Gerald Battle: Catholic Church too rigid

Regarding the Feb. 13 column “She can’t joint Catholic Church, despite calling”: Maril Doster’s attempt to join the Catholic Church as related by columnist Josh Shaffer struck a nerve in me, a Catholic, that has bothered me for some time.

Shaffer has it right that if someone wants to be part of any group they must abide by their rules. However, there are rules and there are rules.

Doster would be much freer to join if she had committed a vicious act of murder and repented, than she is after having become married, a loving act, and divorced then re-married. Having made what was perhaps a poor decision in marriage, she is serving a life sentence of denial while a mass murderer can be admitted to the fold. Somehow, justice seems to be lacking.

Oh, yes, she can go through all the myriad steps of an annulment, but how does that change the facts? Yes, rules must be obeyed and standards must be maintained, but one recalls that even Jesus had something to say about scribes and Pharisees and their rules, some of which are far less important than faith.

Could things like this be part of the reason why there are almost as many “fallen-away” Catholics as there are active ones?

This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 7:48 PM with the headline "Gerald Battle: Catholic Church too rigid."