Posted on 09/06/2009 3:50:15 PM PDT by NYer
And in a big way. A lot of you have seen the great ads produced by a group called Catholics Come Home. The ads, evidently, are working. And spreading.
From the Los Angeles Times:
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento is home to nearly 1 million Catholics. On a typical Sunday, less than 137,000 can be found in church.Curious to see what all the fuss is about? Check out the videos below. And you can find more at the Catholics Come Home link.
Now, using a strategy straight from the secular playbook, its leaders hope to lure back those who have drifted.
The diocese and nearly a dozen others across the country are preparing to air several thousand prime-time TV commercials in English and Spanish, inviting inactive Catholics to return to their religious roots.
In addition to Sacramento, dioceses in Chicago, Omaha, Providence, R.I., and four other cities will launch the “Catholics Come Home” advertising blitz during Advent, the period before Christmas.
Four more dioceses will follow during Lent next spring. Los Angeles is not among the initial group but could be part of a nationwide campaign slated for December 2010.
"I'm hoping that a significant number of people will give us another look," Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto said of the campaign. "Many Catholics have a sense of believing but not always a sense of belonging."
The potential audience is huge.
Only about one-quarter of U.S. Catholics say they attend Mass every week, and a majority go to religious services a few times a year or less, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, which conducts social science research about the Catholic church.
Researchers there also found that two-thirds of Catholics believe they can be good members of their faith without attending Mass regularly.
Inactive Catholics cite a number of reasons for their absence. Many do not believe that missing Mass is a sin, the center reported. Others say they are too busy with family or work, or, as other analysts point out, are more interested in material happiness than spiritual fulfillment.
"There is a strange pattern of people who aren't practicing but still have beliefs and pick up parts of the faith," said Mark Gray, a research associate with the center. "They may give up meat on Fridays during Lent or attend Ash Wednesday services."
“überCatholicsTM are right, what kind of message is this ad campaign really sending?”
Cyprian was incorrect. Any of the lapsed remain Catholics and can return with confession of their sins.
“And since you were divorced, did you get an annulment before remarrying? Otherwise many here would say you cannot be a Catholic.”
In good standing, but they remain a Catholic nonetheless. We don’t do things the way protestants do, sacraments are indelible signs.
"For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." - John 5:22-23Jesus tells us in direct language that only those that honor Him will honor God. If you do not acknlowedge and honor Jesus, you do not the same for God. Yet the Catechism says that is not the case, since Muslims honor the same God.
Note too that Jesus sits alone in judgement. Not God, not the Church. Jesus. Any claim of any other entity is heretical, and that includes the Church in its process of ex-communication.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6
Jesus then claims that the sole way to God is through Him. No other way works. Only through Jesus. How then, can you claim that Muslims will reach Heaven simply on the strength of their belief in the Creator? That is in direct contradiction of the Words of Christ.
Absolutely, positively, nobody will be saved outside the Catholic Church. Not Muslims, not Protestants, nobody... There is one "church" in heaven only, and it is universal ... the Greek word is "catholic".
Thus Protestants and Orthodox are all "catholic" as well, part of the universal Church?
You truly are a servant of the Lord.
I don't think too much on political stances, or who should be doing what within the hierarchy of the church. I only concentrate on what I can do to serve and adore God. I certainly am a venial critter, but I thank God for giving me the chance to start over each and everyday within his presence.
Blessings to you, my friend.
“There are probably some who have actually chosen to leave based on some doctrine on which they disagree.”
This is very true and you are quite right to point it out. Rebelion tends to be the, mainly, a young man’s pursuit. Many may come back later as it is surprising how unimportant these things become with age and wisdom. An invite may be all some need to reconsider their position and return.
Blessings
Mel
“I can’t and won’t try to explain it but Sunday Mass for me is my way of keeping in touch with everything I love.”
What a wonderful and profound statement. I find myself being very happy for you and touched my your statement.
Blessings
Mel
If the Sacraments aren’t a big deal, then you’re golden. If the Sacraments are a big deal, denying the Sacraments to yourself in protest against jelly-spined bishops is only going to make the enemy happy that everything is working out for the best, at least from his point of view.
Freegards
“I would suspect that the vast majority of those that have left the Roman Catholic Church or have stopped attending did not do so because they were unfamiliar with the teachings and practices of the church.”
You are underestimating the general lack of good Catholic teaching in the US for decades and decades.
