Thanks for your honest and insightful response. I still feel that progressive folks who want to stay with the Catholic church should be working harder to reform it from within. I’d say the same for progressive members of any religious institution, but the Catholic church has an enormous membership and influence, so the need for reform is greater and more urgent.

As far as other oppressive institutions, totally agreed on the military, but in a capitalist society some might have no choice but to work for an employer that causes harm. Whereas identifying as Catholic and attending church services is a free choice; even if one is born Catholic, one can make the choice to leave, as many queer and trans folks have done.