Another Catholic survey is in and the results are the same…Catholics
want to be Protestant while keeping the title “Catholic”. They want the Catholic Church to change her
doctrines to catch up to these modern times. (PDF link below)
They want gay “marriage”…numerous divorces and “remarriages”…women
priests…lots of birth control…nice priests who talk about
love all the time and less talk about the need for confession and all the
things Church doctrine has defined as sin- after all these are modern times and
the Church must adapt!
The ignorance of
such ideas by (one time) Catholics is so colossal I’m not sure where to start!
Both active and inactive Catholics (in Illinois) were asked
assorted questions about being Catholic, the Catholic faith, parish life,
Catholic doctrine and more.
The responses were no surprise…these “Catholics” know
nothing of the Catholic Faith and don’t want to BE Catholic. They are protesting dogmas and doctrines of
the Catholic Faith, they don’t like the Mass, the music (it isn’t upbeat enough
for them), they don’t like the homilies (they apparently don’t relate to real
life) and they are seeking fellowship and community, not “a message of fear and
guilt”.
These “Catholics” would have truly hated Jesus in His time
on earth…oh you know, all that talk about sin, repenting and going to Hell if
you didn’t repent.
Here is what some of them had to say about why they are “inactive”
Catholics…
• “I do not approve of the churches [sic] stance on many
issues. Abortion, gays, women as priests, and several others.”
Yes, and that is why you are a closet (I guess now out of
the closet) Protestant.
• “My daughter came out to me as gay, and I went through a
divorce after 28 years of marriage. The Church doesn't want either one of us.”
Completely untrue. If
both the divorced mother and the gay daughter are living CHASTE CELIBATE lives
they are living what the Church teaches.
• “Being divorced they do not let you take communion. Treat
you like an outsider. But they allowed priest [sic] that they knew were bad to stay in the
church.”
Completely NOT true.
Divorced people CAN have Holy Communion- “remarried” people (without an annulment)
cannot because they are in fact ADULTERERS.
If the first marriage is valid, the spouse cannot ‘marry’ another
spouse.
• “The archaic idea that only men can lead a congregation
and be in the clergy, the underlying message of guilt and fear and the lack of
diversity and openness to gays.”
I'm pretty sure Jesus' hand picking all men for the priesthood can never be "archaic" and “underlying message of guilt and fear” eh? Guess this person never read a word Jesus
said in the Gospels!
• “We were both devout catholics [sic] who tried to have
children with no luck. We decided to go with in-vitro fertilization and the result is
3 awesome boys through 2 pregnancies. The catholis [sic] church rails against that.”
Don’t you just love the “we are devout Catholics” who reject
and thwart Catholic dogma? How “devout”
can you be if you are rejecting the Faith?
• “I do not feel that the Church respects or allows full
participation of women. I also feel that the Church's stance on birth control to be wrong and
not in step with modern medical science and the real world.”
Oh and here’s a goody…
• “I struggle with the way the Catholic Church has not
adapted an ever changing world. I also feel sometimes people are looked down upon instead of
being lifted up by the church.”
Oh yeah, cause it’s all about YOU being “lifted up” by the Church
rather than you going to WORSHIP GOD!
Here are some of the demands of these ex-Catholics that must
be met for them to consider returning to the Catholic Church…(try not to laugh or cry)
• “allow civil marriage equality, approve birth control,
consider ordaining women.”
• “Hierarchy start [sic] living like Christ.”
• “The church needs to stop focusing on fighting abortion,
birth control, and gay marriage. I would suggest focusing on building our community and
helping those in poverty”
• “Allowing priests to marry. Treating women as equals.
Advocating birth control.”
And the Mass MUST be changed to suit them too!
• “Make EVERYTHING more upbeat, passionate and energetic.
Make people look forward to coming to Mass because it energizes them and
their faith.”
• “Jesus spent his days preaching to the people with stories
and doing good works and most priests couldn't give a good homily to save their life.
Even the gospel readings are done like a seventh grader reading to class and not like an
important lesson from the book of God.”
• “Sunday night mass! I don't like to make the 20 minute
drive to another city just to go to mass on Sunday nights, I would rather donate that money I
spend on gas to my local church instead of going and giving very little.”
• “Yes, greatly reduce the performance and celebrate the
Spirit's power through silence. Make the 90-minute human-led spectacle a 60-minute
Spirit-led rejuvenation [sic]”
The next demand is to stop teaching them about sin! They don’t want to hear it and they will go
to Protestant churches so they don’t have to hear about sin and the need for
confession.
• “if the catholic church [sic] began sending a message of
honesty, truthfulness and a message that we are all simply human and are trying to
navigate this life with out [sic] the impeding guilt and better than though i [sic] would
consider returning.”
• “quit threatening us and tell us more about God loving and
forgiving us. Stop being so pious when you're human like we are.”
• “yes, the Catholic Church needs to accept all people if
they love God and love the Catholic Church as I do. I refuse to have an annulment which
is basically saying my first marriage of 19 years which bore 2 children did not
exist.”
• “only God will be our judge.. [sic] so how can we be
critical of those that have alternative lifestyles.”
Now that they’ve demanded Dogmas, doctrines and the Mass be
changed they have one more demand.
