[madprof98]

Catholicism as a living faith is just about dead in all of California, and especially in the Bay Area. This sounds like a very expensive tombstone for it. Perhaps the bishop could include space for a pricey restaurant to serve the post-Christians who prefer to spend their Sunday mornings having brunch.

[ishabibble]

Catholicsm isn't the only Christian faith on the critical list. Anyone can say what they will, but when you see a picture in the paper of a "priest" homosexual/pedophile these days, he's in shackles or a body bag. Not the golden robes of Gay Gene. It is very much like the article said, the people are no longer willing to remain silent. If they really need a new church out there, they should just buy one from the Boston Archdiocese. They're holding a fire sale on parish churches.

As far as the schools go, that's the new threat for Catholics. Bring back Catholic education before children forget how to read and write without spellcheck.

[stop_fascism]

Catholicism as a living faith is just about dead in all of California

And your evidence for that statment is?

[VOA]

Catholicism as a living faith is just about dead in all of California, and especially
in the Bay Area.

As a fly-over country Protestant re-located to Southern California, it doesn't
seem that way here.

While the sex scandals have revealed obvious lack of institutional control by
Mahoney and the sad fruits of seminaries actually becoming a conduit for
future gay priests going after underage children...
it sounds like a fair number of the parishoners are "standing fast" and
pushing for fixing problems...not heading for the exits.

I know my comments are naive as I'm not Catholic...but I get the feeling that
there will be a strong Catholic presence here...as long as there is a California.
And there will be ups and downs, just like for any chruch body.

Oh, and a side-note. The Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine actually wrote a fairly
respectful article about "traditional" (Pre-Vatican II) Catholics in Southern Cal.
It appears that sector, while small, is growing.

[maryz]

This sounds like a very expensive tombstone for it.

This whole thing reminds me of an observation in Parkinson's Law (First law: "The amount of work expands to fill the time available.") It was in regard to companies, not churches, but he says that it's the overcrowded, messy offices that indicate a growing company; it's when they move into the sleek new office building, with huge executive offices, glass desk tops, etc., that you can figure the company is on a downward course. They don't have enough of their real work to do, so they concentrate on status symbols, etc.