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Many are not only leaving a particular house of worship but joining a growing demographic known as the ânones,â rejecting all religious affiliation. The Christian version of those who grew up in the Church but have become ânonesâ often go by another label: âexvangelicals.â
Sometimes, these exodus narratives center around hurt committed by people inside the Church. Other times, these narratives center on hurt that exvangelicals claim comes from the truth claims of the Christian faith.
For example, many exvangelicals cite the Bibleâs teaching on sexuality as the primary reason for their exit. In reality, however, many of the folks in this camp have already rejected other cornerstones of orthodoxy, such as the authority of Scripture, the reality of sin, the necessity of Jesusâ atonement, and the deity and exclusivity of Christ.
In the wake of so many clerical sex abuse scandals, to many people the Catholic Church appears hypocritical and bankrupt morally and spiritually. In the midst of such trying times, how can Catholics justify remaining in the Church? The words and deeds of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), Dominican
Mantelatta or penitential woman who lived during an earlier crisis, can offer us some guidance and hope.
Catherine lived in worse times than our own because it was not only the Church that seemed to be collapsing, but larger society and even the world itself. The Black Death, or bubonic plague one of the deadliest pandemics in human history reached Sicily via Genoese trading ships from the Black Sea the year Catherine was born. It is said that four-fifths of the population of Siena died from the plague the following year. There would be several successive waves of the disease during Catherine’s lifetime. One anonymous chronicler in Siena at the time wrote: “And no bells tolled, and
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Cardinal O’Malley participates in video conference with catechumens and candidates who participated in the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion in their parishes on the first Sunday of Lent. Courtesy photo Catechumens and their godparents participate in the Rite of Election at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill Feb. 21.
Pilot photo/Jacqueline Tetrault A catechumen signs her name in the Book of the Elect.
Pilot photo/Jacqueline Tetrault
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CHESTNUT HILL As at other parishes throughout the archdiocese, those preparing to enter the Church at Easter gathered at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill to participate in the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion on Feb. 21, the first Sunday of Lent.