Posted on 03/26/2009 10:18:20 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Could some Catholics be losing faith in their religion? According to a new report released by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Affairs, Catholicism in America is shedding more members than any other traditional faith. The numbers are alarming. The Official Catholic Directory of 2008 reports there are over 67.1 million Catholics in the US, a decrease of nearly a half a million in the span of a year. The result has been the shuttering of parishes throughout much of the country.
Parts of Ohio, including Cleveland, have been hit especially hard, but closures have effected perishes throughout the US, including Allentown, Pennsylvania, Camden, New Jersey and New York City. As many as a third of those in the survey raised as Roman Catholics no longer attend the church.
The cause of the migration away from Catholicism is said to be rooted in money. "Too many bishops are treating parishes as if they were Starbucks franchises," Sister Christine Schenk, a Cleveland-area nun opined. "It's about more than money. It's about mission to the people," she said. "This isn't what Jesus would do."
The Catholic church has been faced with a number of image problems in recent years, as a result of internal strife and mounting scandal. The most prominent scandal involved accusation of sexual misconduct between Catholic priests and under-age minors, usually young boys. Some priests were ultimately defrocked, while others served time in jail.
I quit updating that. If you want to read my various vanities, use keyword “dangus.” :^)
... btw, I give you the credit for pulling back and recognizing the need to lighten up slightly.
OK, tax-chick too.
Shoot dangus..I “thought” I was pretty easy on you. lol Sorry. It’s called passion and zeal...sometimes good, sometimes not. Thank goodness the Lord knows our hearts and not our mouths and fingers...LOL
No! I didn’t mean that YOU needed to back off, I meant that WE needed to lighten up!
Not coincidentally, the Temple was where the Temple Sanhedrin sat, who were the men who condemned Our Lord and handed him over to Pilate.
As for the rest of the city, you're very much wrong ... on this, and much else. Read up on Aelia Capitolina.
Gotcha...:) Mission Accomplished.
Don't forget Dave Hunt.
I meant the two great sources of the myth. Dave Hunt is just an ignorant, sensationalist blow-hard.
Sorry - 8 Mass’s - can’t count here - Sat 5p; Sun 0715a; 0815a; 0930a; 1045a; noon; 0100p; and 5p.
No crypt and all in English w/ a very reverend NO Mass (except the hymns - sigh - which is why I try to attend early Mass where there’s none). We have 4 Mass’s daily with confessions after noon Mass. It’s a moderate sized Church, Romanesque and has maintained the ancient within. Our PP follows the Magisterial obediently w/ no additions or subtractions. Our priests are excellent. I don’t really know if they’re from the right or left. They’re just Catholic.
>> Mission Accomplished. <<
——————————————————————————————*
(I guess you need to be the right age and have the right default font to get that reference.)
That's true. However, just because you're a woman doesn't mean you can't understand things. Or vice versa.
And thank you, they are swell. I'm very pleased you had a healthy family.
Yes..God did bless me with children. My oldest son is 35 and was in Iraq for a year. My middle son is 31 lost a good deal of his right hand at 9 yrs. old but is a machinist and a go getter and my daughter is 28.. just got married. 6 grandkids...It is scary what they may see.
If you don’t know, they’re probably very good.
Mass times only an hour apart? Usually Sunday masses last just under an hour, give another 15 minutes for overtime, and fifteen minutes to clear out one crowd and bring the next one in. Just like the Sweet 16. :^)
“New Springtime of Evangelization” bumpus ad summum
Yes, I checked the schedule which is when I discovered it was 8 and not 9 Mass’s. I live in a village so most people walk to Mass. There’s a lot of parking as well being Sunday. Yes, our priests are great :)
My oldest daughter is going into the Coast Guard this summer, if she passes her medical exams next week. An exciting new phase!
Really? We have Sunday Masses 2 to 4 hours apart (9:00, 11:00, 1:00, 5:00), and we always get behind, like an overscheduled medical practice. The 1:00 p.m. often can't start until 1:30, because Father needs to eat (or pass out) after the 11:00, and the congregation can't get into the parking lot. Usually whatever goes on in the church from 3:00 or so clears out in time for the 5:00 to start at 5:00, but not always.
Y'all must have small congregations or something.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.