Posted on 01/28/2011 9:32:34 AM PST by marshmallow
Shery Weddell at the St Catherine of Siena Institute reports that 32% of Americans raised Catholic abandon the identity altogether by their mid twenties. An additional 38% retain the identity but rarely practice their faith. 30% of those who call themselves Catholic attend Mass only once a month. On a given Sunday only about 15.6% of American Catholics attend Mass.
What is the reason for these disastrous statistics? Basically because for the last forty years Catholics themselves have not taught Catholicism to their children. They've taught 'American Catholicism' which is a watered down blend of sentimentalism, political correctness, community activism and utilitarianism. In other words, "Catholicism is about feeling good about yourself, being just to others and trying to change the world." The next generation have drawn the obvious conclusion that you don't need to go to Mass to do all that. You can feel good about yourself much more effectively with a good book from the self help shelf, or by attending a personal development seminar. You can be involved in making the world a better place without going to church.
If only 15% of Catholics go to Mass on a given Sunday, look around and see how many of them are old. Even the 15% who are there won't be there for very long.
The solution is simple: we must return to the supernatural realities of the historic faith and evangelize like the Apostles of old. The big difference is that the Apostles knew their targets were pagans and the pagans knew they weren't Christians. We're dealing with a huge population of Americans (Catholics and Protestants alike) who are pagan but who think they're 'good Christians.' It is very difficult to evangelize people who already think they're fine just as they are. We don't know what we don't know, and the vast majority of poorly catechized, lazy and worldly Catholics aren't aware that there's anything wrong.
What will it take for us to wake up?
Very well put.
Amen, brother.
Doesn’t the Vatican AIWSOTARM edifice and structure
provide quite enough clowns parading about in red and purple dresses?
See Mat 23 above.
I see it more like a water fight.
Though I’m not real impressed with the color of some of the water some use.
When I posted, I was unawareSorry
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
that you had done so.
Lera:
Actually, it was the Catholic Church that suffered more under Hitler as it was then, as of now, only about 30% of the country. The leading critic of the Nazis was Bishop Galen. Here is an article by Chuck Colson, who is not a Catholic, which was linked to a Catholic Site that I frequent.
And for the record, the UK. Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Denmark, most of Germany, Switzerland all went Protestant in the 16th century in case you missed that during Western Civilization classes in College.
If think this is joke, plug in "Adventists Nazi era" in to any search engine. It will break your heart.
Out.
Of.
The.
Park.
Home.
Run.
investigateworld:
I know very little about the 7th day of adventist other than there typically anti-Catholic because the Church clearly teaches the “Lord’s Day” is now the day of Public worship.
As for Catholics and the Nazis, Hitler was very anti Polish [my wife being of Polish ancestry] and upwards of 2.5 Million Poles who were gentiles, and thus Catholic were killed, including some 3,000 Catholic Priests of which approximately 2,000 died in concentration camps. One of them, is Fr. Kolbe who died in the concentration camp at Auschwitz, where he was sent for providing hiding and shelte for refugees of all ethnic backgrounds, including Jews.
It has been estimated that some 2,500 other Catholic priests died in concentrations camps and those group priests were from 20 or so different countries.
A few Protestant clergy were persecuted, like Bonnehoffer [sic] but no where the amount of Protestant clergy compared to Catholic clergy.
This is what amazes me about this article..1st it does not speak about Christ in its title.or salvation, it speaks to CULTURAL Catholicism.
The truth is the vast majority of Catholics are culturally Catholic.. not observant or confessing Catholic..
Like me and many other people born to a Catholic family or into a " Catholic country"
That is exactly how the Catholic church has built its membership numbers ..by family or national tradition. When I left the church, the first thing my father said to me was not concern over my soul..but "we have always been a Catholic family"
Tradition is not only the basis of their doctrine, it is the basis of their membership.
Cultural Catholics are baptized as infants, make their "first confession/ communion" and then attend services long enough to get permission to marry at the church.. and once again to get their children baptized and then start the cultural cycle over again
The second thing that interested me was the idea that it is important to get these "cultural Catholics" to come to church.. These are not believing people or they have been saved and joined another church ,
In the first case they have built their own god and just want to get on with their life.. when they die they will call a priest and confess their sins and have the final mass they attend said for their soul .
If they have joined another church they are no longer cultural Catholics.
