Dear Friends, enemies and others,

I'm taking a break from this forum so that I may grow spiritually and immerse myself in well rounded theological study.

I am not doing myself (or some others) any good by focusing almost exclusively on the peripherals while all but ignoring the essentials.  

I do not want to be an occasion of sin to those who enjoy seeing people slammed with personal attacks and engage in pettiness for which they will have to answer.

Rationalization does not appear to help some see their lack of charity; and the undeniable fact that we all will have to give an account and be rewarded and punished for all our actions is not enough to stop people from their petty uncharitableness (such as thumbing people down merely because we do not like them or thumbing them up merely because they calumniate and detract one that is disliked).

The thumbdown (without revealing the identity of the thumbdowner) is an occasion of sin for the petty, underhanded, cowardly, and bad-willed.  It is not intended that way and would not be so bad if only charitable Catholics posted here.  It is not an evangelization tool.  We are on the same boat.  We are to build one another up and not slam each other.  We are all part of the mystical body of Christ.  When one rises we all rise, when one falls we all are lowered.  We have to stop being like crabs in a bucket that focus on bringing others down instead of trying to help others up.

Don't get me wrong.  I believe the vast majority here are good willed.  But a few bad apples ruin the batch, at least for me.  

Please pray we get a Catholic Pope so the issues can be definitively settled.  Pray the next Catholic Pope we get also tries to instill a sense of morality into the battle worn traditionalists of our day.  Often times we are our own worst enemies (with ourselves and each other).  

I wish you all the best.

I will post things but will not engage in dialogs apart from PMs.  I promised myself this is what I would do when I rejoined but fell into a trap that is all to tempting for me.  

May God bless you and Mary keep you,
John