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In Reply to: Sorry for my misunderstanding posted by exer on May 13, 2004 at 22:59:49:
Thanks for that clarification, exer. I totally get your point, and what you say confirms my recent experience. In the last 4 weeks I've "come out" and told four people that I used to be in a cult: 2 counsellors, a medical doctor, and an acquaintance. All had the exact same initial reaction. Each of them said to me, "What do you mean by cult. The catholic church is a cult." The first time it happened I thought, this guy won't be able to understand what's happened to me. When it happened the 4th time it was very discouraging. I think I recognize the way in which the catholic church might be considered a cult, and there are definately people who have suffered greatly from its abuses. However, each time that was said to me I felt as if the speaker was saying to me, "it can't be that bad, there are lots of cults around that are accepted by society, just look at the catholic church." Perhaps they were just trying to comfort me and reassure me, but the comment left me feeling as if they were invalidating my experience of prolonged psychological abuse. I'm just at the beginning of understanding what happened to me and so perhaps I'm being too sensitive and impatient. I've still got a long way to go and lots to learn, and I'm sure I can learn lots from you and others here. Thanks for the feedback.
