Catholic Spirituality versus the Institutional Church: Navigating the Choppy Waters

A friend on Instagram wrote this to me recently:

Hello, Carl! I have become so drawn to the Catholic Church and I don’t know what to do. I am an LGBTQ+ Christian, and I have to admit, the sexual-abuse scandals in the RCC plus their stance on female clergy and birth control REALLY hold me back from going forth and becoming Catholic. And yet… I cannot seem…