[irishpipes]

I grew up a Catholic in a VERY Catholic part of the country. As a young adult I moved to a very non-Catholic part of the country in the heart of the bible belt. I had to actually think about WHY Catholics do things in order to "defend" or explain it to non-Catholics around me who questioned it. I never had to do that growing up because virtually everyone was Catholic there. Later, I married a non-Catholic who converted. Through his conversion, I was fortunate enough to learn things I never understood growing up.

My point is that the Catholic Church does a poor job of teaching the religion to its followers and to others. There are so many misconceptions, and this thread is full of them. I don't profess to be the expert on Catholicism but I am now fairly knowledgeable, and I hope that those of you who have posted issues that you take with the church will take the trouble to follow up on them. You may be surprised at the answers you find. The problem is finding the proper sources for your answers because there is a lot of bad information out there. (And I am not arrogant enough to suggest that I am the right source, either.)

Also, as to why many Catholics are reluctant to change religions even if they are unhappy with the Church? I think there are many reasons. Primarily, the eucharist. If you believe in transubstantiation, NO OTHER religion offers this. There is also the cultural aspect of Catholicism (which could be described as ritual and tradition.) But there are many other very, very compelling reasons (primacy of Peter, sola scriptura, sacraments, etc.)

It is sort of like Greek life in that you can't explain it to someone on the outside looking in.

Side note: To the GCer who wondered if she is a bastard now that her parents are divorced/annulled. No. That is not what anullments do, and my parents are divorced/annulled as well.