Catholic churches and priests vary, and the priests are likely to influence the pattern. I have found that a number of priests I have known - sincere, dedicated men - are open to greater reform. They may want voluntary celibacy, for example. Some want women deaconesses. They often want the church to change its policy on birth control.
Some even doubt basic teachings of the church, even transubstantiation. They are Protestant in spirit - liberal Protestant, not fundamentalist. They feel kinship with those mainline Protestant clergy who - for example - are selective when it comes to the Bible. They have been influenced by 'higher criticism' and see some sacred Catholic traditions more as symbolic than true. Eucharistic adoration is one of these. This makes some priests uncomfortable and seems to them to be a retreat to an earlier era.
In this area of the country several Protestant ministers were once priests. This is true both within liberal (mainline) Protestant churches and evangelical churches. I understand that ome of these churches are full of ex-Catholics, too.
What is even more evident to me is that many Catholics I know well have become Protestantized theologically, even though they may still attend mass faithfully. I believe a poll carried in *US Catholic* magazine found that the majority of Catholics don't believe in transubstantiation. Many question certain aspects of Mariology, and some reject confession.
There also is a more democratic attitude among laity toward local church government. The old idea that the priest is somehow above and over the parishioners has taken a hit, starting with Vatican II but accentuated in recent years by the sexual and other scandals. A couple priests in this area had been involved in major embezzlement. There is still considerable affection for priests, but with it more wariness than in the past. There also is some resentment because of the importation of foreign priests, some of whom have trouble with English.
As far as the Mass is concerned, the major changes growing out of Vatican II made the Mass more like a Protestant service. The service is in English, hymns are sung (many of them Protestant favorites), and there is more and more of a fellowship/friendship element during Mass. Elderly Protestants I know speak often of how much the Mass changed from their early years when it was so totally alien to them. Those were also the days when Catholics were warned to avoid so much as entering a Catholic church.
The ecumenical movement has made a major difference among both Catholics and Protestants. This has slowed down from those early days after Vatican II.
It should be noted that mainline denominations seem to have moved some toward more liturgy and suspicion of Catholicism has greatly diminished. A lifelong employee of Cokesbury, the Methodist supply company, said that what she had noticed most over her 50 years with that company was the increased demand for vestments. Mainline groups also tend to use the lectionary today, too, something that was not true among most of them a half century or so ago. At the same time, several mainline denominations have moved further away from Catholicism in their attitude toward gays and lesbians. The Episcopalians have elected gay bishops, the UCC, ELCA Lutherans and the Presbyterians voted to permit ordination of gays, etc. The Methodists still disallow this, mainly because they are strongest in the South and Midwest, more conservative than the coastal areas.
Interesting how that states in the Northeast - like MA, CT, and NY - where Catholicism is very strong - have led the way in permitting gay marriage. The main opposition has come from the GOP, which is mostly Protestant in these areas. The Democratic Party had traditonally been the political home of most Democrats hereabouts.. Any thoughts as to why???? It's as thought the church has lost its political clout among its own constituency.
. I actually do subscribe to their e-mail list, just like I visit uber-conservative sites. Can’t claim to be in the middle if you don’t know the extremes. Many of their reflections are interesting . . . just not (notnotnotnot) substitutes for the Bible. At all. But still interesting.
and many “Protestants” actually think very Catholic
. This would be a different thread though.