What in Great Harry Indeed!!!

This is one of those off-topic times.

I participated for four years on a set of message boards through an apostolate aimed at dispensing correct Catholic information. The apostolate has been in existence for about 11 years. It's all up-to-date info, supports the Magisterium, loyal to the Pope. However, their loyalty to their membership base leaves something to be desired:

http://momilosophies.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-in-gods-name-no-vain-intended.html

I am a friend of KC's who knows she speaks the truth, first-hand. I've been at this particular site for four years, no problems, regular contributions when I could afford it. All of the sudden, BAM! People are being banned like flies. Other members can't tell that they are banned, because they are not labeling the bans as they used to do. The people who have been banned are simply unreachable, and from their end, these banned ones can't log on. People who ask questions about the bannings are told they shouldn't ask questions out in the open or else they are going to be banned. You'd think the Governor of Illinois was running the boards. ;-)

This apostolate also sends out constant solicitation letters, so they were really not too bright to tick off their members. I did notice their biannual appeal for funds to distribute Catholic literature at World Youth Day in Australia was no different than their appeal for WYD when it was held in Canada: The apostolate "suddenly" realized that Protestants and secular humanists would attend WYD and attack the Catholic faith of these young people, handing out tracts and the like to lead them astray. The apostolate needed "urgent" contributions to produce copies of their Catholic tracts, which would assist the youth in staying on the right course. Now, the next WYD is announced at the end of the last WYD. How could this apostolate not know there would be anti-Catholic influences there and plan accordingly?

But OK, aside from hokey advertising, the message boards do provide clear answers to a lot of life's questions from a Catholic perspective. Some of that comes from the apostolate's own apologists. But a lot of it comes from people out in the real world, including a deacon with a doctorate in canon law, a very well-versed director of religious education, and trained catechists.

People have come in and been brought back to the Church by being urged to go to confession. People have had their marriage situations corrected and convalidated to canon law. People have realized that they are indeed OK to receive the Eucharist, after being misinformed that they were somehow too sinful to do so. Need I even doubt that babies have been saved from abortion? Despite the good efforts of those apologists, it's the people who have been with the message boards since its inception, those members who have experience in these matters.

It's an apostolate, which means they can run things as they see fit. However:

1.) I am beginning to wonder if all they want is ca$h, contribution$.
2.) I wonder if they want a younger followership, and less of the "old coots" around to serve up their curmudgeonly wisdom.
3.) I wonder why these moderators favor the anal ramblings of 16 year olds, who should really be in another section of the boards, over people who have either life experience or the actual credentials to say otherwise.
4.) And I never got the guys under 40 who are out to staple a piece of lace on their wives' heads, call it "obedience" and claim this is what St. Paul meant when he wrote that women should have their heads covered in church (small c).

I am going through the effort to resign from this particular site. I've cleaned out my mailbox and given folks my personal email address, as well as the other Catholic site to which I will move my contact and participation. I've been told three different ways to resign, and have done them all.

I've opened a "Once Upon A Catholic Site" Yahoo group, and am debating a Facebook or Twitter group. Stay tuned.