Following the untimely death of Maison Hullibarger, Father LaCuesta was selected to give the homily at the young man's funeral. The Hullibarger's emphasized that they wanted the funeral to celebrate his life, instead, when LaCuesta began to preach he chose to speak of Hullibarger's sins and the possibility he may not be admitted into heaven.
With so many negative stories about the Catholic Church, specifically priests circulating it is getting increasingly difficult to feel connected to the Catholic Church. Especially with the latest story about Father LaCuests's homily on suicide, I am reminded of why so many people in my generation choose not to attend weekly mass.
A shot from the interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
I always grew up Catholic and felt very connected to my local parish, frequently volunteering and serving as a Eucharistic Minister in high school. Even as a freshman in college I still found the time to go to church once or twice a week. I always knew that there had been issues with various priests in the Church, but had assumed they were just one-off things.
Mistakes happen, and humans are imperfect, but how many inappropriate instances are too many. While the Archdiocese of Detroit handled the issue professionally and publicly by seeking spiritual and mental help for the priest, it is hard to ignore the other cases where issues with priests were not handled as well.
The stunning pastel interior of St. Nicholas Church in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Church is meant to serve as both an educator and a comforter, and while the Catholic Church does believe that suicide is a sin this was not the time or the place to discuss the possibility of a dead child going to hell. One of the major reasons that people go to Church is to experience a physical and emotional connection with their religion, if this connection is not there, then what's the point in going?
In today's modern era, the Church, especially the Vatican runs almost like a business. When the Church stops providing a service that people are looking for in their life, they then turn to other places to find it. Generation Z is the generation that holds people accountable. If we would not shop at a store that sustains child labor, then why would we attend a church that conceals criminal activity or proclaims hurtful messages?
