The Incredible Shrinking Catholic Church

Only because the “protestants” you speak of in Yoor-up are the members of the state Anglican and Lutheran Churches. Pentescostalism and Free Church evangelicalism is a western hemisphere phenomenon. Guess who is winning converts left and right in Latin America?

Thank you, Father. Thanks, wagglebee. Father, my wife and I were profoundly affected by the work of priests for life many years ago. We wound up bringing our now-deceased handicapped son to Father Paul Marx’s place as we would volunteer and talk with Father and his people. This had a profound effect on me, a non-Catholic at that time. Decades later and hundreds of Latin Masses assisted as an altar server, I like to think this influence was huge.

Deo gratias

8mm

LOL, we had a young woman talk after Mass one day, she has a little girl who is a corker and a 6 month old. She was trying to recruit more people for adoration so that there would be at least 2 people at all times. At the end she told us when she went and warned anyone who volunteered for that hour that it would not be quiet because she brought her kids with her. There was quite a laugh after that.

We have a cry room but most sit in the church, when they cry Father just talks louder.

How do you know the decision is ours alone, without movement from God, if God makes vessels unto honor and dishonor, and the adversary sows tares that remain tares, Christ sows wheat that remains wheat?

Crying is one thing, but engaging in pitched battles with energy weapons is something else. Pat blasted Father (with a pocket calculator) one day. I thought I would die.

LOL, I shouldn’t but I love kids and I love their antics. Sometimes parents are horrified but most people understand that children will be children.

A lot of links on vocations here on FR:

Cardinal Arinze - "Youth will embrace religious life with right role models"
Today's seminarians reflect growing trend
Number of Seminarians Increases - Please Decipher This!!!!
In Seminaries, New Ways for a New Generation
Seminary Springtime: Father Darrin Connall s Big Success

EVIDENCE GROWS OF DIRECT DISOBEDIENCE TO VATICAN IN MAJOR AMERICAN SEMINARIES
Pope to Church: Risky Seminarians Must Go
Priests Down, Seminarians Up
U.S. Priests and seminarians survey: more vocations in orthodox dioceses
Vatican Announces Surge in Seminaries during JPII Pontificate

Seminary Reform Needed in Wake of Sex Abuse Study ["the crisis in the Church is ... homosexuality"]
Homosexuals in seminaries? The latest.....
Priests 'In Orgy' at Seminary
Bishop urges gay ban in clergy; presses for overhaul in screening priests
A New Breed of Priest

AUSTRIAN SEMINARY SHUT DOWN FOR PROBE
Seminarians Show Support For Celibacy
556 Reasons for Hope [Seminarians Support Celibacy]
No Shortage of Vocations From Conservative Parishes
Oakland seminary housing sex offender priests

Phoenix bishop to helm Priestly Formation Committee [of USCCB]
Vatican Firms up Plans for U.S. Seminary Visitation in 2005
SIBLING VOCATIONS - Early calls led two sisters to same religious order
On the admission of homosexuals to seminaries
Catholic priests demand the right to marry

New Start For Austrian Seminary
Disciples of Pope John Paul (Faculty of Gregorian University Gripe About Piety of New Seminarians)
New Priests in U.S.: Older, and More >From Abroad (Survey Tracks Trends Since 1998)
U.S. seminarians welcome Pope Benedict XVI
Vatican review of seminaries to raise issue of gay priests

Some Decry Retirement Despite Priest Shortage
The Priesthood Ordination Class of 2005 “People would be surprised to know that I…”
(Catholic) Seminarians Double In 25 Years
Pope's death inspires would-be priests
Changes Add Up for Priesthood

Irish Bishops Apologize to Seminary Whistle-Blower
SIGNAL CALLING - UB quarterback foregoes family and career to train for priesthood in Rome
Pop Culture Heros Help Recruit Priests
Small Bible-belt (Catholic) diocese sees increase in seminarians
Dashing young priests turn heads at Youth Day

Vatican to Start U.S. Seminary Evaluations
Apostolic Seminary Visitation To Begin This Fall
U.S. Bishops to Begin Inspecting Seminaries
Prelate Says Gays Shouldn't Be Ordained
American overseeing Vatican evaluation of US seminaries says gays should not be ordained

Vatican to Check U.S. Seminaries on Gay Presence
POPE APPROVES BARRING GAY SEMINARIANS
Pope bans homosexuals from ordination as priests
Questions Arise Over Seminary Inspections
New Vatican Rule Said to Bar Gays as New Priests

New Vatican Rule Said to Bar Gays as New Priests (ABOUT TIME)
VATICAN: HOMOSEXUALS ARE NOT TO BE ORDAINED AS CATHOLIC PRIESTS
Homosexuals in the seminary; A Global Church in a Globalized World
Gay Men Ponder Impact of (Anti-Gay Clergy)Proposal by Vatican(Barf Alert)
Aquinas Seminary is First for Scrutiny

Vatican Begins Inspections At St. Louis Seminary (Rector: No homosexuality-pedophilia link)
The Sins of the Seminaries
Notre Dame Experts React to Potential Seminary Rules
Seminary Reviews Not Just About Homosexuality, Says Prelate
Jesuit Official Rips Expected Ban on Gays

