"I Knew That This Radicalism Was Not Tolerance in Its Truest Sense"

Richard Evans route back to his Catholic roots included trekking on paths the vast majority of us have never walked:

The long journey back to faith began when I started attending a local Methodist church that was both accepting and yet very evangelical. The congregants were certainly not pro-gay by any means but nevertheless loving and charitable. I found myself digging once again into the Scriptures on a regular basis, and I became celibate, at first not by choice but eventually with enthusiasm. On the other hand, I still held on for dear life to my "pro-gay" theology. Go figure.

In 2004, I saw The Passion of the Christ, and a hunger for the Jesus of my childhood was stirred within me in ways I cannot even yet describe. I was daily listening to Protestant talk radio, which often questioned the faith of people such as Jim Caviezel (the actor who played Jesus in the movie) simply because they were Roman Catholic. This incensed me, as I had all of my life known many Catholics who loved God with all of their hearts, and as a result I had never gotten caught up in an anti-Catholic attitude. Although I did not at that time fully espouse the Church's theology, my memories of Catholicism were mostly fond ones, and I knew what I was hearing was simply not true or accurate.

Then, in 2005, while attending a "marriage equality" rally at the Minnesota State Capitol, I found myself walking away when the leader of a prominent LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) lobbying group began to rail against those who believed in the Bible. It tore me up inside to have to choose between two groups I was part of, "Bible believing" Christians and those who lived with homosexual inclinations. But at that moment the line was drawn in the sand. Even in my activist years I knew that this radicalism was not tolerance in its truest sense, and I had always known, if it ever came to choosing between God and a lifestyle that was for this world only, I would follow Him, no matter where He led me. I left the rally feeling like a "man without a country," not fully on board with the Church or with the militants I had been listening to. I only knew I loved Christ and I loved homosexually inclined people too, and that the two seemed very nearly to hate each other. And it saddened me deeply.

Fascinating story to go read.  Do so.  Here's a bit more of a teaser:

By this point in time I had obtained my fill of old school Christian talk radio, especially the anti-Catholic sentiments often expressed, and on occasion l found myself watching Catholic television such as EWTN instead. I was surprised to hear almost none of the bigotry I had been listening to and was amazed at the level of kindness and respect shown to everyone, friend or foe—all while maintaining traditional Catholic stances. I particularly loved a certain somewhat feisty nun and found myself hooked on Mother Angelica Live! I started watching the televised Mass, almost daily, and eventually discovered a program called The Journey Home, which interviewed former Protestants who had found their way to Catholicism. It was hosted by Marcus Grodi, a former Presbyterian minister, and I much later learned that Dr. Howard had been his very first guest! I learned too of Dr. Scott Hahn and numerous other Protestant ministers and laypeople who had come into the Church during the 35 years I had been away.

I also discovered that there was now a new Catechism of the Catholic Church and wasted no time obtaining a copy. Digging into Church teaching, Bible in one hand and Catechism in the other, it finally dawned on me that, unlike what I had been led to believe during my many years as a Protestant, the Catholic Church did indeed teach correct and proper Christianity from the "top," so to speak. As earlier stated, I had always believed that there were Catholic Christians, but I assumed this was in spite of Rome, not because of her. Now I realized I had been wrong about this my entire adult life.

Good stuff.

Read it all.

Carry on.