Pro-Life Leader Converts from Evangelical to Catholic

Dr. Andy Jackson at SmartChristian.com points us to a story about Randall Terry, the lightning rod leader of the pro-life Operation Rescue movement in the 80's who has converted from his evangelical Christian roots and has become Catholic:

Randall Terry has become Catholic.
Between 1987 and 1994, Randall Terry led Operation Rescue, the country’s largest peaceful civil disobedience movement. He now serves as president of the Society for Truth and Justice, and is running for a Florida Senate seat. One of the leading evangelical pro-life leaders in the country, Terry quietly entered the Catholic Church on Holy Thursday with his wife Andrea and three sons.

[...]

When did you first take an interest in the Catholic Church?
It was during my work in Operation Rescue that I first became interested in the Roman Catholic Church. My training and experience were in evangelical Christianity with an evangelical framework theologically, but the Roman Catholic communion had a much better sociology and better stability, coupled with a phenomenal theology of suffering.

I would look at my evangelical friends, who would come and go from the pro-life movement. They would proclaim undying devotion for pro-life activism and then later disappear. Then I would look at my Roman Catholic friends who would never swerve. That had a tremendous magnetism for me.

I also found myself defending Catholics against ignorance and bigotry, and defending evangelicals against ignorance and bigotry.

What took me so long was that I was a cultural Protestant, trained in Protestant theology. I had to look at the parts of my training that were inaccurate or deficient. For the past six years, I have been in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. My conversion began with my friendships with clergy in this Church. They told me that the farther you go in Reformation theology, the more you end up in Catholicism and liturgy.

Terry seemed to be a pretty ardent evangelical during the heyday of the Operation Rescue protests. I guess anyone can change to anything, but it always surprises me a bit when an evangelical, used to a more free and open style of worship, would be inclined to embrace the heavy liturgy and seemingly empty ceremony of the Catholic church. To each his own.

By the way, if you're not checking SmartChristian.com on a regular basis, I'd encourage you to do that. Andy usually has some pretty interesting links over there.