<p>You have literally never heard the term “cultural Catholic” before? Wow. Just wow. I know you say you were reared Catholic, but it seems odd to me that a lifelong Catholic is as far out of the loop as you’ve professed to be about different things. It’s quite a common term both in and out of the church. There’s even a Catholic publication actually called The Cultural Catholic.</p>
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<p>Catholicism as a culture is particularly pertinent to those of us who were reared in areas with a high Catholic presence. Many of our habits, behaviors, traditions, even thoughts, are shaped by our Catholic heritage and we retain those even after leaving the Church. </p>
<p>I would suggest that as someone who never left the Church, HH, you are not very well-equipped to tell people who have how they should feel after having done so. Also, you seem singularly prone to hang offensive and often inaccurate labels on people. Simply put, you aren’t the best person to dictate to former Catholics what they should call themselves. </p>
<p>If they feel they are recovering from something negative, it’s not your place to judge them. You don’t know what their experiences were in the church, and you’ve never been in the position of leaving it. Many of those who call themselves “recovering Catholics” (I never did) do so in bittersweet recognition of how difficult it is to break away from what was their Mother, the Church, and the rich cultural and spiritual heritage that goes with it. (And others, like lealdragon, use the term for other, equally valid reasons that she’s already expressed).</p>
<p>And by the way, HH–given the fact that it’s already been demonstrated that I still know the order of Mass better than you do–perhaps you should stay away from trying to tell me what as a former Catholic I do and don’t understand about the church.</p>