The Incredible Shrinking Catholic Church

Catholic World News ^ | May 2003 | Kenneth C. Jones

[WriteOn]

amen

[LambSlave]

You can’t forgive a heretic until he has repented. If people do not wish to abide by Catholic doctrine, they should be honest and separate themselves. Staying in the Church lets them lead many, many more people astray than if they left. Their repentance and reconciliation is always a possibility. But they have to do it, and cannot be kept within the bosom of the Church to poison others if they do not do so. And the bishops are falling down on their duty to protect the flock if they do not declare this.

Agree perfectly with you here. I still don't think they should go to Protestant churches though, they should not have the opportunity to spread their heresies in any forum among those who profess to be follow Christ.

[Antoninus]

It’s no wonder MANY are turning from Catholicism. It’s not just the Priests and Nuns. The congregations are dwindling as well.

Don't fool yourself. Some areas which have had bad bishops for decades remain in decline. Meanwhile, other areas are growing. I belong to an old-style parish. Our Church is PACKED every Sunday. We've got three choirs. On holy days, the train of altar boys is double-file 20 rows deep. And that doesn't include the altar serving young girls--there are a good 20 of them as well, all dressed up in habits like little nuns.

And, horror of horrors---our priests increasingly use Latin.

In the not-too-distant future, parishes like mine will be the rule, not the exception--at least in the dioceses of the bishops who remain Catholic and aren't Episcopalian wannabes.

[Antoninus]

Families that follow God's plan tend to have more children and more vocations. We are getting lots of vocational inquiries from large Catholic families, frequently homeschooled.

There's your answer. In our homeschool group, my family with 4 kiddies (soon to be 5) is actually average to small. There are several with lots more. And more wonderful people you'll rarely meet.

[Suzy Quzy]

Where are you?? That sounds fabulous!!

[Antoninus]

The Holy Spirit is answering prayers for vocations.

The other night, I found out that the 8-year-old son of one of our friends is thinking about becoming a priest. And based on the abnormal piety of that young fellow, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he did.

Of course, he's homeschooled as well...

[Antoninus]

Where are you?? That sounds fabulous!!

South Jersey if you can believe it. And our parish isn't even the most traditional one in the diocese...

[Gamecock]

Has it changed in 4 years?

[xzins]

Yes.

Lots of those old priests have died and not been replaced.

[AliVeritas]

That’s funny, my RCIA class had 97 this Easter vigil, including converts, and not counting the slew of teenagers along with over 120 first communicants (With 3 masses of different languages on 4 Sundays in May with first communions, it’s a task... along with all the baptisms in between).

[rogernz]

the catholic church is not the USA church, it is universal. There are about 60 million catholics in the USA, only a fraction of the 1.1billion catholic population. The church is booming everywhere except the secularist west. in mexico for example there are almost as many seminarians as there are priests, in brazil the number of seminarians has increased 10 fold since the 70’s, africa, south and east asia it is booming. All IS well in the church, just wait a few years and things will come right again in the West. It’s a generational thing; young people will return to the church, and they are, you’ll be swamped by them in a decade or two.

[AliVeritas]

Wags, let them keep trying to chip away... I offer it back up for them.

This year in the NY Archdiocese seven of my friends were ordained, two were also ordained in Rome. Last year three, the year before four, the year before that four; I know 20 that have taken the veil... that’s only the friars and i’m in the Bronx.

I have many friends that are postulants and looking for the community with the charism they’re called to.

The JPII generation is on fire... and we need it.

For all of us:

In case some haven’t noticed... we face times when our armor is best on. Our time would be well spent in prayer for all, instead of nitpicking at others who love the Lord.

[Suzy Quzy]

You are blessed to have such a traditional Church. Our new priest (tep. thank God) has a gold earring!!!!

[Romulus]

the fastest growing Christian denomination

Not to pick a fight, but the Catholic Church is not a denomination. If anything, it's the opposite.

[Frank Sheed]

Dominican Sisters Experience 1400 Percent Growth

Sorry to burst your bubble...

[Frank Sheed]

http://ncregister.com/site/article/1733

18 vocations in MEMPHIS, TN! And only two are older vocations. The Spirit moves where He will!

[Frank Sheed]

My word...Seminaries are filling up...again...DRAT! There goes my presumptions!

[Frank Sheed]

ASIA IS CHURCH’S HOPE FOR VOCATIONS
Largest Number of Seminarians in India

VATICAN CITY, APR 20 (ZENIT).- Next Sunday, April 25, is the “World Day of Prayer for Priestly and Religious Vocations.” According to the latest estimates in the Holy See’s Statistical Yearbook, there are 404,208 priests in the world today, 140,687 of whom are religious clergy.

In his message for this day of prayer, the Holy Father has linked Vocations Day with the Jubilee. “Humanity needs holy priests and consecrated souls who live daily the total gift of self to God and to their neighbor,” he writes.

According to the latest estimates, there are 58,210 men religious (not priests), and 819,287 women religious, including cloistered nuns. The members of secular institutes total 31,197, almost all of whom are women (30,534 to be precise). There are at present 24,407 permanent deacons, of which 548 are religious.

The Holy See’s Statistical Yearbook reveals an impressive increase in the number of priestly vocations in Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America between 1978 and 1997.

At present, there are 18,156 candidates for the priesthood in Africa, both religious and diocesan. In North America there are 5,413; in Central America, 9,589; in South America, 18,041; in Asia, 25,169; in Europe, 28, 641; and in Oceania, 861.

The increase of the number of candidates for the priesthood, including Eastern Europe, is significant. North America, however, is undergoing a serious crisis in vocations, and no let up is in sight.

The greatest surprise is that Asia has become the “vocational hope” of the Catholic Church. It has virtually the same number of seminarians as Europe and Latin America, in spite of the fact that in Asia the number of Catholics is only 4.5% of the total population.

India has become the country with the largest number of vocations in the world, specifically, some 10,000 seminarians, ahead of traditionally Catholic countries like Poland (6,954), Mexico (6,849), Brazil (6,805), Italy (6,299), Colombia (3,923), Spain (3,010), Argentina (2,046), and France (1,628).

The United States has 4,785 seminarians.
Other promising vocations in Asia include the Philippines, with 6,941 candidates to the priesthood; Indonesia, with 2,637; Korea, with 1,812; and Vietnam, with 1,412.
ZE99042003

[Frank Sheed]

Americans get an "F" in Religion (with a quiz attached)

[Uri’el-2012]

have defined God in my own image? How so? I have found a God who loves me so much that He gave His only begotten Son for me and the whole world (John 3:16). I made the decision to follow Him (John 1:12) because the Father drew me to Himself (John 6:44). I realized that I was a sinner and He forgave my sins. I became born again when Jesus came into my being and abided with me after I believed.

And you don't think that Elohim, YHvH, who created this time-space continuum,
that we call the universe, did not know that from before the foundations of the universe?

b'shem Yah'shua