It is a bit confusing and uncomfortable to be born a Roman Catholic. Each of us certainly has a body of received dogma and moral teachings but received wisdom is quite another thing. Wisdom comes from living. Moral demands and dogmatics without reference to the individual mind and considered behavior is, at best empty and, at worst, a kind of cultural fascism. Most of us who worship regularly and identify ourselves with a particular religion are not theologians any more than we are constitutional scholars or very complete historians of our own countries. At the same time we share a set of problems and goals: How do you make practical sense out of faith and useful meaning out of Church teaching? We are as much creators of our faith and morality as we are consumers of church dogmas and morals. The goal of faith is hope, tranquility and meaning. To this end, stories need be told. “Shared stories” is one definition of family and community. The People of God can only be persons of faith who share their stories. Coping Catholic is shared stories and meditations on the Creed, Commandments and Sacraments of a baptized Roman Catholic. It initiates a dialogue within the Christian Community. It shares the life experiences of a church-going, college educated Roman Catholic and reports what he believes. It proceeds dogma by dogma in the Creed, commandment by commandment, sacrament by sacrament, and life experience by life experience. His story reports the what and explains the why. The author’s intent in sharing his story is that some readers will find a foothold of hope in the story of how another person, who shares much of their experiences and education, has learned to cope with the faith and doctrine many of us were born to.
