Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
I edited my post in case you missed it:
I still respond only by saying "Thank you," and that I appreciate it. I continue to avoid letting him know because I am so afraid of hurting him—it will devastate him. But even this is weird, because all of his step-children are non-believers, as are several of his siblings. Why is this so hard for me?
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I appreciate this sentiment.
It's odd. I think that I exist in a gray zone here. It should be abundantly clear given my actions (and lack thereof) that I am no longer a catholic, but I have never sat down with mom and dad to tell them firmly I don't believe in god, think the church is a terrible organization to support, and the rest. I am not sure it would serve anything than causing all involved pain; it's not going to change their position on religion. And so I truly believe my mom has convinced herself that though I don't act like it outwardly, I do believe, and I pray, and I'm just waiting for a good opportunity to go back to confession, and maybe when I'm less busy with life I'll return to mass, etc.
Is it healthy? Probably not. But everyone is currently happy so why upset the balance for some arcane sense of needing to level with them?
We have had family discussions about sexual abuse scandals and other unsavory elements of the church, but it hasn't progressed to the point of anyone laying bare their cards so to speak.