Oh boy...

You know, it's interesting. Lately, as we all know, the Church has taken quite a beating in the media. And I think we'd all agree that the disagreement is coming from those more "to the left," if you will. That's certainly a generalization, but I think it's a fair one. But yet, (and I have to admit, I find this amusing, albeit hurtful) the Church also takes a beating from the exact polar end of the spectrum, the far right.

This morning, I logged onto Facebook, and my lovely friend Cam from the A Woman's Place... blog drew my attention to a post by a headcovering shop that in the past, I've highly recommended on this blog: Garlands of Grace (link purposely excluded, ha!). I've "liked" the Garlands of Grace Facebook page, so I quickly found the source of Cam's comment:

"In response to several ladies who have wondered and many others who have presumed, I am compelled to share:Garlands of Grace in NOT a Catholic run business. I am burdened for all who stand with the Catholic Church and would plead with you to come out and believe the Word of God."This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:11-12"

Well then. I have absolutely no problem patronizing businesses that are not Catholic, not Christian, or even totally secular. What I DO have a problem with is associating with businesses that are downright anti-Catholic. THAT the Catholic Librarian does not tolerate.

Because the thing is, Garlands of Grace is not simply clarifying that they are not a Catholic run company. They are flat out saying that Catholics are not Christians and need to "come out" in order to actually "believe the Word of God." This viewpoint is certainly not pervasive amongst all non-Catholic Christians, but unfortunately I've seen it before, and it's insidious amongst at least a small representation of Christians. Very sad, but true.

Underneath this post, as one might imagine, a real brouhaha has erupted in the comments section. Happily, a sizable number of commenters (by far the majority) are charitable and articulate Catholics defending the Church and letting the business owners know that they will not shop there nor recommend the store anymore. There's also some ugly stuff mixed in there, including one woman who called the Church a "glorified cult" but that's par for the course, I suppose. I considered commenting, but then demured. The other Catholics there did an outstanding job of articulating my feelings beautifully and in a kind and charitable fashion. I just "liked" their comments to lend support. But I did "unlike" the page on Facebook to let the shop know that I'm no longer a fan of theirs. I'm curious to see how Garland of Grace's number of fans goes down due to this. It looks like a significant number of their (now former) customers are Catholic.

Anyway, I'm saddned by this, but I suppose I'm not totally surprised. If the Church made everybody happy all of the time, *that* would be something to worry about.

On a more positive note, if you're in the market for headcoverings, check out Cam's etsy shop A Snood for all Seasons. I just bought 2 coverings from her (the convertible type), and they're beautiful! She also sells coverings for little girls, and I'm plotting a purchase for Anne. How cute will that be?!

So, the morning is off to an adventurous start...