I don't believe that for a second. Some do but very few and that is the problem. For the most part parents in families have failed to hand down our sacred traditions. They brag about using artificial means of birth control. Look around you in your churches. How many families have more than three or more children? Very few. How many do you see involved in invalid marriages are marching up to receive communion? Look at the way the laity dress when they come to Mass. The signs are there for people who come to Sunday Eucharist to come modestly attired and still they come in haltars, tanktops and short shorts.----They have ignored the teaching of the Church proclaimed by many good priests throughout this nation. How many families gather with their children for an evening meal and then say the Rosary together every night. Most of our children don't even know the Rosary and many of the parents don't either.
Two hundred years ago in this nation the Catholic populace was more instructed in the teachings and practices of the Church than the children of today and they didn't have the advantage of Catholic schools and there were only a handful of priests in the whole nation. Yet the faith flourished because the homes were Catholic.
Basketball and tball and sports have replaced the Church and Christ as being the center of family life. I recently heard of one Catholic family who wouldn't let their daughter go see the Pope in Canada this summer because to do so she would have to miss her basketball camp. The girl wanted to go and the parents would not let her.
Don't go giving me all this "the faithful" bit. We are as much to blame and even moreso than our priests and bishops for this mess we are in.
I'm certainly no pollyanna, this scandal has thrown me for a loop but my faith is strong. And I can only do what I can do, ask God to have mercy on His Church and pray. I can and do try to be informed about what I should know as a Catholic and I know many more than myself. Are there misinformed people out there? Yeah, sure! Some are just plain ignorant and want to stay that way, some want to believe what they want to believe because they think it makes life easier for them and some could care less but the core of the laity, is informed and filled with faith. They can't change everything that is wrong overnight but their perseverance will pay off in the long run.
I'm told I'm old fashioned because I believe the answer for every troubled heart and our troubled Church can be found in spending our time with attentive minds and heartfelt devotion while adoring Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.