Earlier this evening, I was thinking about something else when another thought came to mind. It was this: Catholicism is a religion of answers.

But the Faith is, so we are told, about a relationship; a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I don’t want to disparage the Church’s concern for finding answers but I do find myself being worried that she cares more about that search than about teaching her children how to live in relationship with Jesus.

What to do? Leave? I can’t do that. Not while I still believe that she is the Church that Jesus founded on the rock of Peter. At the moment, the best answer I have is suck it up because I dislike the idea of being a dissenter.

As usual, what is on my mind is (in)direct attacks by orthodox Catholics on LGBTQ+ people.

I actually don’t mind Catholics believing that same sex relationships are wrong. I just wish they’d speak with a little more humility; with an awareness that maybe, just maybe, the good Lord has not given us His last word on the matter. But no, Rome has found and given us an answer – it’s in the Catechism – so that’s that.

It’s hard. The least orthodox Catholics could do is spend some time marrying up the Church’s concern for answers with the idea of relationship with God in a way that is fair (DON’T tell us we are called to celibacy by virtue of our sexuality). That, however, might require more effort than a tweet or a Facebook update, so never happens.