The Tide is Turning Toward Catholicism
Catholic, General December 7th, 2006
Although the situation may seem bad sometimes for the Catholic Church, including internal dissent and external attacks, Catholicism is actually thriving and flourishing. You just have to know where to look. Friend and blogger Dave Hartline demonstrates this in his new book The Tide is Turning Towards Catholicism.
Hartline notes many signs of Catholic vitality in the 21st century, including an increase in vocations, non-traditional media to get out the message, and the increased interest in Mary among Christian denominations. The secular media, of course, won’t bring you the positive or spiritual developments, but Hartline delivers them in his book.
In addition, those of us at the Ancient and Future Podcast have interviewed Dave about his upcoming book. Yes, we are still podcasting, although not as much as we should be! The interview with Dave was great; to hear the podcast, go here. Also, to read some reviews and to pre-order Dave’s new book, visit this page.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Here is a dose of reality concering the Church in the United States:
Mass attendance among Catholics:
1958: 3 out of 4
2002: 1 out of 4
Lay religious teachers who condone:
contraception: 90%
abortion: 53%
divorce and remarriage: 65%
missing Mass: 77%
Catholics aged 18-44 who don’t believe in the Real Presence: 70% (that is, 70% of Catholics in this age group are material heretics)
Priests in USA:
1930-1965 doubled to 58,000
Since 1965: 45,000
Projection: by 2020: 31,000, half over age 70
Priestless parishes:
1965: 1%
2002: 15%
Ordinations in USA:
1965: 1,575
2002: 450
Seminarians:
1965: 49,000
2002: 4,700 (down by 90%)
Seminaries:
1965: 600
2002: 200
Sisters:
1965: 180,000
2002: 75,000, average age 68
Teaching nuns:
1965: 104,000
2002: 8,200 (down by 94%)
Jesuits:
1965: 3,559
2000: 389
Christian Brothers seminarians:
1965: 912
2000: 7
Franciscans:
1965: 3,379
2000: 84
Number of Catholic High Schools: down 50%
Number of Catholic Parochial Schools: down by 4,000
Number of Catholic marriages: down 33%
Number of Annulments:
1968: 338
2002: 50,000
December 7th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Some folks just can’t believe the good news in front of us. The Church is experiencing a rebirth since the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. Under his leadership and now the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, the youth have greatly increased the role of orthodoxy in the Church. World Youth Day was and is a stunning achievement. Go to any youth rally and kids stand in line for long periods of time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation without even being asked. In dioceses where there is orthodox leadership, vocations are on the rise. Look at the internet. Where are the liberal blogs? You probably could count the major ones on one hand. However, if you want to really look at the growth of the Church look at the third world where often seminaries and convents are full along with the churches. You can read about all of this good news in my book. In addition, there’s some basic apologetics dealing with the teachings of the Church, history of those teachings as well as some answers to those questions you get from folks of other faiths. All of this is convered in facts and stories, and I have some notable folks endorsing the book as well. It is not a book full of wishful thinking but full of facts and figures and the stories that illustrate them.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
One more thought for you. Many places in the world would laugh if you talked about a priest shortage. It is only a problem in pockets of the western world. There has been a 76% increase in diocesan priests since 1978, the beginning of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate. Looking at the freefall experienced by most other faiths, we are doing OK and getting better. The future looks bright!