On the attacks on the Catholic Church

[JDPriestly]

199. When I was 18, I converted to a religion that was right for me.

It was hard at first for my family, but now they understand why I did it.

I want people to know that they have choices, but I don't think anyone should be condemned or overly criticized for the choice of religion that they make.

The Catholic Church has a lot of problems but also does a lot of good in the world. That's my personal opinion.

But it is not true that people don't have a choice when it comes to religion. I chose, and I am happy with my choice. Everyone can choose even if it is only an inner choice and not seen by the world. You can believe whatever you want. Don't let anyone else, including DUers tell you what to believe.

In my opinion, this is a discussion blog. Everyone should be pretty free to say what they want. We should not hurl personal insults.

I note that a lot of Catholics are very sensitive about criticism of the Church right now. I hope that will pass.

Interestingly, there is a lot of criticism of Israel on this board and no one seems to feel that maybe Jewish people feel hurt and unwelcome. No one seems to care. There is a lot of criticism of Evangelical Christians too. They stay with it.

Maybe Catholics need a safe haven on DU. Maybe Jews and Evangelical Christians do too. But I think it is sad when we can't accept that the criticism of others can be right or wrong but it can't really hurt us.