tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post3352003284264404392..comments2024-03-28T20:30:10.681-04:00Comments on southern orders: MASS ATTENDANCE DECLINEFr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-74809889243774152342014-08-26T15:22:50.762-04:002014-08-26T15:22:50.762-04:00some MORE relevant data:
http://nineteensixty-fou...some MORE relevant data: <br />http://nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/<br /><br />This article is VERY interesting in that it takes pains to say that while over all numbers of nuns are declining at a sharp rate, it's not at all clear whether there's "anything we can do about it".<br /><br />The author makes a note that about the same number of women have joined the LCWR as the CMSWR... BUT somehow forgot that the LCWR makes up 80% of all nuns. So in reality, (as an earlier CARA report in 2009 made clear), if 20% of a population has as many new recruits as the other 80% and the average age is younger.... it's entirely clear what we can do to 'turn things around'!<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Major_Superiors_of_Women_Religious <br /><br />Where are all these young women coming from? It seems from generally pro-life backgrounds. in 2044 the Church hierarchy and religious will be fewer, will probably face open persecution, but they're going to be rock solid (please God.) which is a good thing as we'll need their prayers and witness as we face the gallows ourselves.JusadBellumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-91394066108421179782014-08-26T11:08:05.038-04:002014-08-26T11:08:05.038-04:00There are a couple of factors in the decline:
1) ...There are a couple of factors in the decline:<br /><br />1) Birth control and the decline in the number of children per family<br />2) Divorce and resulting decline in mass attendance of remarried spouses (who took their kids with them into practical schism).<br /><br />3) The upheavals and jettisoning of lay popular piety in the 1970s - all those little sodalities, groups for men and women to socialize and grow in their faith were stripped away in favor of 'social justice' felt banners and a professionalization of things...<br /><br />4) Leaving the Catholic ghetto both physically and psychologically - moving into suburbs, breaking up natural support systems, cousins, uncles, etc. so there was less and less positive peer pressure to attend Catholic-centric events and maintain a Catholic identity (which is essentially all about relationships).<br /><br />Catholics sought to melt into general society and stop being 'different' as though difference is bad! We surrendered to the general society as though society was superior and being Catholic was childish, as indeed many so-called "brilliant" "expert" theologians seemed to imply with respect to the Church being 'behind the times' (which means what, exactly?) The times of whom? The cool secularists who can't fight their way out of the wet paper bag of world, flesh and devil?<br /><br />What exactly caused our leadership to be brow beaten intellectually into presuming that being Catholic in doctrine and morals was something to be embarrassed by or something to hide or water down so as to be made 'relevant'? <br /><br />In any event, in today's situation we must refuse to consider ourselves second class citizens or our faith second rate compared to secular society. You name it and Catholicism is simply superior to anything going on - and we need to start acting like it. <br /><br />People are hungry and dying for lack of Jesus and only we have the grace of Jesus' presence and we're embarrassed to do Eucharistic processions? People are traumatized and alienated and feel abandoned by God and loved ones and we feel embarrassed for Marian devotion when it's precisely the love of a mother that the world is desperate for?<br /><br />People are addicted and feel helpless in their addiction, they are beset by bad news, depression, dystopian futures and run in quiet horror of devils...and we are embarrassed by the power of exorcism, healing, and evangelization as though this is somehow childish?<br /><br />Our ancestors were beset on all sides by a proud and confident Protestant WASP culture and country and they pushed back and built the cathedrals, the schools, the hospitals, the convents etc. despite almost all being lower middle class. It was an attitude of confidence, pride in the faith, in the martyrs, in the saints and a burning desire to show the world what we had that led to the 'golden era' of the 1960's high water mark.<br /><br />But what happened? We lost steam and suddenly got confused and worried that perhaps we were all wrong and the world was right.<br /><br />Well "the world" is wrong and we're right. So let's act like it.JusadBellumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-24609009804653944952014-08-26T09:59:26.566-04:002014-08-26T09:59:26.566-04:00It's Bellah, not Bella.
