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alicegunther
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| Posted: March 08 2007 at 11:59am | IP Logged
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In a hasty moment, I deleted the thread about Katherine's new blog and the discussion about her return to the Orthodox Christian Faith from Eastern Rite Catholicism. Upon reflection, I realized that deleting the thread would only serve to confuse and muddy the waters. Sadly, the thread is not retrievable now, and I have no practical way of returning the posts to you.
The post below closing the thread is all that is left now to explain my action, although I fervently wish I had left it at this, so that you would have access to the discussion.
alicegunther wrote:
Moderators Note:
Dear Friends,
Although this conversation is a very interesting one, we have gone outside the scope of the Living Faith forum, a place for us to discuss teaching the Catholic Faith to our children.
While Catholics in union with Rome and Orthodox Christians are loving brethren with common roots, there are distinctions between us (as many here have pointed out), and, I fear, that if we continue to discuss the two, we may need to amble down a road of apologetics and back and forth clarification. Instead, I would ask that the discussion of the distinctions between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, not to mention divisions among individual homeschooling groups, be closed, while keeping in mind the beautiful words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church quoted in Elizabeth's post above:
CCC wrote:
Those "who believe in Christ and have properly been baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound, "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist." |
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Needless to say, this thread is not closed as it pertains to our gladness to "see" our dear friend Katherine here again, not to mention the excitement over the pending arrival of her newest gift from Heaven! |
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__________________
Love, Alice
mother of seven!
      
Cottage Blessings
Brew yourself a cup of tea, and come for a visit!
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kjohnson
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| Posted: March 08 2007 at 7:34pm | IP Logged
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All,
Please note that this post is from Katherine's husband, Doug.
I am happy that the previous thread was deleted. I have many opinions on the topic, but am most concerned with how my wife has been treated because of it. I have rummaged through our email trash reviewing some of the posts from the previous thread and was surprised to see the argumentative turn the thread took.
I have asked Katherine to disengage from participating in the message board for the foreseeable future, as today's dialogue landed us in Labor & Delivery this afternoon with stress induced high blood pressure, contractions, and the like. No doubt many of you know about our struggles with preterm labor (she mentioned it at the beginning of the previous thread).
I am sure that everyone has more exciting and more important things to discuss other than us or our faith. I ask that you do so.
Doug Johnson
p.s. Please don't expect a reply from Katherine, as she will be in bed until our baby is born without access to the computer and the message board and the stress and unnecessary debate that accompanies it.
__________________
In Christ,
Katherine
Wife to Doug and Mother of 6
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alicegunther
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| Posted: March 08 2007 at 9:15pm | IP Logged
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I am extremly sorry to hear of Katherine's troubles this afternoon, and we will all pray for her fervently, especially during these last few days before the birth of your child.
I am glad you did not mind my rash deletion of the thread, although it saddens me that, in deleting the thread, I summarily disposed of four long pages of posts, messages that were very welcoming and loving. I wish both you and Katherine could have access to these to read them all together now in context.
Please understand the reasons behind the questions that were raised within the thread. Katherine is a well respected, persuasive and even revered voice on these forums. For several months, she has been writing as an Eastern Catholic, perhaps, in some cases, without truly realizing her heart remained within the Orthodox Church. The questions raised in the thread I deleted arised, not out of a spirit of unkindness toward Katherine or an unwillingness to accept mothers of other faiths, but because of the confusion and surprise felt by those who see now that the many beautifully rendered statements of Faith Katherine has shared with us all these months were, in many places, not Eastern Catholic, but Orthodox.
We all understand her journey (even if many of us would have loved for it to lead her closer to communion with Rome). I was amazed that Katherine was so determined to be forthright that, when she realized she was returning to Orthodoxy, she took the enormous step of deleting her beautiful blogs, A Living Education and Oriental Lumen, rather than foster confusion. This is true integrity, and I have come to expect nothing less from her. Still, much of the confusion remains here on these boards, especially for the many mothers who were just beginning to become interested in Eastern Rite Catholicism because of Katherine's convincing and very moving statements of Faith, but are now wondering how much of what was written was Eastern Catholic and how much was, in actuality, Orthodoxy. (Some members are only now beginning to discover that there is a difference between Eastern Catholicism and Orthodoxy.) You can understand how questions would arise and remain here still.
I truly do not believe that it was anyone's intent to hurt our friend, Katherine. Honest questions can sometimes sound like challenges or argument when they are not meant to be.
One thing I know for sure, even if Katherine is not up to the Message Board right now (and who can blame her so close to the arrival of someone so much more infinitely important?), she will be united with us through prayer--God's own World Wide Web. I know that every person reading this thread has a prayer of love in her heart for Katherine, your baby, and your family.
__________________
Love, Alice
mother of seven!
Cottage Blessings
Brew yourself a cup of tea, and come for a visit!
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alicegunther
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 9:50am | IP Logged
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I have no doubt everyone on this board is tired of hearing from me at this point, and yet I will venture to clarify what I wrote yesterday. I did not present an entirely accurate picture in my post above and want to be sure I have not done Katherine a disservice. If I were to quietly edit my post, it might go unnoticed, so I am opting to write a separate message in hopes that it will get read today.
The posts that hurt Katherine were not merely questions. Hurtful things were said to her. I think what I should have said rather than "Honest questions can sometimes sound like challenges or argument when they are not meant to be" is that "Good, loving women can sometimes utter things in passion that are hurtful, particularly in an email conversation." (If the thread had contained nothing but questions asking for information, I would not have deleted it, now would I? I am sorry to have glossed this over.)
I will say that I have received private messages from everyone involved in this (not Katherine or Doug, but the other mothers), and they have all been extremely conciliatory, with apologies readily offered and even a few requests for Katherine's address to send flowers or gifts. Am I muddling things further by mentioning this or speaking out of turn? Maybe, I don't know. My point is that we are loving, welcoming, and friendly women, and we can get past this and remain united as friends. I know that Katherine is a forgiving woman as well, and she will forgive me for any mistakes I have made and the other mothers for any hurts she has received.
This thread is locked. However, if anyone sees problems with what I have written, my pm box is only half full, and I would welcome any correction or comment.
__________________
Love, Alice
mother of seven!
Cottage Blessings
Brew yourself a cup of tea, and come for a visit!
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Looking for Katherine’s Blog Thread (
Topic Closed)