Freegards
***According to the Catechism, suicide-bomber Abdullah will be in Heaven, but Protestant Lars will not. ***
Are you still posting these lies after being shown the error of your ways?
***There are plenty of other, life-affirming, Christ-centered churches for people to attend. ***
Name them. There is only one Church of Jesus Christ; all others are creations of hubris-filled men. Name the church and I can name its creator. The Catholic Church was created by Christ; who created yours?
Thank you for your kind post.
***Yes, I’ve had many lecture me on making my own interpretation of scripture - something Augustine understood, BTW, since he wrote 4 books on how to do it - but I’ll take my chances staying true to scripture.***
God leaves nothing to chance.
***Purgatory denies the power of God and the completeness of the sacrifice of Jesus.***
How?
***Indulgences are simply obscene***
Do you know the definition of obscene?
***and Mariology - the very fact that such a term exists - is blasphemy as well.***
Interesting. Do you know what Mariology consists of?
***There are some things I can compromise on, but treating the created like the Creator is not one of them!***
The Bible is created; if I recall correctly from your posts, you come very close to worshipping the Bible. That is called Bibliolatry and it is normally accompanied by a complete misunderstanding of its contents.
***This according the the Pew Research Center.***
That’s like asking David Axelrod his opinion of Rush Limbaugh.
***Exit polls are typically fairly accurate, within 4-5%.***
Hardly. Most exit polls, especially during contentious elections, are off as much as 20%.
***But I know, the “Church” can never make an error, it is without blame, it is perfect in all that it does. Right?***
Amusing, yet without substance. The Church will not have the gates of hell prevail against it. That is Scriptural. How Scriptural is the organization that you belong to?
***And is it your contention that the Catholic Church assumes all Protestants are saved? That you can be saved outside the Church?***
How many times on how many threads do you need this answered?
I think just fixing the liturgy would bring more Catholics back to the Church. Unfortunately, that will not happen until most of the bishops, and a fair percentage of priests, retire.
You have shown nothing, other than a penchant for insults and defamation.
Name them. There is only one Church of Jesus Christ; all others are creations of hubris-filled men. Name the church and I can name its creator. The Catholic Church was created by Christ; who created yours?
Christianity. I am a Christian. I follow Christ. I am not a "Catholic", I do not follow a Pope.
And it is you hubris that yours is the "true" church. Ask the Orthodox from whom your church split. If anyone can lay claim to the original church, it would be the orthodox.
Considering I've yet to receive a straight answer, I'd say it has not been answered. Although the most direct so far was post 74 that stated unequivocally:
Absolutely, positively, nobody will be saved outside the Catholic Church. Not Muslims, not Protestants, nobody.
I won't be saved, according to you Catholics. Nor will Muslims, even though your own Catechism states as much.
Of course, Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the light, and that no one can come to the Father but through Him. And that Jesus was the seat of judgment.
I guess someone forgot to tell you Catholics that, huh? Since you now decide who can be saved, and just who can dispense judgment (like that 13 person robed, incantation-laden ritual you explained called ex-communication). Is it Biblical for an institution of man to supercede the role and words of Christ?
***Are you still posting these lies after being shown the error of your ways?
You have shown nothing, other than a penchant for insults and defamation.***
It is not possible to insult or defame anyone who repeatedly posts content which has been disproved with swathes of the Gospel.
***Name them. There is only one Church of Jesus Christ; all others are creations of hubris-filled men. Name the church and I can name its creator. The Catholic Church was created by Christ; who created yours?
Christianity. I am a Christian. I follow Christ.***
At a rather significant distance, it would seem.
***I am not a “Catholic”, I do not follow a Pope.***
After all of our discussions, do you not comprehend the role of the Pope yet?
***And it is you hubris that yours is the “true” church. Ask the Orthodox from whom your church split.***
I have. The Catholic Church is the Church of Jesus Christ, which includes the Orthodox and the Latin branches. Not the church of Tom, Dick or Luther, or anything that came from the inebriated synapses in a LaZBoy chair, a tavern, or huddled in a room in Geneva.
***If anyone can lay claim to the original church, it would be the orthodox.***
So you are admitting that you intentionally are out in the cold?
It is the same church that I left. And I think it has the same basic problems. Infiltration by humanism, marxism, etc. Thank you for your very kind post. Have a nice Labor Day.
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