I am a catholic and a very devoted one at that. or so i thought i was. But i have started to feel like i am disappointing my church recently.
My 17 year old classmate just had a child. When I heard that she was considering whether or not to keep it, i was irrate. One day i stopped and tried to put myself in her shoes and it really made me think. THink hard....
I never ever agreed with abortion before. It was murder no matter what and i still believe that it is wrong, but now after seeing her I am starting to see the other side of this debate, especially becuase of my age. I am successful in school and have always dreamed of going off to a prestigious school if i were to be pregnant at this age then could i really sacrifice my dreams and everything i worked for? I know the right thing to do, murder is murder, but now i see how much pressure the Church truly puts on one and I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
Should people really put aside their dreams for their Church? I have been taught that yes they should, but does it really seem right?
hmm...
I suggest you look at the other side and see the arguments for it NOT being murder.
Well i understand the other side of abortion, but regardless i believe it is murder.
She's not putting her dreams aside for the Church, she's putting them aside because of a decision she made with a boy. And, even if she keeps the baby, and doesn't put it up for adoption, that doesn't mean she has to put her dreams aside--she just has to work a lot harder to attain them. It's been done. I've seen blogs on this website about it. Pregnancy is a consequence of an action (or lack of action preceding an action *cough*contraceptive*cough*), whether it's an intended pregnancy or not.
The Church is simply a scapegoat because of the recent words the Pope said that I do not agree with. At all. I am incredibly disappointed with the direction my Church is going. Benedict is abusing the power of being "infallible" to turn his personal beliefs into law. JPII is rolling in his grave right now.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
Should people really put aside their dreams for their Church? I have been taught that yes they should, but does it really seem right?
It doesn't seem right to me; that's why I'm not Catholic and could never be Catholic. I've always found it preposterous that a bunch of men can presume to tell every woman in the world that we only have one purpose in life, and that our reproductive organs define our entire existence. I am a human being with a brain, not a life support system for a uterus. I should get to decide my purpose in life.
People need to make choices that will affect the rest of their lives every day. That's just a part of life. My sister was pregnant at 16 and now has two kids. She is very smart and could have finished high school and gone on to college. She chose instead to be a mother. If your friend really wanted to fulfill her dreams, then she would find a way to make that happen, whether it be keeping the baby or giving it up for adoption. Since you said she just had the baby, I am assuming it's a little late to consider abortion. In the end, the choice is hers to make.