I remember seeing a video called “I’m Muslim But…” that dealt with misconceptions about Islam. That video inspired me to write a short “I’m Catholic but…” post. Sometimes in sharing my Catholic beliefs, I can come off as either really conservative or really liberal. Despite news of homophobic and anti-LGBT statements, I’m not homophobic or anti-LGBT. I’m also a convert to Catholicism. Contrary to popular belief, I’m also not in a giant conspiracy to take over the world.
Catholic beliefs can come off as either really conservative, such as from Rick Santorum, or really liberal, with the likes of Nancy Pelosi. I sound conservative since I’m very pro-life and like subsidiarity, or local control of things. I have a few other right leaning beliefs of fiscal responsibility and a strong military, but those aren’t directly tied to Catholicism as much as personal political ideologies. Catholic Social Teaching makes being pro-life more than simply an anti-abortion issue; it’s a human dignity issue. I come off as liberal for opposing the death penalty, supporting fair wages, and believing climate change is real. Overall, I’m a moderate, not a liberal or a conservative. I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats in elections.
The Catholic church has a more traditional view on marriage which can sound homophobic or anti-LGBT. I am not homophobic or anti-LGBT. There is thankfully no Westboro Catholic Church. I personally support civil unions for same sex couples as the fair path to respect human dignity and allow protections. I think same sex couples adopting could help the pro-life cause. The Catholic church and I both don’t believe sexuality is chosen. The Catechism of the Catholic Church actually speaks out against unjust discrimination. I’m thankful for a Catholic governor that wrote an executive order to protect LGBT state employees. I truly believe all people deserve respect, a right to employment and to be a consumer, and should not live in fear due to sexual orientations and gender identities that are not chosen.
I am also a convert to Catholicism; I was not born into Catholicism. Most Catholic people I know are lifelong Catholics that were born into the faith. My family occasionally went to a Baptist church when I was little. When I was in high school, I attended a Pentecostal church and was actively Pentecostal. In college, I decided to become Catholic after being exposed to it by my Eastern Orthodox friends. Eastern Orthodoxy is like Catholicism with extra butter on steroids. I began to explore theological beliefs on my own. I was in the pro-life group full of mostly Catholics. The pro-life movement along with other theological views such as social justice and the real presence in the Eucharist (communion) started my process to conversion. So, on Easter 2015, I was confirmed and officially became Catholic.
Becoming Catholic did not include me in any cool conspiracies. I have read articles by people that legitimately believe the Catholic church is a part of the New World Order, the Illuminati, and secretly controls top politicians. I even looked into these theories before I considered Catholicism since I was in a very anti-Catholic religion before I converted. These theories are just silly. The Jesuits are an order most often in conspiracy theories. I have been on a Jesuit retreat before, but they didn’t initiate us into any groups to control the world with Madeleine Albright (a former Catholic and former secretary of state that works at a Jesuit university) and Joe Biden. However, if you know either of them, please introduce me.