Jesuit Official Rips Expected Ban on Gays
Jesuit official protesting expected Vatican ban on gay priests
A Catholic Moment of Truth
Gay Catholics Angry Over Seminary Searches
New Rules Affirm Pope Benedict's Stance Against Gays

New Report on Vatican Gay Priests Document Said to be Gay Lobby “Rumor Mill”
Gay men can be priests if celibate
Gay men can be Catholic priests if celibate-paper
No ban on gays expected in Vatican document; will advise 'prudential judgement'
African Cardinal Views the Vocation Shortage - With Full Seminaries, Ghana Shares Its Wealth

Keep the Ban
Today's seminarians: The Vatican survey
Lincoln diocese boasts highest number of priests to Catholics
Vatican Document on homosexuals in seminaries will be published tomorrow
Married Priests Aren’t the Answer (a seminarian states his view)

Vatican document restricts gays in priesthood: paper
Barring gays from priesthood not discrimination, say Italian bishops
Roman Women are Converts to Convents
Heads Up!! Zero Hour is 9am on December 29
Why I Thank God I Couldn’t Be A Priest

A look inside the Denver seminaries
Ordination Challenges: Out of the Seminary, Into the Fire
Vatican teams checking seminary effectiveness (in all, 229 US seminaries to be reviewed)
Seminaries Are Overflowing in Socialist Vietnam
Seminaries Full in Southern India (despite new anti-conversion law)

Ordination Class of 2006 - New Catholic Priests include twins, converts and some surprises
Twin ordinands, youngest of 13, credit parents for priestly vocations
Eleven new priests for Denver, largest ordination class in 40 years
Religious vocations can come from anyplace
Coordinator of U.S. seminary visitations expects report this fall

Continued growth for Australian seminaries
Journey of faith runs through R.I. (young Polish immigrant ordained to priesthood)
A leaf of Faith (Catholic convert enters religious life)
More twins (enter priesthood)
These twins are doubly blessed - Identical brothers from Erie to become priests today

New, stricter Priestly Formation Program issued for U.S. Catholic seminaries
O Father, Where Art Thou? (US catholics coping with shrinking priesthood)
Pope Tells of Key to Awaken Vocations (address to religious and seminarians at Vespers)
U.S. Catholic Seminary Probe Sent to Vatican
Homosems, A Year On

Vocations Are Up at English-Speaking Seminaries
Vocations Surge - The Priest Shortage Isn’t Over, But Seminaries Are Filling Up
To Know, To Love, To Lead (Pope Benedict XVI ordains 22 new priests)

There is one more link to post in this series:

Father, Mother, Sister, Brother [Part One of a series on Celibacy] -- Catholic Caucus

It Takes a Village of Vocations [Part Two of a series on Celibacy] -- Catholic Caucus

Living Single and Celibate in God’s Service [Part Three of a series on Celibacy] -- Catholic Caucus

Brothers and Sisters in Christ [Part Four of a series on Celibacy] -- Catholic Caucus

The Adventure of the Priesthood [Part Five of a series on Celibacy] -- Catholic Caucus

>>Meanwhile the Catholic Church is the fastest growing Christian denomination in the world with an average of 250 million new Catholics annually...half of which are converts.<<

Please cite your sources. The figure (250 million per annum) you provide is, in my opinion, quite implausible.

Given a world population (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) of approx. 6.555 billion in 2006 and a natural increase (births minus deaths) of about 77.7 million per annum (ebenda), an annual increase of a quarter of a BILLION new Catholics would an extremely high rate of religious conversion (approx. 170 million per year), even if EVERY newborn were automatically baptized a Catholic.

See #43

The truth is Catholic churches built to hold hundreds now have a handful at mass.

Which could be a good thing. Once away from the influence of the empty legalism and ritualism of Roman Catholicism, there is the opportunity to reach them with the truth of Christ, especially during times of crisis when many remember the great existential questions.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Risky,

As you know, God is love. And if we love Him we will keep His commandments. And that love will animate all we do since we will do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. I hope you’ll be open to seeing true love for God in Catholic Christians here at FR. I realize that not everyone here at FR is “friendly”. But I think it’s important to realize that there are Roman Catholics who deeply love the Lord Jesus and seek to follow Him with all their hearts.

God bless you and keep you, and let’s pray for one another.

A 4 year old article?

Once away from the influence of the empty legalism and ritualism of Roman Catholicism, there is the opportunity to reach them with the truth of Christ, especially during times of crisis when many remember the great existential questions.

Each to his own, I guess.

I find the "ritualism" of the Catholic Church far from empty. On the contrary, it is historically, symbolically and spiritually rich. These are the sacred mysteries. The mysteries handed down from time immemorial. The mysteries in which the saints and fathers of the Church partook and which make Christ truly present. There is an incredible source of grace, strength and holiness contained in these rituals.

On the other hand, what I find empty is some guy in a suit giving me his take on a passage of Scripture or the superficial rock concert atmosphere which can be found in some church auditoria.

For me, religion is not about getting a "buzz" or the constant search for some new "experience". It's about an interior spiritual life lived in union with the crucified Christ.

None of the ritualism and legalism will get you any closer to heaven than Zen Buddhism will.

Only fully trusting the Atonement of Christ to have paid the full and total debt for your sin will.

THIS STORY IS FROM 2003....!!!!