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Wednesday, September 18, 2019

WE REALLY CAN'T BLAME THIS ON DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS AS THE DIOCESE OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND ACTUALLY GREW WHILE THE CHURCH SHRINKS


Yes, many Catholics who no longer practice their faith do not practice because of the sickening scandals reported unceasingly as well as legal action that has taken place that depletes the Church of money donated by once faithful Catholics.

Yes, many Catholics who no longer practice their faith do not practice because they no longer believe what the Church teaches on morality, who can be priests and other things. Secularism, be it from politics or the media or their favorite celebrity and how they live their lives is what guides them, not faith in God or what God teaches or saints and martyrs model.

But I wonder just what kind of foundation the post-Vatican II Church gives Catholics. It appears it isn't strong enough to withstand the tremors and earthquakes associated with sin and evil, indifference and loss of faith. Is it time to rethink Vatican II and the progressive agenda that has destroyed so much under the misguided name of renewal and a new springtime for the Church. Are our pope and bishops  in denial about the root cause of all of this and grasping at straws to place the misdirected blame?

Here are some sad statistics in the growing area of the Diocese of Providence Rhode Island:

PROVIDENCE (AP) — The Diocese of Providence says Catholic churches across the state have experienced a steep decline in the number of parishioners in recent years.

Rhode Island is one of the most heavily Catholic states. WPRI-TV reports the diocese released statistics from 2000 to 2018 earlier this month online in the diocesan newspaper.

The newspaper states that the number of parishioners dropped by about 200,000, to roughly 321,000 in 2018. Fewer people chose to get married, attend Mass or have their children baptized in the church. Fewer students attended Catholic schools and fewer men became priests.

Rhode Island's population grew over that time period and the church faced sex-abuse scandals worldwide.

 "The inescapable conclusion from reviewing the report is that the Diocese of Providence is experiencing a quantitative decline. The numbers of ordained priests, registered parishioners, Sunday Mass attendees, faithful receiving the sacraments, and students in Catholic education have all fallen significantly in recent years," the bishop wrote in the profile. "The fact that this decline in religious practice is not at all unique to the Diocese of Providence – but is common to other dioceses in our part of the world and to other faith communities as well – is not much of a comfort."

 Turning to weekend mass attendance, the numbers are equally grim. In 2000, 187,708 Rhode Islanders went to mass weekly, down to just 79,936 in 2018. The number of weekend masses themselves have decreased as well, along with parishioners, even as the state's population grew.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can say the diocese grew, but it is not as if the state is attracting large numbers. Since 1990, Rhode Island has only grown 6 percent, and less than 1 percent since the last census in 2010. The state unfortunately has been electing pro-choice politicians for decades (which leads to the theory that Catholics tend to be more lax in practice when in the majority in an area, but more likely to "stick together" and be more traditional when they are in the minority). Kinda sounds like the situation in adjoining Massachusetts, doesn't it?

TJM said...

The bishops did not fight for the Faith starting around the time of Vatican Disaster II. It is really that simple. If they had fought for the Faith, many may have remained. But losers don't like to investigate the reasons why they lost. They just stick their heads in the sand. Apres moi le deluge

Victor said...

Vatican II was about getting cozy with the modern world. But the world, modern or not, is the spiritual enemy as St Paul cautions. We see the results: loss of faith around the world, syncretism in Africa, moral and financial corruption within the Church herself, and so forth.

Carol H. said...

Christ built His Church upon rock; something RIGID that will not crumble or give way when battered. Modernists keep chipping away at the foundations of our faith, replacing it with something that can be easily changed, like sand. Is it any wonder that people are evacuating?

Anonymous said...

That problem affected the whole Northeast. The shame is that as people were dropping out and staying away more and more, the bishops just stood by and did little or nothing to stem the tide. They reacted later by merging parishes and closing churches. They addressed the effect but never the reason.

TJM said...

At some point, we may see the consolidation of dioceses because there are not enough paying Catholics left to support the infrastructure of hundreds of separate dioceses. A modest step to stem the red ink would be to abolish the worthless USCCB. Think of the money they would be available for the poor!

rcg said...

TJM what happens in this game when we are left with one TLM parish and one OF parish? Do they merge? If so, what form would be required? Our FSSP parish is still growing both through fecundity and attraction. I think there would literally be a riot if we were forced to merge and allow an OF Mass.

TJM said...

rcg,

I was referring to dioceses, not parishes. I seriously doubt they would combine an FSSP Parish with an OF parish because the OF parish would not want to be part of a genuinely Catholic parish. The OF parish would want to maintain such vital things as banners, Eucharistic ministers, altargirls and communion in the paw.

Anonymous said...

TJM, maybe we could create some new dioceses too (as we eliminate some in the Northeast and Midwest). The Atlanta Archdiocese (which runs north of Columbus, Macon and Augusta) could be divided---maybe carve up the Athens-Augusta part from Atlanta and Savannah. I am sure Father M. would not object to a "Diocese of Augusta", though it would be a problematic creation as that would take a large chunk (maybe 20 percent) of the Catholics currently in the Savannah Diocese. But hey, it would mean less driving long distances for the bishop of Savannah (it ain't a quick drive from Savannah to Pine Mountain or Bainbridge!) South Carolina could be divided into two (as is the case for the state's Episcopal dioceses), an "Upstate" one including Columbia and Greenville, and the Low Country one based of course in Charleston.

TJM said...

Anonymous,

Sounds like a plan. Question: is Sunday Mass attendance better there than in the northeast or midwest? We have seen a general collapse since Vatican Disaster II and the gay sex scandals over the last 20 years haven’t helped

Anonymous said...

TJM, I would like to think in my homeland South, church attendance (whether Catholic or Protestant) is higher than in the (heathen-trending?) North!!!! In mine in 30327 the main one--10am---is usually full (not so much in the summer months). But in the urban South, we may be suspect to the secular trends. The Baptist church across from Atlanta's Cathedral of Christ the King (Second Ponce de Leon) is down to one service on Sunday (though it has a big campus), and the Episcopal Cathedral across the street (St Philips) reportedly averages less than 1,000 a Sunday (even though it claims over 6,000 members). Attendance at the Catholic cathedral (10,000+ members) looks strong when I have been there, but the sanctuary is small so it is not hard to fill up 600 to 700 seats in the morning. Atlanta needs a cathedral the size of the one in Savannah, but land is not cheap in that part of Atlanta!