Replies

The Catholic Church also struggles to reach out specifically to the needs of minority communities, such as blacks, Asians and Hispanics, said Deck, who has spent his career in the Hispanic ministry. And the assimilation of immigrants into the Church and also American culture is a tricky balance, he said. “We have to be very careful,” Deck said. “Our role is to promote the Gospel, not any particular culture – not even American

...specifically to the needs of minority????? give me a break! Should be EVERYONE!!!

Catholicism is not a “feel good” faith that has entertainment at the weekly church services. We are a sacramental church. We all acknowledge our sinfulness and need for daily repentance.

One of the big charges against the Catholic Church is that Catholics are made to have “guilt trips”. I prefer to say that Catholics are expected to develop good consciences and then to live their lives by it.

There are many reasons why Catholics no longer go to church. Some are poor catechesis, some are people who prefer good oration to sacramental graces; and some are just plain laziness on the part of many who will not go to any church on Sunday - or will not read the bible on their own.

If they’d continue to go to church regularly they would get plenty of exposure to the Gospel, Epistles, Psalms and other books of the O.T. as well. Additionally they would participate in the Holy Eucharist. Instead they complain, but never offer to help the church out.

“No other religion in the United States has lost more members to other faiths”

When a religion of millions loses 100,000, and a Religion of 100,000 loses 50,000....who has REALLY lost more.

ping

“Roughly 10 percent of all Americans have strayed from Catholic roots, the study reported.”

This must mean that 10% of all American members of the RCC have strayed from Catholic roots.

My dad was raised Roman Catholic; for some years in French-speaking boarding school run by nuns in Ottawa, Ontario. He was actually born in Detroit, however, and joined the U.S. Army at age 17. When he was 45 years old I was 17 and in the U.S. Air Force. He telephoned me one morning and told me, “Son, I became a Christian yesterday.” He meant that through all his years as a Roman Catholic, he had never met Jesus Christ. I’m not laughing at the Catholics. I was raised in a Baptist church from age 2 (where my mother took us children), but wasn’t a Christian until 18 months after my dad was saved by grace through faith.

“Despite the loss, the survey shows that Catholics still represent nearly a quarter of the American population – just as surveys conducted in the early 1970s found.”

And I doubt seriously that the RCC is still the largest denomination in the USA.

“’Much of Catholicism’s loss can be chalked up to previous generations of immigrants assimilating into American culture and remaining less faithful to their ethnic identities and religions,’ Green said.”

Well, the nation didn’t begin as a RCC-dominated nation, and when the previous waves of immigrants arrived, if they were RCC members from predominantly RCC countries, they saw pretty quick that there were a whole lot of people who were blessed and helped in other than RCC churches. It had to have a big impact.

“’That kind of assimilation is typical for any ethnic group,’ said Mary Gautier, senior research associate at the Center for Applied Research and Apostolate, at Georgetown University. ‘And it affects all religions – not just Catholicism.’”

Almost sounds like Mary Gautier is declaring Roman Catholicism to be an ethnicity.

“Intermarriages, dwindling numbers of priests, and insufficient church facilities are reasons why people might go elsewhere, [Gautier] said.”

Or are more and more people discovering that earthly religious priests have no power over people’s eternity, as the RCC would really want its members to believe.

“. . . .link parishoners to the Gospel.”

What in the world does that mean? A priest can’t link a soul to anything. And I suspect that “Gospel” here means the mandates of Roman Catholicism upon the religious lives of its members, and is not referring to the sufficiency of Christ’s Redemption work at the Cross where He died for our sins and rose again the third day for our justification. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 4:25).

“’It’s our mission to evangelize and we are failing that,’”

I would like to see here the RCC’s exact definition of evangelism beyond, ‘conversion of the human heart and the promotion of social justice.’” These are very vague words. They are kind of like Obama using the word “change.” In Catholicism, what is the conversion of the human heart? Is there any place in the country one could go to see an illustration of this, in RCC terms, in the daily lives of common RCC members?

“The Catholic Church also struggles to reach out specifically to the needs of minority communities, such as blacks, Asians and Hispanics, said Deck, who has spent his career in the Hispanic ministry. And the assimilation of immigrants into the Church and also American culture is a tricky balance, . . .”

My observation (Philippines) is that the RCC just adapts local culture into the church and runs it as a side program to get pagans to stay loyal to the priests, if you can call how they live their lives “loyalty” to anything.

“We have to be very careful,” Deck said. “Our role is to promote the Gospel, not any particular culture – not even American culture.”

I can understand that and agree with that, if I could see a biblical definition of “the Gospel.”

Read this when you’re finished with schooling for the day! (Ping to self)