Special Report: The Covid Mass Effect

The Pillar ^ | 10/11/21 | Brendan Hodge

[marshmallow]

The number of Catholics who say they go to Mass every week has dropped by 14% since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Pillar's new Survey on Religious Attitudes and Practices.

That decline could explain a proportional decline in parish collections: In March, The Pillar found parishes experienced a 12% average decrease in collections during 2020 as compared to 2019, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown orders implemented in many localities.

New information about Mass attendance is available from The Pillar’s Survey on Religious Attitudes and Practices, which aims to better understand the religious perspectives, identities, and perspectives of American adults. We’re reporting the results of that survey this week in a series of special reports.

In part one of this series, The Pillar looked at America’s changing religious landscape. In part two, we look at what factors influence lifelong Catholic religious practice, and why people say they leave the Church. In part three, we took a look at what can be learned about religiously disaffiliated Americans.

In this installment, we look at the COVID-19 pandemic has begun reshaping parish life.

[ebb tide]

Cardinal Archbishop Daniel Dinardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has come down hard on the TLM’s offered in his archdiocese.

Ironically, to this date, he has not lifted his dispensation of the Sunday Holy Mass obligation.

[BuddhaBrown]

As one of the “religiously disaffiliated Americans”, I understand plenty of reasons to leave modern Catholic and other Christian religions.

However, if any folks skip church simply because afraid of covid, then they are just being silly and ignorant.

If they applaud covid tyrannies, then they have switched faiths already - regardless if they have switched churches.

[Adder]

It also coincides with Bergolio’s embrace of sin, tribal nature worship and the tacit approval of the murder of innocents.

[Svartalfiar]

Luckily, the Dallas area hasn’t come down on the ONLY traditional Mass it recognizes, Mater Dei. (There are 2-3 SSPX in the area, but they don’t fall under the parochial authority.)

Unluckily, every Mass is crazy stupid packed, and they’re rather far from us, about an hour drive, across downtown Dallas.. Wish they’d put one out by us, or at least have a Church host a guest priest for it, but nothing that I know of..

[ebb tide]

Others have not been as fortunate as you:

Why is a French Catholic archdiocese expelling the FSSP?

Count your blessings.

[Svartalfiar]

This is true, although Dallas is decently liberal so I don’t know how long they’ll truly last. Course, FSSP in general only defers to the local diocese, they aren’t truly under them, they own their land separately for the most part, so I’m not sure how the Church would/could handle it if FSSP said they were going to just ignore the local bishops from now on.

But if you don’t have FSSP in your area, or they do get the boot and leave, SSPX has a decent number of Churches around, and the local bishop has zero power over them.