- Sep 29, 2015
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Good point. This varies with the region.I think this depends on where you are located in the US. There is no doubt that in the Northeast region of our country that Catholicism is in deep doo doo. But in the South though Catholicism is growing and fairly healthy, albeit not as heathy as it was pre-Covid. I think you really need to look at the USA regionally. U.S. Catholic population shows growth, trends southward
No, it wasn't that rare. We got people joining the Catholic Church in numbers even before RCIA got invented.I must say I completely disagree with this assessment. The growth of the Church prior to Vatican II was the result of two factors: larger families and immigration. It had nothing to do with converts coming into the Church. That event was so rare, the Church really didn't have a thing like RCIA prior to Vatican II. Converts came primarily through marriage.
But there is another thing I forgot to mention, which is the almost total Catholic acceptance of birth control and thus the drop in family size.
I'm not saying changing to English was a bad thing. Actually that in itself would have been a good thing. But much more than a mere language change happened to the liturgy.The New Liturgy actually helps with converts coming into the Church IMO. In my example as a convert, I really don't know how I would have been able to do it, if I walked into a service using a language I knew nothing about. I believe I probably would have walked right back out, and never thought of Catholicism again. Latin service is fine and dandy if you were born into it, and grew up in it; but outsider coming in? Completely different story, IMO. That is definitely one of the advantages of the Novus Ordo over the Pius X Mass. The first will allow conversion the later will not.
The drop off of the nuns raised prices and priced many families out of the market for Catholic schools. But the drop off of the nuns chronologically correlates to the implementation of Vatican II. I am not blaming Vatican II. Just that the implementation of it was a disaster for religious communities for the most part. That wasn't the intention.Were children catechized better prior to Vatican II? Probably since the norm was for Catholics to send their children to Catholic schools. But after the price of private schools went up, because of the loss of Religious to run and work the schools, that all changed. Of course the Church responded with various programs at the local parish; but the attendance normally has been fairly poor. And as one of my gripes that I have, adult continuing education isn't a prevalent as it should be; and I don't think it was back then either.
And I agree with you about inadequate adult education. It's always been an afterthought.
I have no evidence about the regionality of sex abuse. BUT it does seem to cluster a bit, probably as one priest debauches others, maybe gets promoted to seminary rector or bishop, debauches seminarians, maybe gets promoted to cardinal, and as a kingmaker nominates like minded snakes to be bishops. Maybe the South has missed some of that clustering. I've seen too much abuse too close to home. I had thought of becoming a deacon but I put that on hold when my archbishop was investigated and later removed. The final report on that never happened. I've aged out of eligibility to become a deacon. Oh well.I agree on this somewhat? I do think it has impacted the Church greater in the Northeast than in the South. Even though there has been some clergy abuse in the South, IMO it has been handled better, so I really don't think it has affected the Southern dioceses as much as it has in the Northern and Western ones.
I don't see those people ever coming back. But maybe new people can fill their places.This I agree completely. In LA our state shut down all the churches, with very little pushback from religious leadership. There is no doubt that this has affected church attendance across the board no matter what denomination. I know our parish was averaging 250 in mass attendance pre-covid; but not we are at 170'ish; where not too long ago we were in the 150's.
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