Posted on 01/25/2023 6:47:43 PM PST by marshmallow
Denver, Colo., Jan 24, 2023 / 12:15 pm A decline in Catholic religious practice and other changes in western Washington state means parishes will have to merge so that parish life can sustain itself, the Archdiocese of Seattle said Sunday.
“The mission of the Catholic Church is at the heart of strategic pastoral planning,” Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle said Jan. 22. “To achieve our mission, we must reinvigorate the faith of our people and re-envision how we live our faith in our parish communities, which includes adapting to our current reality so that we can strengthen our relationship with Jesus, accompany one another in faith, and credibly proclaim the Gospel.”
Despite a growing overall population in western Washington, the number of practicing Catholics continues to decline, the archdiocese said in a statement. There are fewer households registered with a parish and fewer people attend Mass, receive the sacraments, and take part in parish life. From 2010 to 2019, the archdiocese said, Mass attendance fell by 11%, baptismal numbers declined by 30%, and weddings declined by 18%.
“With all of the changes that we’re facing today — globally, culturally, and within the Church — it’s very clear the status quo is no longer an option,” Etienne said.
The archdiocese’s strategic planning process, called Partners in the Gospel, is “a plan for how we embrace these realities with hope and confidence,” the archbishop said.
Under the planning process, most parishes will combine into a “new family structure.” Two or more parishes will become a single canonical parish under the leadership of one pastor and one or more parochial vicars. The pastor, parish leaders, and parishioners will then determine questions such as how to share resources, staff, ministries, outreach efforts, and facilities.
The Seattle Archdiocese has fewer resources, including priests, lay leaders........
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
When the Catholic Church openly and enthusiastically now embraces and condones homosexuality, this is a surprise?
Some due to change of lifestyle of no longer going back to church when Covid lockdowns broke the pattern. But with a baseball or other sports strike people usually go back. Not always.
Some due to this:
Magazine cartoon: At a gathering, some Protestant ministers smile and shake the hands of priests: “We just wanted to thank you once again for all the converts in our congregation due to the Catholic marriage rules.”
Others, I believe, are due to this:
Rev. Billy Graham, in 1968: “God listens to all prayers and answers them in some manner. Sometimes his answer is “no.”
I am quite sure a lot of this has to do with the conservative exodus from Western Washington
When you use birth control and don’t teach the faith to the children you don’t murder or prevent from conceiving.....you lose your parish.
Hope their is great wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Repent.
Not the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. She is perfect.
Do not confuse her with the current leaders of the Church. They embrace and condone homosexuality with all the enthusiasm you have suggested. Virtually all of them are very evil men who will all one day answer to God for their sinfulness.
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