My pen name is Nick Anthony and I am a cradle Catholic who has lived through the second half of the 20th century until now. I have been a faithful Catholic who cares deeply about the church, its precepts, sacraments, and dogmas. I am not a philosopher or theologian but have read extensively and ponder on the mysteries we face and encounter on our physical and spiritual journeys. During my journey I have encounter many faithful laity, wonderful priests, and rich deep reflections. At the same time I have come to see a church which seems to have stagnated. I have seen people leave and it appears that the church didn’t care. We constantly hear that six people are leaving the church for every one coming in. How can that be when the church has such a deep and rich history and the guidance of the spirit? I believe it is because the church has strayed from the path that the Lord intended and can’t seem to grow in maturity. That is the area I would like to comment and reflect on. I plan to lay out my own perspectives in a somewhat random and possibly incoherent way. I am not trying to start an argument or a debate, but just too say what is on my mind and heart. I am using this mechanism (website) to do that with minimal experience in this particular method. At this time I am not providing a way to respond or comment (first, I don’t know how, and second am not prepared to deal with a lot of feedback that I would not have the time or ability to address). If any of the changes in the future, I will deal with it then. It is my sincere prayer that what I say is in consonance with the Lord’s will. If not, I pray that that will be ignored. I leave it to any reader to disregard any thing I say that you find contrary to the Lord and his will for the world. I am also not a historian, so when I touch on history (the church’s or other), I will try to take a high level view to make what ever point I am trying to make. My hope is that what ever problems exist in the church and what ever repairs are needed, will with the Lord’s help be addressed. I see a lot of wonderful people trying to improve their spirituality. At the same time I perceive many of the efforts while aided, abetted, and directed by the clergy, are in the wrong direction. I will try and explain why as we enter this journey.