PITTSBURGH (PA)
NPR
August 27, 2018
By Virginia Alvino Young
Right inside the doorway of Courey and Andy Leer’s house just outside of Pittsburgh, you’re met with a golden cross, some palms, “and then we have a little Mary holy water holder,” said Courey, 31. “We got some holy water for our wedding but we never like replenish it. It just hangs out there.”
The Leers are among a number of Catholics in Pennsylvania who told NPR and its Pennsylvania stations that they opted to skip Mass this weekend, following the release of a grand jury report alleging widespread childhood sexual abuse in dioceses across the state.
The Leers were both raised Catholic, and for the past few months were increasingly active in their parish, attending more weekday Masses and even starting a new ministry. While they each said their spirituality is personal, for them, being Catholic is really more about identity and culture.
“I think for the longest time it wasn’t a matter of ‘how does this make you feel, what’s your relationship with Jesus?’ It was just ‘yeah, we’re Catholic.’ It’s what we do. It’s what our family does,” Courey said.
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