Where do you stand on the existence of God?

[Excited Penguin]

Well then, how can you be catholic? The rcc (and other catholic churches, including anglicanism) insistence that god is omniscient means that catholics by necessity have to believe that free will is impossible. For if god knows all, ordinary humans cannot possibly have a choice in their actions.

The belief in free will is a fundamental Catholic teaching.

Yes, we believe God knows everything that happens, that doesn't mean that we don't choose our actions. It means He knows what we are going to choose.

Sorry, but that doesn't work. If he both knows what we are going to choose and he created us knowing that then there is no free will. It might as well be all in his own mind. His own creation, knows what's going to happen, lets it play out... Does that sound right to you?

Imagine yourself locked in a dark room with no escape, no sound, nothing to touch(not even the floor beneath you or a wall). All you have is your thoughts, but no memory. You're still human, you can think, you can use language to do that, you have concepts and know of objects and how they look and all that, but you never actually experienced anything. Now just for arguments' sake, suppose you were infinitely more intelligent than you are in that same situation.
There you go. You're God. Nothing exists outside of you and it's all in your own mind.

But let the thought experiment lie for a bit. Suppose you were to explain to me what this free will you talk about actually means. Do you know what it is? Can you describe it to me? Can you even imagine it?