Agreed.
and I do not believe it has anything to do with changes in the mass.
Are you sure of that? Clearly it has something to do with changes in the Faith. People are no longer living their lives based on Faith and reliance on divine providence. Instead they are living a consumer lifestyle which may or may not include attending church on Sunday morning. Of all the changes to the Faith, all of which certainly are significant, isn't the change to the Mass the biggest one of all?
Yes, but it's just my opinion. Just because the form and/or structure of the mass changed should have nothing to do with basic moral teachings which are timeless. Most people can grasp that.
People are no longer living their lives based on Faith and reliance on divine providence.
Why should they? They see that priests and the hierarchy have all their earthly needs tended to by the people and contributions to the church and that it has gone on for centuries. Ordinary people feel more of a dependence on God despite the current culture.
Of all the changes to the Faith, all of which certainly are significant, isn't the change to the Mass the biggest one of all?
The change may be significant, but I maintain that people are more prone to think for themselves and not accept everything blindly as they were formerly prone to do. I believe that it is due to ordinary catholics getting educated which was not an option for a large number of them until this past century.
Some of it is probably due more to their mingling with the evil protestants in society and the fact that if the church had its way, all means of contraception would be outlawed or suppressed.
I personally believe that they (laity) would rather strike a balance between a more meaningful existence for their families in this life rather than placing all their hopes on the next one.
If the church would address the real problem about how people are supposed to support a family of eight, ten or more children in our modern society in a more practical way rather than blandly telling them to rely on providence when they don't have to themselves, people still would probably want to limit their families, but things would be more honest that way.
People in first-world countries are starting to think for themselves and take charge of that part of their lives they can control. That is the root of the problem.