Posted on 07/24/2011 4:55:48 AM PDT by NYer
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:
All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.
The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.
Shedding more light on the statistics is a study released a few months ago by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion. Its "Landscape Survey" found that of those Catholics who have left the Church, roughly half became unaffiliated while the other half became Protestant. Regarding the latter half, only 23 percent did so because of the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality; only 16 percent left because of the way women are treated. Importantly, two-thirds of these Catholics elected to join a Protestant evangelical church.
In other words, disaffected Catholics who left for another religion opted to join a more conservative church. That they did not run down the block in search of a mainline denomination—one that entertains the liberal agenda on issues governing sexuality and women—is telling.
It's time some people took a hard look at the data and made some hard choices. This is great news for the Catholic Church.
I'm an atheist but purely as a matter of interest I find that amazing. Those are just gigantic numbers.
You’re an athiest? I find that amazing.
But I digress - the philly inquirer managed to attack 3 bishops on page 1 today. What is amazing is the church grows inspite of the attacks!
I knew it was growing, but the numbers really are amazing.
Of course some of the growth is due to the increase in Hispanics, but every RCIA class at my parish (a large one on the south side of Indianapolis) has had at least 30 people for the last 5 years.
And my nephew, a baptized but never practicing Catholic, has joined a downtown parish which has the Latin mass, which he prefers.
I think Bill is making an error in describing all “Protestant evangelical” churches as “conservative.” Theologically, morally, and “liturgically,” they are all over the map.
A lot of the growth is in the Third World, and is at least part of the reason for the mandatory sacrifice of ‘meatless Fridays’ being changed to ‘some other sacrifice’ - if people only have a chance at meat once a week, if that chance happens to come on Friday, nobody wants to do them out of it. It’s not supposed to be that burdensome, just enough to keep you cognizant. Since I live in the US, and can eat meat all day every day whenever I like, I do the meatless Fridays.
My daughter and son-in-law started “visiting” a non-denominational church early this year.
Last night, they had “the visit” from the pastor at that church to determine if they would be “returning visitors” or “members.” She said she had questions for the guy and told me a few. One after another, I offered rebuttal. She did say she was looking for a reason NOT to be members and that, to her, the nursery was the attraction. Which is when I told her that the Catholic church closest to them does have a nursery during the early Mass. (it isn’t advertised in the bulletin.)
Please pray for their return to the Faith in which they grew up.
You mean we’re not one of those “cool” religions where the people tell the theologians what’s right and wrong? </SARC>
Donohue does not make this clear. (or perhaps I skimmed too fast) These numbers, I assume, are for worldwide growth.
Please pray for their return to the Faith in which they grew up.
888
Prayers up for your daughter. Please pray for the same for my sons.
Nonsense. The obligation to abstain still exists, worldwide, unless and only if the local Bishop officially directs otherwise. If he has not issued a pastoral letter to the contrary you are still obligated to abstain from eating meat on Friday.
Can. 1249 All Christ's faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the following canons prescribe.
Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
In spite of the private/public ridicule of the Catholic Church it is still the only church that:
Is against abortion
Is against euthanasia
Is against contraception
Is against embryonic stem-cell research
Is against same - sex marriage
Against women priests
Seems like I have forgotten one thing on here......
And for welcoming the sinners od the world to the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the grace of the Sacraments.
God bless Pope Benedict and his leadership.
And for welcoming the sinners of the world to the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the grace of the Sacraments.
Amen. Thank God for the Real Presence. Pray that all be one.
Simply put, people prefer to worship God rather than liberalism, despite liberals impassioned pleas that liberalism is the true god.
Very interesting post.
This is a time of winnowing out for the Church. The lukewarm are leaving, but the true believers are holding fast. There are also those who are smart enough and honest enough with themselves that, when they do a real investigation, find themselves standing at the door of the Church. How welcome our converts are!
Our job is to help the lukewarm see more clearly and to live the Gospel with joy and abandon. Our happy Catholic example, based on knowledge of our faith, will do wonders.
I am always very polite to evangelizers of other faiths when they knock on my door; but I always make sure I tell them before they leave that I am very happily Catholic.
Of my three, one practices her faith, one calls herself Catholic but doesn’t attend Mass regularly and is extremely liberal, and one practices no religion.
I have read that the prayers we hold up to God during the moments of the Consecration at Mass are even more powerful than other prayers. Every Mass, during those sacred minutes, I beg God to help my family grow in their faith or return to the faith.
Don’t give up. Remember the parable about the determined widow who wouldn’t stop bugging the master for what she wanted? He finally gave it to her so she’d go away! I will pester God every day of my life for my children. I want us all to be together in Heaven. I also ask Mary, St. Monica, St. Philomena, and my guardian angel to intercede for me and join their prayers to mine.
God bless you both.
Is against abortion
Is against euthanasia
Is against contraception
Is against embryonic stem-cell research
Is against same - sex marriage
Against women priests
Seems like I have forgotten one thing on here......
You left out captial punishment, and my underwstanding is that the Church only opposes embryonic stem cell research that reluts from aborted/ micarried fetuses. They have no problem with ones from umbilical cords etc.... In other words they oppose ESCR that is from loss of human life.
The Church is opposed to capital punishment in a different way than how it is opposed to abortion, euthanasia, contraception, embrionic stem cell research (of which in a moment) and gay "marriage". The above five (and also female priests, although they usually are not listed together with the first five) are intrisically wrong, -- there is no circumstance when these are allowable by exception. The first five are on the so-called non-negotiables list because thay are also political controversies which a Catholic MUST wholly and without exception oppose.
The Capital punishment is opposed not in principle but because in advanced societies there is normally an aediquate prison system that can hold dangerous criminals forever. Since it is not necessary to kill a criminal to protect form further crime, the Church prefers his life to be spared. However, in the past where, prison escapes were possible, or today where the needs of self-defense cannot be met without killing the criminal, the Church does not oppose the death penalty. Consequently, a Catholic MAY suppor the deat hpenalty even in the US or some other advanced country on the grounds that in fact, the American justice system does NOT prevent release of dangerous criminals, or protect fellow prisoners from predation in prison. so the Church says that on capital puinishment there is room to argue both ways, and these are the factors of which one may argue. Capital punishment is not an intrinsic evil, but merely evil in certain circumstances.
ones from umbilical cords
There are stem cells and embryonic stem cells as a subset. All stem cells are useful in research. An example of non-embryonic stem cell is some umbilical cord cells. The Church opposes destruction of human life for research, and so it opposes embryonic stem cell research if it destroys the embryo. The Church does not oppose destructive research on non-embryonic stem cells or (if it can be done, which at this point is but s theoretical possibility) research on human embryos that does not endanger them.
Interesting, and instructive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.