Clearly there is an important piece of history taking place this week in the United States Supreme Court involving marriage equality. Unless you are completely unplugged from the world you have seen media coverage regarding what is currently taking place in our country. It warms my heart to see my news feed filled with support for marriage equality, whether it be the picture of the red equal sign, or a rainbow colored Supreme Court building, or one of those pictures with the arrow pointing to your profile picture saying, "This person is an ally and supports marriage equality", it just makes me smile. And then the smile slowly dissipates upon seeing some posts claiming you can't be religious and a supporter. Or because you do support marriage equality for our LGBT community, you must not believe in God, or you must not be a good Christian, or you are a marriage hater, or whatever argument is out there. So, as I sometimes do, I decided I needed to put my thoughts to virtual paper to get them to stop spinning around in my head making me feel like a crazy person.
I am a catholic. I also consider myself a fairly liberal minded individual. I was baptized in the Catholic church. I am also pro-choice. I received my First Communion and the sacrament of Confirmation. I also believe in contraception. One of the most calming places for me to be to this day is in the quiet pews of any Catholic church. I also support the right of couples in love to marry and share their lives with each other and have it recognized under the law. I believe marriage is not defined as between a man and woman for the main purpose of having children. I give marriage and the individuals who make that commitment to one another, gay or straight, much more respect then entering into a contract and having the most important thing be procreation.
I was raised in a Catholic home. I attended CCD and CYO and confession and mass on Sundays. I was also raised in a home with parents who taught me to be an individual. To use my mind. To believe in God but also to not be afraid to question what I do not understand or what I do not believe to be right and ethical and humane. I also appreciate the fact when things happened in my life or to people I love that I did not understand at a young age, my parents allowed me to step away and figure out where I stood in my religion on my own. They didn't force me to go to church if I didn't want to, they waited until I was ready. I don't believe that I must attend church every Sunday for God to hear me pray, and I don't attend mass every week, but sometimes if I'm feeling particularly lost about something I will go. It is a safe place for me among the pews. I respect my Catholic faith but because I have questions and feel my religion is not current with our ever changing world and growing communities, and do not agree with every piece of what I was once taught as I little girl sitting in CCD, does not mean I am a bad Catholic or that religion is not important to me. It means I am a liberal Catholic. It means I am someone who respects the history but will still continue to advocate for change. It means that I can still be Catholic and support social reform in many facets. I am proud to be that kind of Catholic and that is who I will continue to be.