The Late, Great, Catholic Church In America?
Why is this such a big shock to everyone?
After I initially read this article, two thoughts came to mind;
1. By and large, the "Vatican II Generation" has almost completely surrendered their Catholicism. But then again, that's exactly what the "Spirit of Vaticdan II" big-wigs wanted in the first place.
2. The youth are discovering their Catholicism. And the phrase "smaller and purer" keeps coming to mind, as well.
Here's some of a rather interesting article from The AP; (Emphasis mine)
Poll: Catholics Embrace Faith, Not Mass
By RACHEL ZOLL
NEW YORK (AP) — American Catholics said in a new survey they were pleased with the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, ahead of his first visit to the U.S. since he was elected. The study also found intense interest in faith among some young people. Yet, few parishioners overall said they go to confession, and most believed they could be good Roman Catholics without going to Mass.
The poll, released Sunday, was commissioned by the nation's bishops and conducted in February by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, head of the bishops' communications committee, was encouraged by the openness to faith in the survey but said it highlighted the need for better religious instruction. (Gee, no kidding? And maybe he should re-think kowtowing to abortionists and militant homosexuals. Yeah... that would be a start.)
"The challenge for church leaders," he said, "is to help them see what Catholicism really means."
Strengthening Catholic identity and observance are central themes of Benedict's papacy, and topics he is expected to address when he travels to Washington and New York starting Tuesday. (And he can start by shit-canning most of the USCCB.)
The poll found that Catholics born before 1960 — among the most faithful parishioners — and those born since the 1980s have similar outlooks. (Hmmm... the 60's and the 70's have essentially lost their Catholicism. I wonder why?)
For Catholics who attend Mass at least once a month, an overwhelming majority of the young and older generation believe Christ is present in the Eucharist. Even more, the younger, regular Mass-goers surpass their elders in observing Lent, with nearly all saying they abstain from meat on Fridays and receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. The young people are also more likely to consider devotion to saints very important to their faith.
However, the study found that only 36 percent of the younger Catholics attend Mass at least once a month, compared with 64 percent of the older generation. Sixty-eight percent of all Catholics surveyed said they agreed that they believed they could be in good standing with the church without going to weekly Mass.
The poll, "Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S. Catholics," found that nearly one-third of the nation's 64 million Catholics attend Mass in any given week. That figure has remained the same in the last five years, according to the report.
Thirty percent of the respondents said they go to confession less than once a year and 45 percent said they never go.
Why is this such a big shock to everyone?
After I initially read this article, two thoughts came to mind;
1. By and large, the "Vatican II Generation" has almost completely surrendered their Catholicism. But then again, that's exactly what the "Spirit of Vaticdan II" big-wigs wanted in the first place.
2. The youth are discovering their Catholicism. And the phrase "smaller and purer" keeps coming to mind, as well.
Here's some of a rather interesting article from The AP; (Emphasis mine)
By RACHEL ZOLL
NEW YORK (AP) — American Catholics said in a new survey they were pleased with the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, ahead of his first visit to the U.S. since he was elected. The study also found intense interest in faith among some young people. Yet, few parishioners overall said they go to confession, and most believed they could be good Roman Catholics without going to Mass.
The poll, released Sunday, was commissioned by the nation's bishops and conducted in February by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, head of the bishops' communications committee, was encouraged by the openness to faith in the survey but said it highlighted the need for better religious instruction. (Gee, no kidding? And maybe he should re-think kowtowing to abortionists and militant homosexuals. Yeah... that would be a start.)
"The challenge for church leaders," he said, "is to help them see what Catholicism really means."
Strengthening Catholic identity and observance are central themes of Benedict's papacy, and topics he is expected to address when he travels to Washington and New York starting Tuesday. (And he can start by shit-canning most of the USCCB.)
The poll found that Catholics born before 1960 — among the most faithful parishioners — and those born since the 1980s have similar outlooks. (Hmmm... the 60's and the 70's have essentially lost their Catholicism. I wonder why?)