This report is heavy ...It's Bellah, not Bella.<br /><br />This report is heavy on data and light - very light - on causes.<br /><br />"Habits of the Heart" speaks to the causes.<br /><br />There's really no comparing this article and Bellah's work.Pater Ignotusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-68243567083325489452014-08-26T08:03:15.455-04:002014-08-26T08:03:15.455-04:00If the old Mass was so boring and out of touch, wh...If the old Mass was so boring and out of touch, why did people stop showing up when it was fixed and improved? Sort of like New Coke, Mustang II, and blended whiskey. rcghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09131930849106490711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-33774557499459679512014-08-26T00:39:26.028-04:002014-08-26T00:39:26.028-04:00BTW, thanks Fr. For this post--I got glued to my s...BTW, thanks Fr. For this post--I got glued to my soapbox and forgot to thank you for the very interesting info. Sorry!Jdjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-4961159200655400762014-08-26T00:35:00.504-04:002014-08-26T00:35:00.504-04:00Yes, Henry, I think you've got it--the questio...Yes, Henry, I think you've got it--the question, of course, is why. That is the crux of past (for years now) and ongoing sparring between Fr. MacDonald and Pater Kavanaugh. And yes, Bellum, how to arrest the decline if good priests cannot agree on the cause, let alone the solution. Their bishops in authority are caught up with their own daily agendas and are oblivious to the overriding problems. No one is in charge. They fiddle while Rome burns...<br />Jdjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-14429223219311942562014-08-25T22:00:52.127-04:002014-08-25T22:00:52.127-04:00"Thus, if one is seeking to make a comparison..."Thus, if one is seeking to make a comparison of Mass attendance in the 1950s to now, the drop is not 80% to 20%. Instead it is from a peak of 62% in 1958 to a to about 31% now. This is still a remarkable decline." <br />Numerically there are more Catholics now than then (or those who identify as such), so even with a decline in percentage one should expect to see more numbers-wise in the pews(one would think). Then there is also the large drop in religious vocations over the same time period. It would be good to go back and look at the 1920's 30's and 40's and compare those periods to now. It would also be a good thing to gather data on the depth or extent of faith of those attending (the praxis). As much as this can be determined. Numbers in and of themselves do not tell the whole story. Fulton Sheen had a prime time show on a major network in the 1950's. That alone tells you that things were a lot different then.Georgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-91777068683874392022014-08-25T19:51:13.913-04:002014-08-25T19:51:13.913-04:00As a sometime statistician, this articles brings s...As a sometime statistician, this articles brings straight to my mind the old saw: "Lies, damn lies, and statistics."<br /><br />Ephemeral arguments about elusive percentages are not not needed to draw the obvious conclusion if the raw number of Catholics has increased (along with the general population), while at the same time the raw number of Mass attenders has decreased. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-75340655320328208352014-08-25T15:29:21.553-04:002014-08-25T15:29:21.553-04:00It's no coincidence that as overall attendance...It's no coincidence that as overall attendance rates decline, so does overall collection incomes.<br /><br />It's also no coincidence that as income declines, priests and bishops will turn to lay professional fundraisers to make up the difference via the various tricks of the trade.<br /><br />But this is all reactionary and a stop gap (important to be sure, but still a stop gap).<br /><br />The 'solution' is to arrest the decline and then begin expanding again. And it looks like the lay professionals are leading here too in all the various and sundry 'stewardship' ministries, the apologetics, door to door ministries, the radical charismatic communities, the homeschoolers having 5+ children, etc.<br /><br />We have to see the data, see the processes behind the data, but not take it for granted that trends will continue forever. Like any layperson in business will tell you, first you stop the bleeding and then you push back with better product and service to regain the market.<br /><br />It's attitude as much as theology. The gimmicks are just various allied means to the end goal of reintroducing people to Jesus and a heavenly trajectory of life.<br /><br />The 'solution' is an "all of the above" approach. But practically it means a core group of utterly convicted, utterly convinced lay apostles helping our clergy turn things around.JusadBellumnoreply@blogger.com