Being Catholic means never having to say this:

Or it should, at any rate. Greg Krehbiel lets loose a deliciously sarcastic broadside at armchair experts:

I’m adopting a new strategy. When faced with Institutional Stupidity, I will (1) mock the stupidity, (2) withdraw any and all support (real or implied) from said stupidity, and (3) go play with my kids.

So, for example, when the cantor announces a David Haas song, I will fold my arms, scowl, press the lips tightly and tickle my daughter. When atrocious translations of Scripture are read from the pulpit, I will roll my eyes and have a thumb war with my son. When asked to read a part in a play written by some 60s wannabe, I will emit a belly laugh and take a kid to 7-11 for a slurpee.

I have already withdrawn all financial support from the American bishops and submitted my resignation to the Republican Party. The operative phrase from now on is “I won’t be a party to this.”

One of the toughest things about being an American Catholic is coming to terms with the fact that the bishop is the boss; I am not. Americans, by and large, dislike authority intensely. In terms of political parties, well, they're run by the pee-pul in theory, but in practice, the individual can't expect to call the shots there either. The bozos ye have with you always; that doesn't make it a good idea to abandon the whole bandobast whenever they come to the fore.