The second thing that surprised me was the admission that only 15% of Catholics actually attend church on Sundays ... and we all know that 15% is dying off..
That is surprising because that 15% is the actual number of Catholics...not the inflated number we so often see.. truth is always freeing
I don’t see how anyone
with a brain
and a gnat’s burp’s worth of discernment
can read those passages in Mat 23 . . .
who is also part of ANY large, structured, bureaucratic, dogmatic, authoritarian etc. sort of RELIGIOUS organization
without being sobered and concerned about the mess they are part of.
It is HUMAN NATURE and worse in such groups.
ABSOLUTELY WELL PUT.
Alas, am off to breakfast . . . maybe more later.
Indeed, he hated all Christianity, but most of all he hated Judaism. Protestantism being the majority in Germany outside his native Catholic south, Hitler rather sought to infiltrate, co-opt, pervert and use the Protestant churches to further his objectives, as opposed to attempted eradication. The tracts and historical documents I've seen regarding the ungodly changes he sought to impose are chilling.
People were desperate and verging upon destitute due to the very recent privations of the Weimar Republic era and it's hyperinflation. They fell for Hitler's appeal to a return of former glory, of jobs and prosperity and national pride.
It's to some extent understandable in the very earliest years, it's not as if they foreknew what a monster he would turn out to be, but the level of denial it surely must have taken to maintain support in the face of the disappearance en masse of opposition groups is not at all understandable.
I suppose they were so thoroughly cowed by fear that they would be next, that they felt constrained to do anything about it lest they themselves be killed. There's an object lesson for ourselves in this. We see the demonization of both Jew and Christian again, barely a generation later.
Despite our differences, we have far more in common and will be forced by the world to stand together eventually.
RegulatorCountry:
A very accurate post. Hitler was indeed baptized Catholic but left the Church at 18 and never received the Sacraments again. He did persecute anyone who threatened his desire to make him and the German state and his nazi ideology the religion of Germany.
While he publicly at times was careful in not attacking either the majority Reformed and Lutheran CHurches, as well as the Catholic Church, in private and by his actions, he had no love for either, and particularly the Catholic Church which by its very essence and nature, was not tied to any nationalistic or country and thus was by its very nature “Catholic” in that ethnic groups from all over the world belonged to it, and those groups included ethnic groups which he viewed as inferior, and one of them, which bordered Germany, was Poland which he brutalized.
Now, may I ask you a question? There are many Protestants in these threads that jump in and ping together but as a Catholic, I never know which protestant group they belong to. So which Protestant tradition are you affiliated with? as I don’t think you are in fellowship with these other Protestants here as your posting style is totally different.
You are in my view, a very reasonable and even-handed poster and one that I as a Catholic would not have a problem “discussing” theology with [not this other nonsense that goes on with the usual suspects here].
Again, thanks for the well written and accurate post.
You are describing an ethnic/political entity. It's all about conforming to and being part of the group. It's probably why RC countries tend towards socialism.
The second thing that surprised me was the admission that only 15% of Catholics actually attend church on Sundays ... and we all know that 15% is dying off..
The admission of the numbers problem is great news. As RC's have made abundantly clear, they preach a different gospel. As Christians we want as many as possible to leave this church and become Born Again Christians. Unfortunately, of those leaving only 40% become Born Again Christians.
The political ramification of this shift is very good news. Countries that embrace Christianity do well.
I’m the product of a “mixed” marriage, lol, maternally Lutheran and Moravian. Paternally, Primitive Baptist after the Civil War, Presbyterian before, literal brush arbor churches in the earliest frontier era of the NC backcountry.
As a result I don’t espouse a particular denomination, though I have sentimental regard for some of them, particularly the Moravians. I try to adhere to Biblical truth and allow room for differences of opinion if the area of disagreement does not have bearing upon salvation.
“provide quite enough clowns parading about in red and purple dresses?”
Who was it that said, “reach behind your TV set and feel the power....”
....there ought to be clowns...and the 5th grade reading level advanced Reader Rabbit followers that support them
“And for the record, the UK. Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Denmark, most of Germany, Switzerland all went Protestant in the 16th century in case you missed that during Western Civilization classes in College.”
Jim Mora redux : “College, College, you want to talk about college?”
I’m pretty sure that World Civ isn’t taught until 9th grade...I’m not sure what 5th grade is taught.
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