However, I don’t want to end on that negative note.
I came on to this thread because I thought it was discouraging to say that ‘trying to do good’ has no point.
I see the Catholic Faith as a hopeful religion in which one can draw close to God and try to follow his will, and while often we fail, we can seek forgiveness in the confessional and hope to be with God after we die because Jesus, the Son of God, has died for our sins.
My faith often falters, but I keep on the road. At the moment I have a pressing family worry and I am praying hard that God will help us.
I would also like the Church to have a new spiritual awakening & I will keep praying for this.
Good wishes to all on this forum. Goodbye for the present.
Obedience to God’s third commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day. Since most school age children never attend Sunday mass, the future of the Catholic Church will never attain 80% Sunday mass attendance as it did during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Sunday mass attendance today is at its lowest level in the past 60 years with mostly older parishioners. Unfortunately, Bishops today rarely speak about this problem. Yet, they blame parents, for not taking their children to Sunday mass, who were yesterday’s children who were not properly faith formulated the same as today’s children. The Bishops meet every year to discuss many situation needing attention. Rarely is declining Sunday mass attendance discussed. If Bishops were graded on saving souls when related to Sunday Mass attendance, their would be forced to file for bankruptcy. We are losing our children spiritually because the Church allows disobeying God’s third commandment which is critical in developing a relationship with Jesus and the Eucharist. When will the Bishops own up to their responsibility of saving souls by hiding behind the false assumption of blaming parents?
Knowledge of the faith isn’t handed down by scholars. It comes by way of prayerful discernment. A layperson can be a theologian if they wish. The percentage of educational books I have read for courses in theology are half-filled with nonsense, written by rationalistic theologians and modernists who have their own ideas as to God’s plan for humanity. As one priest said, recently, in a sermon, “God won’t be pigeon-holed”. God reveals, not professors. They might sync at times with God, accordingly; the Church doesn’t rely on them, though. They are not God, though some might wish they were.
Honestly, I didn’t even answer the actual question (my apologies). I think this issue is a touchy one for bishops and archbishops all over the world. I agree with you, some dioceses were poorly catechized without any damage control and that is 100% on the leaders. But, how does one say, in a professional manner, its all my fault and I suck at my job, which is leading you all the Heaven. It’s kind of hard to have a balance on admitting you were wrong, still having the hope and faith of those who look to your leadership and see you as an authority figure, and do damage control. If the bishop loses the repect and dignity from the churches within his diocese, then what is the point of trying at all?
I still agree though. Many young adults leave the church and it cannot all be the parents to blame. You cannot expect a student to master a subject when the teacher, themself, hasnt mastered it. At some point, though, bishops can only do so much.
Boy oh boy do I have good news for you. I agree with you, we have lost major attendance in our churches and it needs to raise tremendously. Thankfully, it has. In 2021, Catholic Mass attendance and conversions were at an all-time low due to the pandemic. But, since then, numbers have increased significantly, even surpassing the number of particpants pre-COVID. It is absolutely amazing, and frankly beautiful to see. Also, a good thing to note, based on statistics from 2024-2026 (that I admit, I got from the AI overview), young men are leading the conversions. This makes it even better, considering that the man’s role in terms of being a father of children or a father of the Church (or other) is to lead spiritually.
I did not include specific numbers, because there were a lot for specific dioceses (in the USA); but I got my information from an article from the National Catholic Registry. I’ve linked it below.
In my opinion, its tradition. Hear me out. I’ve noticed, as I have traveled to more modern churches, that we are slowly turning into Protestants (that sounds really bad, I know). Our churches are looking more like KC Halls, and our services are starting to feel more like a music service (though not nearly as bad as mega churches, and the like). I’ve heard of dioceses banning the Latin mass, it’s, at this point, rare to see a veiling woman, etc. It feels like we are trying to conform to society’s standards to bring in more people. I like the idea of making the Church attractive, but we’re going too far.
In terms of holding our ground on customs and beliefs, we’re pretty good about it. You won’t see anyone getting a dip in an aluminum bin for a Baptism in a Catholic Church. You’re not going to see a pastor stating that God is a woman. We’re just not like that and we never will be. It just feels like we are losing touch with some of the practices and traditions that make us unique and, even, noticable (rip altar rails, I never see you anymore).