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Hi Ruth,
Thank you for writing me. To answer your first question, the teachings of the Catholic Church are found on many sites on the Internet. I normally don't recommend people start looking at the official text of "The Catechism of the Catholic Church," because it usually infuriates people to read the extent to which the Church tries to control human conduct. God gave us free will, but the Church clearly does not trust us to exercise free will without its firm hand.
In any event, if you feel like a brave soul and want to learn all the teachings of the Catholic Church, then I suggest you click on this URL, and it will show you hundreds of sites that apparently reprint the Catechism: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Catechism+of+the+Catholic+Church%22&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Next question, can lapsed or wayward Catholics be saved? Of course! No religion has a monopoly on salvation, and those that claim only their members will go to Heaven fly in the face of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Your next two questions are intertwined: are we saved by faith alone and why would we have to belong to a particular faith. There is a long-standing debate between Catholics and Protestants over justification by faith or good works. The Catholic Church has come out strongly in 1998 and again in 2006, in documents designed to further ecumenicism with the Lutheran and now with the International Council of Methodist churches, in favor of justification by faith. HOWEVER, that is not the end of the story. The Catholic Church maintains that good works should flow from true faith.
I think you need to get involved in theological discussions related to practicing your faith. Although many Protestant denominations would preach that a person is a "good Christian" going straight to Heaven if she reads the bible and prays every day, that limited activity does not mesh with Christ's admonition in the Gospel of Matthew to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, offer shelter to those who are homeless, etc. Some Protestant denominations just gloss right over that Gospel quotation, which for me is a mantra for how to live a holy life.
Another nice feature of the Catholic Church is that it does not offer simple prescriptions for salvation. I have heard Protestants say, e.g., when they thought they would be involved in a possibly fatal car accident, that "Jesus is my personal savior," and like magic, those words would transport their souls into Heaven. It sounded hollow and phony to me. Did the person act like a greedy money miser all his life? Did the person spread misery and suffering all through the course of his life? The Catholic Church teaches about salvation and redemption and purgatory. To me, it is irrational to believe that upon death we have an all-or-nothing gambit: either get to Heaven or sent to Hell. People need time to learn from their mistakes and be transformed by God's love. That is what purgatory is about -- painful awareness of our sins and how they affected others, but also a chance to cleanse ourselves so that we are ready to go to Heaven.
You miss all of that with Protestant churches, and it is not just a matter of belief. I am interested in truth. Does purgatory exist? Yes or No. The Catholic Church says "yes," Protestant churches generally say "no," and the Catholic Church got that one right.
As you know from my Catholic Blog, I have felt some of the Church's teachings were wrong. We can list a few from the past: selling of indulgences, belief that the earth was the center of the universe, the Inquisition and the Dark Ages. But even in modern times, the church used to teach that it was a mortal sin for Catholic parents to send their children to public schools instead of Catholic schools. Whenever the Church had any power in its long history, it always, always abused that power. The teaching on sending kids to parochial school still shocks me, but I am greatly disappointed that more Catholics did not reject the teaching at the time as a blatant attempt at extortion.
So please do learn about Catholic Church teachings and take to heart those teachings that affirm your life and give you life, but stay clear of those that would lead to your spiritual death. The teachings that give me spiritual life might not give you the same inner peace and knowledge, but there are grains of truth in the Catholic Church that you won't find in any other religion.
Please write back any time you feel the urge to discuss these matters.
Mike
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