@DonnaQuixotedelaManchester

I agree with you about Jehovah's Witnesses. Any religion that encourages parents to allow their children to die rather than have a life saving blood transfusion is really sick. They also disown any members who want to leave. They're also not a mainstream Christian denomination, but a sect.

The RC Church has a lot wrong with it too, obviously, and has a lot to be ashamed of in its history.

It's pointless trying to decide which one is worse, they both have a lot to answer for.

it's the Patriarchal paradigm i blame.

I think it is really crucial to view it as people simply because peopl will defend institutions based on their positive experiences- so we have to identify things along the lines of behaviour.

To me, there are vulnerable people who believe dogma out of their vulnerability- what as a society do we do to help people like that? There are those for whom religion is so entrenched in their emotional experience they can’t separate the with from the practice - that is really complex! But this forensic lense on the RC will simply make some practitioners defensive and protective.
I’ve mentioned it before but there are RC churches in London where you are lucky if you can get standing room in the porch on a Sunday - and the congregation look much more trad than in the past (women wearing hats, etc).