Keep praying for sure. But you really need to ask yourself why you’re in any church at all–are you there for the people or are you there for Jesus? Are you there bc the pastors make you feel good and are good speakers or are you there bc Jesus is there?
EVERY church is made up of sinners and people who will disappoint, and if the reason you’re leaving the Catholic Church is bc you’re disappointed in PEOPLE, you’re going to continue to be disappointed wherever you go.
Go where Jesus is. He’s the only One you can 100% depend on not to disappoint you. One thing I know for sure, no matter what scandals the Catholic Church goes through or how many bad homilies I have to sit through or how many judgemental people are in the pews, I know without a doubt that Jesus is at every single Mass, physically, calling me to receive Him and commune with Him and leave my sins at the altar. I know He’s there every time, I know these are the sacraments He founded, and there’s not a single scandal or bad pope or bishop or lukewarm community that could ever make me doubt any of that. I’m not here for people. I’m here for Jesus. I’m here for the Eucharist. And that never disappoints.
Tagging in cuz I think it’s worth mentioning, it’s totally ok to have protestant friends. And if the community at your Catholic Church doesnt work well for you, as long as you’re making sure you’re still receiving catholic instruction and everyone knows you are catholic and isn’t trying to convert you, it’s ok to go to protestant bible studies and prayer groups, etc. As long as you still go to Mass, and get enough instruction so you know what the catholic church teaches, it’s ok to find community with other Christians! It’s also okay if you learn about God through protestant books so long as you also read from Catholic sources so you’re clear on Catholic theology. There are a million incredible Catholic works, ranging from approachable, to works of saints, to super dense theological stuff, so with some digging you should be able to find books that are your style, but it’s not like Protestant books won’t be about Christ.
100% agree. It’s pretty much impossible for me NOT to be involved in a protestant christian community since I’m the only Catholic in my family and honestly once people realized I’m an all-in, Eucharist and sacraments-believing Catholic, and stopped trying to argue with me, our relationships got deeper and also?? Its really good for me to be able to worship God with my brothers and sisters in Christ and go deeper with them in the Lord. It’s fresh and uniting, but I wouldn’t recommend something like that to someone who is questioning their faith and considering leaving the Church bc there’s a lot of ways for you to be influenced against Catholicism in those settings.
Do you know who doesn’t get enough love from the Harry Potter fandom?
Madam Poppy BAMF Poppy
Escorted a teenage werewolf to a deadly tree each month.
Took care of that teenage werewolf after every full moon and you know that she probably fussed over him and mothered him and gave him a bunch of chocolate.
Literally didn’t question things.
This boy has a bite that’s turning green and he says is from a dog? Okay.
This girl is half-cat? Alright
Had to put up with Harry’s excessive injuries each year.
Took care of and cured a bunch of petrified students.
Didn’t put up with Malfoy’s crap.
LITERALLY YELLED AT DUMBLEDORE!
YELLED AT THE MINISTER OF MAGIC!
KICKED DUMBLEDORE AND THE MINISTER OF MAGIC OUT!!!
Was the one who took care of Cedric Diggory’s corpse.
Refused to resign under Umbridge’s regime because she was afraid of what would happen to the students.
Took care of everyone during the battle in HBP.
Fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and tended to the wounded/dead.
Probably had to deal with hundreds of students who misused the Engorgio Charm.
Brock is one of the few and perfect examples of an actual gentlemen like yeah he’d hit on literally every girl he’d meet but would also only shower them with affection and compliments. He never falls into the tired “token pervert/borderline sexual assaulter” anime trope and despite being hella flirty, treats the women he’s interested with nothing but respect and compassion.
Truly the only straight anime boy ill ever stan
Also when in Sinnoh, there was a young maid who was interested in Brock and did a lot of things to get his attention but since she wasn’t old enough he didn’t even consider trying to flirt with her!!!
Remember that one movie where Brock busted out the most genuinely wholesome one-liner of all time?
this is gross. do what you want but fight the rescue industry is GROSS. for every willing sex worker there’s 1000 unwilling
can you link to a specific study that provides those statistics?
and i’d suggest reading more about the “rescue industry” via @workingitinportland …
Here is a study showing the majority of women in the sex industry want to leave. If you want more research I’ll have to get it later because I have to go to bed soon but if another radfem could take over I’d appreciate it.
Prostitution and Trafficking in Nine Countries
An Update on Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
ABSTRACT
“We interviewed 854 people currently or recently in prostitution in 9 countries (Canada, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United States, and Zambia), inquiring about current and lifetime history of sexual and physical violence. We found that prostitution was multitraumatic: 71% were physically assaulted in prostitution; 63% were raped; 89% of these respondents wanted to escape prostitution, but did not have other options for survival. A total of 75% had been homeless at some point in their lives; 68% met criteria for PTSD. Severity of PTSD symptoms was strongly associated with the number of different types of lifetime sexual and physical violence.
Our findings contradict common myths about prostitution: the assumption that street prostitution is the worst type of prostitution, that prostitution of men and boys is different from prostitution of women and girls, that most of those in prostitution freely consent to it, that most people are in prostitution because of drug addiction, that prostitution is qualitatively different from trafficking, and that legalizing or decriminalizing prostitution would decrease its harm.”
As for @hookedonafeeeling’s claim that “for every willing ‘sex worker’ there is a 1000 unwilling” sex trafficking makes more than enough unwilling women the rest are pushed into it out of enconomic necessity.
For all those arguing that not every woman in prostitution is forced into it or doesn’t enjoy it, that point is irrelevant.
Even if it’s your choice and there’s no job you’d rather do, you are still participating in an industry which causes immeasurable harm to countless women and girls. You don’t get to argue the horrific acts committed against these people by saying “but I want to be able to do that!”
Plus which, if anything, decriminalization just makes it even more unsafe for women who have been forced int the sex industry, as it allows pimps to sit in on workers’ unions and be classified as “sex workers,” the same term used by many who campaign for legalization to refer to prostituted women. How can we talk of these women and the men who sell their bodies – whether of or against their will – as though they were on an equal footing?
It’s an inherently sexist industry, and dismissing the cases of those thousands upon thousands of women and girls who have been trafficked and/or have had no say in their being prostituted in favour of campaigning for the few who would choose prostitution plays right into the hands of pimps, brothel owners and sex buyers.
“#SexWorkIsWork” and “Fight Racism” are two directly contradictory statements 🧐
Obscure Fandoms 