As a Catholic who was also raised Protestant and has attended pretty much every flavor of church there is, I find it important to speak up for the millions of good Christian Catholics who get bashed constantly by others who call themselves Christian. Nowhere have I ever experienced the level of hate and disgust than by some Protestants who have zero understanding of Catholicism and have never set foot in a Catholic Church. I also have some Protestant family and friends who are some of the kindest, most loving examples of Jesus’ love here on earth. So there is good and bad on both sides of the aisle, so to say.

I can also say that throughout history there has been much good as well as bad that has come from the Church. Catholics passed along faith and tradition through the dark ages, copied illuminated manuscripts of the Gospels, the full Bible, built communities to serve the poor and orphans, trained scholars and priests. They established the first universities. They carried the light of Christ for humanity through the dark ages. Saintly men and women lived and died for the faith and their love for God. Missionaries and explorers were sent throughout the world spreading the news of Jesus. Protestants gave the world a printed Bible, that while one can argue about the books, gave the ability for so many more people to have access to Scripture, and in some ways created an easier, more accessible doorway for people to learn about Jesus. We also have instances of dark times, like the inquisitions and puritanical Salem witch trials.

So while I believe institutions can be corrupted, as we have unfortunately seen, we have to have faith that God will carry us through and we have to look through a historical lens and not just a 2021 lens. I don’t know what it looks like but I know neither side is perfect. We have a 2,000 year old Catholic Church institution that has been infiltrated by communists and other evil people, and 20,000+ sects of Protestant Christianity each with their own “pope” in the form of a preacher, pastor, or church board. Let’s pick up our crosses and stop the hate, find common love in Jesus. Look, I’ve been heartbroken by so much of what I’ve experienced and seen through the years with institutional “church” on both sides. It leaves you feeling like you don’t have a place and you don’t belong. Honestly the happiest years of being Catholic for me was when I went to the Tridentine Latin mass. It was beautiful, simple, reverent and comforting, like nothing I had really known in the Novus Ordo. But I guess when you think about it, Jesus was the ultimate outsider who came to unite us all, and he was the bridge between ancient Jewish tradition and Christianity that would grow after his ascension. I’m sure there were times when he felt lonely, as though he didn’t belong. Prayers for all of you as we navigate these strange times.