Hello, I'm Marie, a former Cradle Catholic growing a new spiritual path and hoping to connect with other former Catholics to share our stories, as well as with current Catholics struggling with some aspect of their faith in this institution. I can be reached at:I created this site because I wished I had a resource like this after leaving Catholicism a couple of years ago. Some minor research suggests that this site used to be a Forum for Former Catholics to share their experiences. I would love to find a way to begin a forum on a section of this website through one of the pages linking at the top. Once I discover if and how this can be implemented, I will happily set this up for my readers.
INVITATION
I welcome guest posts, articles, comments, and emails! My goal for this site is to start a supportive community where all feel included and have a place to share. Also, if you have a suggestion for content, I’d be deeply appreciative. Thank you for the emails I have received; I would love it if some of these could be posted, as they are beautiful testaments to the power of community and hope in times of despair. However, absolute anonymity is guaranteed and please consider these points if you would like to contribute:
ANONYMITY
Your privacy will be respected to the utmost degree. So if you post a comment, a guest post, or if you Follow this site, you can remain totally anonymous if you wish. All comments are placed into Moderation and if you would like to sign in anonymously, you may do so and your identity will be protected. Email me if you have questions about how to post anonymously.
A couple of points I wanted to add:
1. Formercatholic.com is partially a misnomer and I ask that you do not allow it to scare you off if you are a practicing Catholic. I am still a registered member of my own parish although I no longer practice. I left the church at an older age (mid-30s) so it was hard and I absolutely respect anyone’s decision to have stayed in the church. I promise you’ll not receive disrespectful feedback for remaining Catholic.
2. I have a strict privacy policy; it's your choice whether to remain anonymous or not. You can comment and there are 4 selections to identify yourself—either by Google Account, Open ID, Name, or Anonymous. If you select “Name” you can enter a pseudonym—I only ask that you use the same one for all posts to avoid confusion. You can also click Anonymous if you wish.
3. If you want to Follow the site, you can simply create a separate gmail address that is not tied to your google account, and use that to Follow. Although I removed the Follow page element temporarily, I realized people could not follow if they were unable to access this feature. However, you can still follow the site anonymously.
4. If you write a guest post or make a comment, you will not have to worry about receiving any mean-spirited feedback. All comments are moderated by me, and I will not allow any disrespectful ones to be posted from anyone who would condemn or be negative. Differing points of view can be conferred civilly and friendly. So, if a nasty comment comes in that would be hurtful, know that I will take the hit :) and simply delete it.
5. If you have any concerns, feel free to email me.
6. I understand the courage it takes to comment on a website. But, if you are a reader, I'm convinced you have something valuable to share, and can add something great to this little community. I would love to give a voice to anyone willing to contribute.
Sincerely,
Marie
A couple of points I wanted to add:
1. Formercatholic.com is partially a misnomer and I ask that you do not allow it to scare you off if you are a practicing Catholic. I am still a registered member of my own parish although I no longer practice. I left the church at an older age (mid-30s) so it was hard and I absolutely respect anyone’s decision to have stayed in the church. I promise you’ll not receive disrespectful feedback for remaining Catholic.
2. I have a strict privacy policy; it's your choice whether to remain anonymous or not. You can comment and there are 4 selections to identify yourself—either by Google Account, Open ID, Name, or Anonymous. If you select “Name” you can enter a pseudonym—I only ask that you use the same one for all posts to avoid confusion. You can also click Anonymous if you wish.
3. If you want to Follow the site, you can simply create a separate gmail address that is not tied to your google account, and use that to Follow. Although I removed the Follow page element temporarily, I realized people could not follow if they were unable to access this feature. However, you can still follow the site anonymously.
4. If you write a guest post or make a comment, you will not have to worry about receiving any mean-spirited feedback. All comments are moderated by me, and I will not allow any disrespectful ones to be posted from anyone who would condemn or be negative. Differing points of view can be conferred civilly and friendly. So, if a nasty comment comes in that would be hurtful, know that I will take the hit :) and simply delete it.
5. If you have any concerns, feel free to email me.
6. I understand the courage it takes to comment on a website. But, if you are a reader, I'm convinced you have something valuable to share, and can add something great to this little community. I would love to give a voice to anyone willing to contribute.
Sincerely,
Marie
