I am always amused when someone, upon hearing my name, asks if (or assumes that) I'm Catholic. I was in fact raised Catholic, went through four of the seven sacraments -- even if I later broke one -- but I haven't been to church in years. The new pope is almost awesome enough to get me back to church -- almost. He seems more Buddhist than Catholic, but every religion at its best encourages its followers to live a life of compassion. I won't get into what religion does at its worst.
Tonight we went to dinner at my son's house, and his next-door neighbor asked me, when she heard my last name, if I was Catholic. I'm never really sure how to answer that. Do you stop being Catholic if you stop going to church? I don't consider myself an adherent of any particular religion, but there's no denying that my Catholic upbringing was a major influence in shaping my personality. The neighbor was asking because she converted to Catholicism several years ago, and she said she often asks people she knows to go to church with her. And they often decline.
So I told her I might go along some time. Maybe this is a bad reason to go to church, but I find the rituals comforting. Who knows; I might like it.
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