There were two articles in the Sunday papers concerning Catholics and Catholicism that I found interesting.
The first was about a 2008 Pew Forum study that found more Catholics leave their faith than any other faith or denomination; 32% of people raised as Catholics, leave the religion. The Detroit Free Press article “An exodus of youth from Catholic Church” talks about what the Archdiocesan of Detroit (1.3 million Catholics) is doing to keep members in their 20s and 30s from leaving the fold.
They talk about camping trips, fireworks, Tigers games, movie nights, etc. mimicking some of the mega churches that offer more than just a boring mass; the same mass over and over and over again.
In the past, young adults that left the Church usually came back when they got married and had children but, we are told, that does not happen anymore. I know of a few couples who initially intended to raise their kids in the Catholic faith but with all the negative things that have been going on in the Church, one’s own intelligence becomes challenged and exposing one’s kids to that nonsense just seems hypocritical on your part and potentially harmful to the kids who will ask questions you will not be able to answer honestly.
You can try to entice young people to join the Church or remain in the Church by entertaining them but the bottom line is that the Church has to make itself relevant in people’s lives and right now the Church is only an embarrassment; forced to defend itself on a daily basis from serious charges of misconduct and mismanagement.
The other news item was in the New York Times obituary page. It reported the death of the Reverend William R. Callahan (78) who was a dissident priest that challenged the Vatican mainly on the issue of ordaining women as priests. The paper described him as “A fierce advocate for change in the Catholic Church and society”. I salute him and his life.
The first was about a 2008 Pew Forum study that found more Catholics leave their faith than any other faith or denomination; 32% of people raised as Catholics, leave the religion. The Detroit Free Press article “An exodus of youth from Catholic Church” talks about what the Archdiocesan of Detroit (1.3 million Catholics) is doing to keep members in their 20s and 30s from leaving the fold.
They talk about camping trips, fireworks, Tigers games, movie nights, etc. mimicking some of the mega churches that offer more than just a boring mass; the same mass over and over and over again.
In the past, young adults that left the Church usually came back when they got married and had children but, we are told, that does not happen anymore. I know of a few couples who initially intended to raise their kids in the Catholic faith but with all the negative things that have been going on in the Church, one’s own intelligence becomes challenged and exposing one’s kids to that nonsense just seems hypocritical on your part and potentially harmful to the kids who will ask questions you will not be able to answer honestly.
You can try to entice young people to join the Church or remain in the Church by entertaining them but the bottom line is that the Church has to make itself relevant in people’s lives and right now the Church is only an embarrassment; forced to defend itself on a daily basis from serious charges of misconduct and mismanagement.
The other news item was in the New York Times obituary page. It reported the death of the Reverend William R. Callahan (78) who was a dissident priest that challenged the Vatican mainly on the issue of ordaining women as priests. The paper described him as “A fierce advocate for change in the Catholic Church and society”. I salute him and his life.
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