Not good news.
The American Church is dying.
Are you thinking “Glass half empty.”??
“The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”
The Catholic Church will NOT die.
Not true! It's a matter of demographics. As I pointed out to freeper Salvation, immigrants from western Europe built these churches in NYC. Their descendants moved to the suburbs and built new churches there. Now, their descendants have relocated to other US states, bringing their faith and constructing new churches in those communities.
These churches in NYC are testimony to the faith of the immigrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They stand as witnesses to their faith and determination to ensure their children would be properly baptized and catechized in their catholic faith. Now, 3 generations later, the demographics of NYC have changed. The immigrant families now arrive from diverse countries and different faith traditions. The "hey day" of catholicism in NYC is history. Time to move on, albeit painful for those of us who cherish the memory of our ancestors.