Following are NCR reader responses to Heidi Schlumpf's recent article "After Trump win, many Catholic women are rethinking their relationship to the church" (ncronline.org, Dec. 11, 2024).
Not alone
I had just returned from a Wednesday morning daily Mass during which tears were streaming from my face, trying to make sense of the Gospel, the priest’s homily and what I now knew about most of the people sitting around me, following the election.
I felt heartbroken and heart sick.
Then I saw your article online, “After Trump win, many Catholic women are rethinking their relationship to the Church” (NCR, Dec. 11, 2024).
Every word, Ms Schlumpf. Every word you wrote in that article speaks so perfectly to how I have felt since the morning after the election.
It helps to know I’m not alone.
Thank you for doing what you do. Keep doing it.
MARISSA SMITH
New Haven, Connecticut
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Alternative Catholic communities
Many of us Catholic women have been struggling with this for years. Being Catholic is a part of our DNA. We love the Eucharist. But the institutional church has become increasingly entrenched in very conservative values. We are feeling less and less connected to the people with whom we were worshiping. We are asking: "Are we even hearing the same Gospel?"
Some of us have left. NCR has highlighted many independent Catholic communities in articles over the last several years. Some are led by women priests, all are inclusive. I belong to one in Ohio, the Community of St Hildegard. It has a physical church and is still accessible by Zoom. There are many others. Ours follows a deep Catholic tradition in our liturgy, is loving and welcoming, and has eliminated all the frustrations of non-inclusivity. We are in a place where we can truly be who we are, valued, recognized, and belonging. Maybe these are the places Catholic women (and men) need to come and rest for a while.
SUE O'REILLY
Gig Harbor, Washington
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Tithing my only protest
As an elderly woman and a lifelong practicing Catholic, I can no longer support even my own parish which has served me for years. I refuse to give any money now. This is the only form of protest I can pursue. My money will now go to other organizations that serve the poor and marginalized exclusively.
We have been hounded for years to vote on one issue alone, abortion, which is a very complicated issue. Even though I have my own reservations about abortion, I feel it is profoundly wrong to force my religious beliefs on people whose faith is different from mine.
In addition, so many of the radical right in the Trump world are Catholic. I cannot be associated with such hypocrisy.
ROSALEA RAGLAND
Iowa City, Iowa
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Lonely in the Church
Thank you very much Ms. Schlumpf for your thoughtful and insightful article. This is the first article I have read that captures my feelings since the election. As disappointed as I was with the election results, I am heartbroken to know that the majority of Catholics supported Trump.
A few weeks after the election, I watched a number of Nov. 10 Masses to hear the homilies, my own parish's included.
The only homily that provided any comfort was the Mass at St. Paul the Apostle in NYC: a wonderful parish I had attended years ago for one summer. My three children all went through Catholic school , and onto Catholic universities. Now, I consciously avoid mentioning to others that I am Catholic because I feel sad anyone might assume I am a Trump supporter.
I am at a loss to understand when and how Catholics lost their support for our social justice teachings. I am sad that our Catholic leaders — our priests and bishops — can be so unaware of and so insensitive to what it means to women to know that a convicted sex offender will be leading our country and that that was made possible by the support of Catholics. Between that and Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric toward immigrants and other vulnerable communities, I am left confused as to my standing in the Catholic Church.
MARTI GUIDOUX
Lafayette, California
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