*sigh*

Every new sex scandal in the Church only reinforces the decision I made at 18 to stop going to Mass, and to walk away from organized religion altogether.

I made it all the way through my Confirmation, but haven’t set foot in a church at all, aside from weddings, funerals, or the occasional service with my Mom when I visit her in almost 20 years. Granted, I did it for a very different set of reasons that have nothing to do with the molestation scandals, but the Church’s total and utter failure to do anything about these scandals just makes me realize I was right to leave when I did.

I wish it was as simple as letting priests marry or lifting the celibacy requirements. It’s not. The problems that have led to these scandals are deep, formed over decades of putting the institutional Church over the people in the churches every Sunday. As long as that stays the general MO, these problems will continue.