No, it is not another fruit of Vatican II modernism and Liberalism hiding in the “Newchurch”. We’re all human- we’re all weak. You say liberals changed the Church- well, where was their faith formed? In the pre-Vatican II Church! You slam Pope Paul VI for changing the Mass (nevermind that it is in his authority as pope to do so) when his faith was formed way before Vatican II. Vatican II wasn’t a problem- it only reaffirmed things the Church has always taught- it also told people going to mass can be more spiritually rewarding if you actually pay attention to the priest’s prayers instead of just sitting there praying your rosary- you can do that at home or before or after Mass.
The statistics say something else.
Ah, I see. Priests never sinned before Vatican II. Ah for those good ole days before the Gates of Hell prevailed. Wait a minute, didn’t Jesus say something about that???
No. The number of secular, lay faithful has risen. Also, not so long ago, a woman who wanted to be a nun pretty much just had to want to be one (and be single) at the time and she would be admitted to the convent. It’s not so easy anymore- there’s more of a discernment and screening process- so that the applicant and the order is reasonably sure she is making the right decision. There are many families who are very devout. Things got out of hand in the 60’s and 70’s, but it was that way everywhere.
No. Let the schools close- that way parishes would have more money to care for the needs of all generations, and the kids could go out into public schools and be examples of faithful Catholics and lead others to the Church. Public education is fine. Parents, and parish religious education programs can more than make up for what students miss in Catholic Schools.
Yes, it’s a problem. But not on the part of the Church- marriages are either valid or they aren’t- there is no in between, and Jesus gave his authority to the apostles- whose successors are our bishops- so there are no mistakes in annulments here. Annulments have gone up because marriage is taken less seriously in society- so there are fewer valid marriages.
This would seem to me to be an enormous problem: namely, that since Vatican II, many Catholics do not take marriage seriously. Annulments have gone up in the USA from about 9 in 1930 to more than 61,000 in the USA in 1989. Families are breaking up and this is to the detriment of the children. If you don’t believe this and you don’t think this is aproblem, you might want to read the book: “The unexpected legacy of divorce,” by Judith Wallerstein, a lecturer at UC Berkeley. She argues tht the harm caused by family breakups such as divorce or annulment is far graver and longer lasting than had been suspected. 50,000 annulments per year since Vatican II, translates to one million broken families over a 20 year period (in one country alone).
Well, the economic situation IS a lot better, and the land values on Fifth Avenue would be high even without a cathedral.