Reminded me of these quotes:
"The parallel between Christ and Church, Incarnation and Church history, goes still further. I thought, just as Jesus made a claim about His identity that forces us into one of only two camps, His enemies or His worshippers, those who call Him liar and those who call Him
Lord; so the Catholic Church's claim to be the one true Church, the Church Christ founded, forces us to say either that this is the most arrogant, blasphemous and wicked claim imaginable, if it is not true, or else that she is just what she claims to be. Just as Jesus stood out as the absolute exception to all other human teachers in claiming to be more than human and more than a teacher, so the Catholic Church stood out above all other denominations in claiming to be not merely a denomination, but the Body of Christ incarnate, infallible, one, and holy, presenting the really present Christ in her Eucharist. I could never rest in a comfortable, respectable ecumenical halfway house of measured admiration from a distance. I had to shout either "Crucify her!" or "Hosanna!" if I could not love and believe her, honesty forced me to despise and fight her."
-Peter Kreeft
"The Church is intolerant in principle because she believes; she is tolerant in practice because she loves."
-Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
I too have heard the argument that the Church's teaching is driving Catholics out of the church.
ReplyDeleteMany Protestant churches, however, do support abortion, gay marriage, birth control, etc. yet they too face declining enrollment and participation.
Seems that the cause can be attributed to broader secular and material events. Our modern world and its consumerism provides us a (false) comfort that is soft and easy. and thus far away from even mainstream Christian teachings that demand much of us.