Second Thots

Sometimes one has to step back, take pause, and have some "second thots"

Monday, August 16, 2010

 

Is the Catholic Church losing people?


There's a phenomenon that I've come across enough for me to at least make some comment on currently. Specifically, I went to Catholic school almost all the way up until university, and many of the people I grew up with appear to be specifically anti-Catholic, or at least dismissive of the religion.

As someone who's the opposite, and has come to embrace the faith, I find this phenomenon to be peculiar indeed. I'm not sure why it exists, or why it appears to be so pervasive. As with most things in life, I think it has something to do with sex. Again, I appear to be of the opposite frame of mind. The Catholic position towards sex has been one of its main drawing point for me. It is philosophically and morally coherent and consistent, even though some of its adherents aren't.

I'm not sure if this is just a personal observation, or a sign of a larger trend. My guess is that it's something that the Catholic Church should address, and probably hasn't. And the answer isn't liberalization, either. It should be about communicating more effectively why the Church's stands on certain issues are what they are, and how adhering to them, although sometimes difficult, ultimately does bring us closer to God.

Is this a message that's not being communicated enough? Are people simply not listening in this day and age? Or am I simply imagining things? Regardless, it's something I'll be keeping my eye on.


Comments:
It's hard to keep faith with an organization that tolerates some of the things that the Catholic Church has tolerated.

 
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You mean like providing aid and education to countless people worldwide?

For the record, are you a Catholic?

 
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In the West today, the problem is modernity, which offers so much more instant gratification than a life of faith. You're certainly not imagining it - in Canada and the US, the Catholic Church is, in fact, losing people. No one wants to live a disciplined life; no one thinks the Catechism of the Catholic Church is realistic; no one believes in the old-fashioned concept of purity. Today, it's all about self, including the freedom to have sex without consequences or criticism.

The onus is on us, as Catholics, to live exemplary lives and to defend our faith to others. And most of the time, we fail at both.

 
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I think Patrick Ross is commenting on the sexual abuse at the hands of catholics.
Admittingly, wikipedia.
"In addition to cases of actual abuse, much of the scandal has focused around members of the Catholic hierarchy who did not report abuse allegations to the civil authorities and who, in many cases, reassigned the offenders to other locations where the alleged predators continued to have contact with minors and had opportunities to continue to sexually abuse children"

Tolerating that seems to rub people the wrong way.

 
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