It makes a difference whether you're Catholic  By Angela C.
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Article Parish Life Scripture and Theology Spirituality Young
Adults Not even the deepest frustrations and disappointments can
undo the sense that belonging to the Catholic Church makes a
difference—for ourselves and for others.   I was a student at
Yale Divinity School when Pope John Paul II died. He was the
only pope of my lifetime, and while he was said to be loved by
youth, I struggled with his papacy. His writings on the nature
of women challenged the way I understood myself as a person. As
I immersed myself in theology, I wrestled painfully with some of
the teachings that the Vatican proclaimed under his leadership.
I was still boiling inside about the clergy sex abuse scandal.
Yet when I heard of his death, I wept. I holed myself up in my
apartment with two Catholic friends and watched CNN for days
straight. We watched in silence, shed quiet tears, and browsed
through pictures of h