Once the Depression and WWII ended, prosperity began to be common in the USA. The nuns and priests who went into the religious life (many of them to escape poverty) no longer had a reason to stay. They left in droves. Personally, I’m relieved that some of them did because they had no religious vocation and were not always good examples to Catholic children. And I emphasize “some.” Of course, there were always good priests and nuns.
Sorry, Archbishop. You lost this Patriot right here “economic and immigration justice.” I’m sick of it and vote with my feet, my time and my money.
There can only be one answer to the question about how the church is doing and it relates to her very mission in the world which is to evangelize - to witness to Christ so that they may accept Christ as their redeemer and enter into a relationship with him.
Let’s look at the numbers: How many are being baptized each year (not including babies born to Catholic or Christian families)? That’s the answer to the question about “how we’re doing as a Church.”