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 Two contrasting exit stories today written by women from different sides of the Pacific Ocean. One woman is still "hanging by a thread" and still active in parish ministry. The other found the Catholic parish scene cold and unwelcoming and after a period not connected with any church found acceptance within the Methodist Church. As explained in the introduction to this series we will be publishing all the selected stories we have received anonymously. The series has been prepared by Amanda McKenna, co-publisher of Catholica. Series Navigation: Introduction | I: Should I Stay or Should I Go? An Aussie perspective: "Hanging by a thread with the Catholic Church"... As a 66 year old cradle Catholic woman, I now hang in precariously frequently feeling a hypocrite. For me it is a balance between the goodness and Christ life in our parish and the absolute hypocrisy from the Roman Hierarchy. The clericalism that has woven its powerful sinews through the global institution of the Catholic Church leaves me with depression bordering on despair. Fortunately we have a parish priest who shares the real life of Christ with his parishioners. We are like-minded. He came four years ago but even then I knew that if we had a traditional conservative priest appointed here, I would be gone. In our parish I am very involved in several ministries including our lay funeral team. There is something beautiful about farewelling our parishioners on their last journey with the Christian symbols I love and cherish and have grown up with all my life. We make everyone welcome in our church, Catholic or otherwise — there is no THEM and US. The goodness in our little pocket of the world seems disconnected from the institutional church. The paedophilia crisis of the Catholic Church has been mind boggling but the cover ups that have gone on by bishops, cardinals and the pope himself has my inner being so incensed with anger I lose sleep. The exclusion of women from ordained ministry shows the institution has become a cult infected with male domination and power. The new liturgy translation minus inclusive language is the last straw. When, if ever, will the Catholic global church be relevant to this time in history? No longer will the words of the Creed flow from my mouth. The only creed relevant to me is Christ's message of "Love one another as I have loved you". The tenuous thread that still holds me may snap at any time but nothing can take from me Creator God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There are no words to describe the sadness I feel for how the Catholic Church has failed to shine forth the message of Jesus in our 21st century world. At times I feel ashamed to acknowledge I am a Catholic as though I am happy and approve of the sham the church has become. It is the threads of beauty and goodness that are still present in my parish that hold me for the present time. If it is this difficult living with the church, how difficult will it be for me when the time comes to live without her? An American perspective: Finding acceptance in a Methodist community... My dad's side of the family was Catholic and my mother's side of the family was not religious. The decision was made when I was born that we would be raised Catholic. I was baptized when I was born and I went to Catholic grade school from 1st grade all the way through 8th grade with the exception of the 3rd and 4th grade where I went to a public school. During grade school our classes would have church 2-3 times a week and the school observed all the religious days and rules and such. When I was in high school I still went to the youth group and was confirmed when I was a junior in high school. I went to college at a Catholic college. I'm not sure why I stopped going to church or when but I started questioning a lot of things that the Church believed in and I was changing too. The Church wasn't fulfilling my spiritual needs any longer. In college I came out as being gay. I knew this was something that the Catholic church believed was wrong. I didn't feel like I could be myself and love myself and be part of the church at the same time. There was nothing in the Catholic church I realized that was keeping me there anyway. I never felt like I was part of a community, if I missed church no one even realized that I wasn't there and I didn't make any close friends because of church. Most of my friends were outside of the church. Even in my youth group in high school I wasn't close to anyone. When I moved to Chicago from Kansas I started thinking about spirituality again and I started thinking that I needed to reconnect with something or someone that could help me believe in others and in myself. The first church I went to was a Methodist church. When I walked in I was welcomed like I had been going there forever, people knew when I missed church, people cared about what was going on in my life and I believed in the message of acceptance and love that the Methodist church talked about. Different Methodist churches I have found have different views on gays in the church but the community I found accepted me for who I was. The Catholic church as a whole was not accepting and I didn't know of any gay-friendly communities in the Catholic church. I also never connected with people in the Catholic church and Catholicism didn't feel like something that was true to what I believed both in my views on God and my views on acceptance and spirituality. Now that I have left I feel like I've found a community of people who believe in me, who accept me for who I am, who genuinely care about me and through them I feel like I have a connection to something that is bigger than myself. I also have a desire to find a relationship with God and I believe that I am able to find that relationship in my own way and I don't feel restricted in that relationship. I hope this helps Milly! Series Navigation: Introduction | I: Should I Stay or Should I Go? These stories have been selected and edited by 
What are your thoughts on this commentary? ©2011Amanda McKenna 
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Michael Morwood: "The Challenge in Resurrecting Jesus in Society Today" In this address given to WATAC (Women and the Australian Church) members on 26th March 2013, Michael Morwood outlines the challenges he sees the Church facing in the years ahead. This address was given in the theatrette of the NSW Parliament at a meeting to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. 33m 34s [Commentary on the Catholica where this address was published on 29Mar2013] | [WATCH THE VIDEO]
Reports 028: 29Mar2013
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