Why I Can’t Call Myself a Catholic

I find it funny when people who have known me most of my life question how I became such a bleeding heart liberal who’s in favor of things like Universal Healthcare and loosening immigration regulations.

Some say it’s because I went to the liberal brainwashing institution known as college, and others claim I watched too much MSNBC as a teenager. These Conservative boogeymen aren’t the reason, though.

The real culprit? The Catholic Church.

For as long as I can remember I’ve listened to stories of a man named Jesus who encouraged his followers to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and comfort the imprisoned. I was told in Church and during 18-plus years of Catholic school to strive to be like this guy who befriended prostitutes and preached the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The most important lesson I learned during that time was this: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31) This is known as “The Golden Rule.”

The Catholic Church’s teachings have guided me in my everyday life, my profession, and even at the voting booth—and I’ve been proud to admit this for many years.

However, I can no longer identify as a member of an institution whose leaders and members continually act in a manner contradictory to its own teachings. If someone were to ask me if I’m a Catholic, I’d respond “No.”

This isn’t some sudden change of heart, but the result of long-simmering disagreements I’ve had with the Church and many of its members. This started when I listened to my fellow Catholics call for the “nuking” of foreign countries, make openly racist remarks, and speak ill of the poor.

The discourse on social media is even worse, as so-called pro-life Catholics posted statuses supporting causes like the death penalty. Even more are vocal opponents of Black Lives Matter, a movement centered on asking for equal treatment of all people. Or, in other words, they’re asking for others to do to them as they would want done to themselves.

What bothered me more was that few Catholics ever chose to rebuke these statements, and in some cases many cheered on those who made the un-Catholic remarks. This, too, goes against the Church’s teachings. We’re taught to confront evil and call it out when we witness it. I’ve tried to be that person, but it often just ends with people calling Democrats the real enemy and that the Republican Party is where a “true” Catholic belongs.

And then there’s the Catholic Church’s ongoing child sex abuse scandal. Countless priests, bishops, and lay Catholics have not only committed heinous acts against children but have lied about their actions to protect their image—which has allowed the abuse to continue, harming thousands of children.

A bishop once told me the commandment “Thou Shalt not Kill” doesn’t just concern murder—it also means you should never kill a person’s soul or dignity through your words or actions. I’d argue these priests killed many innocent souls.

I’ve always struggled to reconcile the Church’s actual teachings with how these people and the Church itself acted, but it never really made me question whether I could continue calling myself a Catholic.

That is until 2015.

Donald Trump was, without a doubt, the most anti-Catholic president in recent memory. The man preached hatred against immigrants, women, ridiculed the sick, aligned himself with hate groups, defunded initiatives that any good Catholic should support, and said nothing as his supporters turned him into a literal idol (Moses would like a word).

Jesus taught us to be merciful to the meek, and yet many Catholics were supporting a man who ran on a platform of being merciless to anyone who stood in his way. It didn’t add up to me.

This wasn’t just happening in my backyard and social media feed either. More Catholics supported Trump over Hillary Clinton, and the Catholic vote was split between Trump and Biden.

Priests nationwide urged their parishioners to support Trump over Biden, even though the latter is a practicing Catholic who still goes to Mass. Trump, meanwhile, can’t pronounce the name of Bible books properly. And Catholic bishops continually gave Trump a pass, but are already preparing to fight Biden tooth-and-nail (more on that in a bit).

Trump’s actions before and during his presidency should’ve been enough to disqualify him, but I find one thing about him particularly troubling from a Catholic viewpoint: his need to make everything about himself.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic he famously bragged about his “ratings” as thousands of people who voted for him died in hospital beds. He continually called himself “the best” at everything and used every opportunity to explain why he was better than everyone else.

How does this go against Catholic teaching? There’s an important Bible passage in which Jesus teaches the importance of humility:

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6: 3–4)

Even when he managed to do something good, Trump demanded praise and appreciation for doing it. He never could do anything just because it was the right thing to do—that just wasn’t him.

Still, many Catholics propped him up as an example of what all leaders should be. A Catholic priest once told me we should all admire Trump’s “boldness” and how he carried himself, even as the priest held a Bible in his hand that contained explicit instructions to do the opposite.

I want to make clear that I don’t think Democrats are an infallible group, but I see most of their policies as being closer in line with the Church’s teachings than the Republicans. And I’m not the only one.

Jeanine Gafffigan, wife of comedian Jim Gaffigan, wrote an eloquent op-ed on how her Catholic roots inspired her to vote for Biden. “My faith, family and Catholic education have given me the belief in the innate dignity and worth of every single human being,” she wrote. Amen.

Following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, the National Catholic Reporter called for the former president’s ouster, as did America Magazine (a Jesuit publication). In both cases, Catholic teaching was presented to back up their viewpoints. The publications have written many other editorials discussing how the former president went against everything the Church is supposed to stand for.

However, these Catholics are sadly the minority. As the National Catholic Reporter pointed out, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has disturbingly been on Trump’s side on many issues. This excerpt from a Jan. 28 NCR editorial illustrates it best:

“On Jan. 6, when an armed riot incited by then-President Donald Trump broke into the U.S. Capitol, threatened the safety of the country’s legislators and caused the deaths of at least five people, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, the president of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, issued a 124-word statement.

The statement did not name Trump, did not condemn the white supremacy that obviously animated many of the protesters or Trump’s despicable election disinformation campaign, and did not go beyond the level of platitude.

On Jan. 20, when the nation inaugurated Joseph Biden as the 46th president, the same Gomez issued a 1,250-word statement. After dispensing with congratulatory remarks, it promised there will be areas of “strong opposition” from the bishops toward the Biden administration. It then identified at least six issues of disagreement, expounding on them at length.”

Catholicism and its teachings have undeniably made me the person I am today. And because of that I will continue to advocate for policies that will care for those less fortunate than I, vote for candidates who want to use money for peace and goodwill, and treat my fellow human beings with the same respect I wish for them to show me.

So why bother leaving the Catholic Church? For one, I’ve started to question my faith in general but that’s another blog post.

More importantly, though, I find it important as someone who once called himself Catholic not to associate with the people I’ve described here. Jesus warned his followers of the Pharisees, people who spoke about religious law but acted in a way that went against its dogma. The Bible contains many warnings about this.

“Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1: 7–9

Paul’s letter to the Romans says, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” (Romans 16:17)

Today’s Catholics fit this description. I can’t call myself a Catholic because to do so would be to be part of a group that has committed to using God’s word for evil purposes. It would be one thing if it were a few lost sheep, but most of the flock and even its shepherds have gone astray.

For those who may not like what I’ve had to say, you can blame the Church for making me this way.