The catholic education I suffered through was basically a mixture of fear and corporal punishment ( and reading the news about what happened to others, I got off light). I rid myself of the church at 16 and am now over most of it. That took 20 years. I can well believe that many are having trouble with life.Use of fear on young people is a horrid thing.

I would also add that while most Churches support the members.
A New Age person may be 'going it alone' - while they may well have friends - they may not have the support of a recognizable 'church'.

I'm also sure that the Church has messed-up many people. Many of them have then turned to other religions or New Age.

I do worry about all the nonsense out there which is but one aspect of the generalised culture of self and the commodification of parcels which promise shortcuts to eternal bliss without any of the painful growth that true spitiyuality demnads. I confirm from my own experience that such methods not only blind vulnerable people to reality and maturity, they can also severely exacerbate underlying mental health issues. Not to mention that such activities depoliticise individuals so that they believe they can rise above the mere mess of human struggle.

I'm with you on this one Tabsey. Only a Catholic can understand it. But I have risen above it all and been able to form a metaphorical, historical, and more than literal meaning to God in my life. It's beautiful and it has made me so much more complete in so many ways.

Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Gal. 5:17

One of the benefits of that good ole time religion is that you experience your sexual feelings as an objection to having them in the first place.