“Maybe it is time that we Catholics begin to read our Bibles!”
“we Catholics” been reading the Bible for as long as there have been Bibles.
The myth is that the RC is “one church”. The reality is that doctrine preached from the pulpit varies greatly from parish to parish and archdiocese to archdiocese.
I see cultural catholics as those who attend frequently/regularly and are caught up in the rituals with no serious thought to the doctrine. Some culturals attend libertation theology and other non-orthodox RC churches. Others attend churches with nominal adherence to orthodoxy; but no life in the belief.
As for numbers and trends. The Catholic church in USA has acquired millions of immigrant members: The majority of Mexicans and a significant number of Koreans, Nigerians, you name it. So the number of native born Catholics leaving the church is actually very big and just happens to be offset by the immigrants.
Some of those leaving the Catholic Church are going to Protestant churches, including the mega-churches. They leave the Catholic church precisely because the religious preach liberation theology or liberation-lite. They return for their kids baptizm, first communion, etc.
Others leave the RC because it seems comatose if not dead. Not just on theology, but on many topics the religious are just so totally out of touch with reality. They tell us to vote Democrat for economic reasons. But the religious are ignorant of economics 101. They seem ignorant of what happens in business, and even in retail stores.