I, also, dislike the phrase fallen Catholic. I prefer recovering. Because there is redemption in that — to recover from a traumatic circumstance. I agree with your — the ideology of the Church is brutal and antiquated. Don’t even get me started on the hypocrisy. The last straw was when the pedophile charges started to appear. And the fact that the powers who run the place sheltered those monsters. WTF? But by then I had been starting to follow my own path — I think that was just The Universe’s way of helping me let go of my mother’s religion.

Nature is where I find my peace and I marvel every day at what the world is. Miraculous. And beautiful. Intricately engineered and integrated. There is no such thing as “other”.

Many blessings, Mary! Thank you for sharing your journey.