Ironically, it's the Lutherans who are keeping me Catholic. When my parish imploded from scandal, the Lutheran pastor next door was the one I turned to. My Catholic friends couldn't believe a priest would do such a thing; they thought the whole mess was just diocesan politics. My atheist friends were convinced that all priests are secretly degenerate pedophiles, so what should I expect?

My faith has been reduced to the barest flicker -- but what keeps me going is the thought that if I give up, evil wins. There would be one less person willing to stand up and say, "No. This is wrong." That's exactly how Satan operates, I think. Sneaky attacks from the inside, with each action justifiable as being for the greater good... from a certain perspective. He exploits bystander apathy and diffusion of responsibility. But he's not going to prevail.

Researching the early Church has helped keep me going as well. Jesus' message has been unavoidably distorted by centuries of transmission and reinterpretation. The protection of the Holy Spirit and invocations of papal infallibility only go so far. We've been plagued by divisiveness, schism, and heresy. We've built up all this pomp and circumstance in our religious rituals that I have a hard time reconciling with the simple ministry of an Iron Age itinerant rabbi -- even if he was the Son of God. Nonetheless, the Catholic Church, for all its flaws, is the best we've got. Its the one form of Christianity with an unbroken connection all the way back to Jesus. (Except maybe the Eastern churches as well, but I don't know enough about them.) Yes, portions of that history are probably ret-conned. Yes, many of the officials have been corrupt. But the Church endures. Is it adept at dealing with rapidly-changing social issues? Nope. Is it always right? Nope. But at its core, the Church holds doggedly to its theology, which I respect. We will weather this assault, just as we weathered all those that came before. Love is stronger than sin.

u/versebot [Mark 12:28-34]