For Catholics who attend Mass at least once a month, an overwhelming majority of the young and older generation believe Christ is present in the Eucharist. Even more, the younger, regular Mass-goers surpass their elders in observing Lent, with nearly all saying they abstain from meat on Fridays and receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. The young people are also more likely to consider devotion to saints very important to their faith.
However, the study found that only 36 percent of the younger Catholics attend Mass at least once a month, compared with 64 percent of the older generation. Sixty-eight percent of all Catholics surveyed said they agreed that they believed they could be in good standing with the church without going to weekly Mass.
The poll, "Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S. Catholics," found that nearly one-third of the nation's 64 million Catholics attend Mass in any given week. That figure has remained the same in the last five years, according to the report.
Thirty percent of the respondents said they go to confession less than once a year and 45 percent said they never go.
posted by Kevin Whiteman at
6:57 AM
8 Comments:
after the mahoney nightmare and the sex/rape lawsuit payout - the laity were left to suck it up and be on the defense for being catholic. i never even get to tell why i am catholic or share the beauty of the faith-all faith discussion time is spent trying to explain the unexplainable. while i understand i am to pick up the cross and follow Christ i never imagined it would be to suffer so that homosexuals could get their freak on in the church.
i am distressed beyond belief at the silence from Rome on the left coast bishops. somebody in the comment sections below wrote out my dream scenario where bene16 relieves them of their command.
i wasnt surprised to read people continue to have devotions to the saints. i spend my days with Luke, patron of painters. i'll let him take my confession. as for the eucharist - well that hurts to miss. but i also think catholicism is a way of being -a way of loving the world and all of creation. thats all i can manage at this point.
the last time i went to the cathedral here was on Good Friday which was a nightmare of busywork and self serving prayers. i never even went to Easter after that. im finished! its a very sorrowful place to be, but i cant get past it.
This has got othin' to do with this post, but you're tagged for a meme.
As to the poll--I've noticed that in our parish, everybody seems to be either older than me, or younger than me, us late boomers are decidedly underrepresented in our tradition minded parish.
Now that just plain sucks, no other way to look at it.
Eh, mass isn't that important.
Archbishop Niederauer celebrates mass every day, and he doesn't exhibit any real fidelity to the Church or its teaching.
I think that the evidence shows that we have WAAAAYYYYYYY too few Catholic Bishops, and have had that problem since about 1955.
After all, the Bishop IS the chief teacher, ruler, and sanctifier of any Diocese.
But then, why would Bp. Niederauer know, care, or remember that?
SHE, you should not give up the beauty of your Faith so easily. If you're in LA, you have LOTS of choices, order chapter houses, monasteries, and more orthodox parishes to go to, where you can experience the truth and fullness of Catholicism. To the north, head up to Sta. Paula and Thomas Aquinas College, or way south in OC, you've got the Norbertines at St. Michael's Abbey (off El Toro Rd.)
Trust me, I'm in the Diocese of Rochester, which is right up there with LA in Bishopric. Despite the spiritual wasteland I live in, I will not let human folly interfere with my obligations to the Divine. My soul is not for sale...even while many of the parishes around here are, to defray the costs of similar blindness and depravity.
Don't let them win!
Eh, mass isn't that important.
Archbishop Niederauer celebrates mass every day, and he doesn't exhibit any real fidelity to the Church or its teaching.
Brilliant. That’s what I feel most of them are thinking sometimes.
Couple this with liturgical abuse and the fact that the New Mass waters down our Faith and its no wonder they don’t care; it helps to kill the sense of the sacred and its importance and thus helps in not encouraging them to go. Plus a bad cathecetical upbringing hurts too.
All of the Bishops need the Spirit of Vatican II exorciszed out of them (especially here on the left coast)...Please skip St.Louis, Lincoln and Denver, they're solid.
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