This week, Anne Rice announced on Facebook that she has left the Catholic Church and Christianity. I am sorry to see her go.Her reasons for departing the Christian community but still believing in Christ are that Christians squabble and are less than perfect. These are not a novel reasons for departing the fold. At just about every wedding reception I attend I run into some uncle of the bride on his third Jamesons who says he left the Catholic Church long ago because it is filled with hypocrites. I always try to respond with sincere Christian charity that he is welcome back anytime unless he himself is an angelic creature in which case he has no need of the Church.
In all candor, to say that one is leaving the Catholic Church for such surprising reasons is like saying I never go to the doctor or to hospitals because they are filled with sick people. If you are a person with a body you will need physical checkups and a visit to the hospital from time to time. If you are a person with a soul you need regular visits to the Lord's House for community, for nourishment of word and sacrament, and occasionally sacraments of healing and forgiveness.
Father Henri Nouwen was a wise doctor of souls and spirits who knew that all humans are flawed and wounded. By God's grace, even with our wounds, we are able to be wounded healers of others. What do you think? Let me know.
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