In 1990, at the age of 41, I was dying of lymphoma without realizing it. My doctor misdiagnosed my problem and had been treating me with antibiotics for a respiratory infection. When I seemed to be getting worse, I sought a second opinion and shared the same symptoms I had related to my primary care provider (i.e., fatigue, low-grade temperature, weight loss, night sweats). The doctor immediately ordered a CT scan that revealed a mediastinal mass. After undergoing two months of radiation therapy and six months of chemotherapy, and appearing as if I had been wasting away in a concentration camp, I came down with pneumonia and almost died. That experience taught me the importance of correctly identifying and treating the real cause of a particular problem.
When you see how many Roman Catholic churches are closing and being converted into restaurants, mosques, and bars; how over 40 U.S. Catholic dioceses and religious orders have filed for bankruptcy; how the U.S. Bishops have underreported the number of predator clergy and the amount of money spent on sex abuse settlements and legal fees; how the number of seminarians, priests, and nuns has greatly declined; and how “for every one Catholic convert, about nine or ten Catholics leave,” one cannot help but conclude that the Roman Catholic Church is very sick.
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