"I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world, but only a small number were perfectly sound. I also saw the Holy Father-God fearing and prayerful. Nothing left to be desired in his appearance, but he was weakened by old age and by much suffering. His head was lolling from side to side, and it dropped to his chest as if he were falling asleep. He often fainted and seemed to be dying. But when he was praying, he was often comforted by apparitions from Heaven. Then, his head was erect, but as soon as it dropped again onto his chest, I saw a number of people looking quickly right and left, that is, in the direction of the world.
"Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence. Most priests were lured by the glittering but false knowledge of young school-teachers, and they all contributed to the work of destruction.
"In those days, Faith will fall very low, and it will be preserved in some places only, in a few cottages and in a few families which God has protected from disasters and wars."
Vision of Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich June 1, 1821
Praying that each one of us may be a safe harbor to those looking for the way to Jesus Christ. May God have mercy and cause the sound Bishops to multiply.
Not quite yet, Cap'n and Annie
Area's evangelical, Catholic churches grew most in '90s
By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
Evangelical Christian churches, both locally and nationally, experienced the greatest growth during the 1990s, while the Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, also made substantial gains, according to a privately funded census.
The Catholic Church grew by 16 percent nationally and 37 percent locally between 1990 and 2000, remaining the largest religious group in both categories, while the Pentecostal denomination Assemblies of God increased 18.5 percent nationally and 63 percent in the Toledo area. The Religious Congregations and Membership: 2000, which will be officially released tomorrow, found that there were 4.2 million Mormons in the United States, an increase of 19 percent. Continuing a longtime trend of declining membership were mainline Protestant denominations such as the Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodists, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Worship trends The ranks of Catholics, evangelicals, and conservative Christian religious bodies grew in the 1990s while mainline Protestants saw declines.