Change the priests;
• “only a kind, gentle, and loving priest”
• “priests that speak with passion and apply the knowledge
to today's time.”
• “younger more enlightened priest that could relate the
sermons to todays [sic] world.”
• “we need Priests, Deacons and Bishop that are willing to
work love into the hearts of these parishioners.”
What saddened me even more was what was said by the ACTIVE
Catholics still sitting in the pews, most especially the poll on their REASONS for attending Mass…
"Sense of Community" rated 358 while Receiving the Sacraments was only 60 and Religious Obligation ranked 32. Convenient Mass times trumps the Sacraments? Even the "Active Catholics" are confused about why we SHOULD be attending Mass.
Encouraging comments from ACTIVE Catholics…
• “Our faith is an integral part of who we are. Attending
church gives us strength in meeting the challenges of daily life. Because we have been
members for a long time we also feel very connected to the families that attend the
same mass we do as many of our children have "grown up" together. We've
gotten to know many of the families and individuals who attend the same mass we do and enjoy the
"connectedness" we have with them.”
• “I believe in the Catholic Church and this is my parish,
born and raised where I raised my family. This parish has supported me thru good times and
bad, it is where Our Lord gives me comfort”
• “I was raised in the Catholic Church, I believe it is my
duty to attend Sunday Mass.”
• “I love my Catholic faith, our parish family, and the
opportunities available at XXXX to pray, study, celebrate Mass and other sacraments in a warm,
inviting family atmosphere.”
• “I attend to serve Jesus and the people. I attend to be
close to Jesus, and partake of the Eucharist. I go to honor God as he has commanded. I enjoy
the people around me, I go to be inspired throughout the week.”
Worrying comments by ACTIVE Catholics…
• “Sometimes the music is drab, some people are not
friendly, our school, which is over 50% non-Catholic [sic] is a drain on our finances”
• “We don't have anything for the elderly, such as a
potluck, we don't have anything to give support to young mothers, to give parenting skills to young
familes [sic]. We have nothing for young, single adults, or for college kids.”
• “Sometimes it feels like they are always asking for money
and if you don't give, you are not welcomed at some events. Some people seem to be friendly
toward you but don't include you in some events.”
• “like most church communities there seem to be a shortage
of youth, and a church community that is void of youth is a dying community”
• “We never seem to be caught up financially, it is
stressful”
And here are the ACTIVE Catholics who want to see things
like women priests, gay marriage and changes to Church teaching on birth
control…
• “I don't understand why the Church is opposed to birth
control that prevents conception - I think birth control is immeasurably better than abortion. I think
priests should be allowed to marry and that women should have a larger voice. (I am a 60+ year old
man).”
• “I think that the Catholic church [sic] should be more
tolerant of people with different sexual orientation. I believe that this is genetically determined,
and therefore determined by God. I also do not agree with the church's stance on birth control.”
• “I would not have a problem seeing women have the option
of becoming priests. Also, it would not bother me if priests could marry. Lastly, I think people
should attend mass because they really want to be there and not attend because they are
afraid of committing a mortal sin.”
• “I feel that we get bogged down in legislation and that
maybe our efforts need to go to education more. Abortion will never go away, but we can educate our
young people as to what it is. We seem to be in the dark ages still. Women deserve leadership
roles. We judge instead of accept people. Condemning gays does not feel loving. The whole
pedophile thing is disgraceful. Acting like it never happens is not a solution. I'm glad our Pope
sees this.”
• “Confession - since we have had so many questionable
priest [sic], I don't trust any of them anymore to confess to.”
• “Beliefs against gays. Politics shouldn't mix with
religion. Always demanding money.”
Oh the irony in this one…
• “I have a difficult time with the church's stance a [sic]
some social issues, ie contraception and sexuality. I also feel that the church gets away from
teaching about faith and what it means to be catholic.”
A bright light in the dimness…
• “More education on what the Church believes and why we are
passionate about these issues. ‘Why we do what we do’ seems to be a big question for most
people. Adult education is important, because at a lot of parishes people did not get
an adequate education as children/teens.”
• “As a Traditional Catholic I don't like seeing the True
Faith being undermined by a much more liberal Church of Nice crowd.”
So what are the concluding thoughts from this survey? Don’t judge. *sigh*
Quote: "This study suggests Church
doctrine plays a key role in individuals separating from the Catholic Church and it may be difficult to
prevent current parishioners from leaving or to bring lapsed or drifting parishioners back to
this faith community.
However, in the recent words of
Pope Francis, “no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual, but God attracts us looking at
the complex web of relationships that take place in the human community. God enters into this
dynamic, this participation in the web of human relationships” (Spadaro 2013). Given our
findings, parishes and pastors in the Diocese of Springfield may have opportunities to attract and
retain those Catholics who currently consider themselves distanced or lapsed from their parish or Church
through this web of human relationships. The continued pursuit of a welcoming, friendly,
and judgment-free atmosphere in their church may create this human community that so many seek
through group worship and therefore bring back those who have lapsed or drifted away."
This study SHOUTS OUT that people are IGNORANT of the
teachings of the Faith and yet the Dioceses of Springfield, Ill concludes that
the Church must be more “welcoming, friendly and judgement-free” to attract lost and new members.
Basically, they have learned nothing.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
