Hey Martin, a question for you. Assuming you are straight. Assuming just for argument that you are married. have you ever used “protection” or any form of birth control? Have you ever made love with your wife for any reason EXCEPT to induce pregnancy? Only simple coitus - no foreplay, no other things that just feel good or get ya in the mood. If so, according to the strict teachings of dogma, you are or were at one time a sinner. Sex according to what I was taught in a Catholic school and in a Catholic church was ONLY for procreation. It was a necessary evil, and the only acceptable purpose was to make a baby. Sex was bad. In all its forms and variations. The “authority” cited was the writings of Saint Paul. This was dogma and official policy. Later it was decided that the “rhythm method” was acceptable, but it still conflicts with the old “make babies only” rule. Have you ever ever jerked off? Not allowed. Ever just had a dirty thought? Not allowed. Looked at any beautiful girl and felt just a teeny twinge of lust? Not allowed. So now. Just how good a Catholic are you? For that matter how good a Catholic are those priests in the newspapers who got caught doing all sorts of things? How Catholic were their superiors who for years swept it all under the rug and allowed it to happen or continue? It’s called hypocrisy.
There are other vices too - pride, sloth, anger, avarice, gluttony, a whole list. How are you on those? I’m pretty good at gluttony and anger, and sloth I aced.
I can be honest about my failings you see. I’m a bad bad man (so what).
The harshest words in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, are reserved for hypocrites. Jesus forgave thieves, murderers, the tax man, he even forgave his own killers. He had nothing but hard words for the hypocrite.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Read and heed. “You guys” casted it, some of us are just tossing it right back. If you didn’t want your “unassailable faith and righteous piety” to be puked on, you should have remembered those darn stones. Meanwhile think about all the church laws, dogmas and doctrines that were proved to be false and were later reversed. Quite a few were moral doctrines.