Future of Catholic church

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goodcatholicman

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If you were to look ahead 20-30 years, what do you think the Catholic church will look like? Smaller? Bigger? more liberal? more Conservative?🤷
 
Personally I think it will shrink in Western Europe and North America, while growing in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It will probably keep the same leanings it has now. Hopefully within 20-30 years the cure for AIDS will have been developed and distibuted, allowing the Church to maintain it’s stance on contraceptives. I also think we will see an African or Latino pope, which, God Willing, will lead to the Church as a whole having a greater focus of charity and humanitarian efforts.

Of course, my hope is that the Church will flourish everywhere, spread to all people and have a stronger voice in the world to proclaim the Gospel.
 
goodcatholicman said:
If you were to look ahead 20-30 years, what do you think the Catholic church will look like? Smaller? Bigger? more liberal? more Conservative?🤷
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I think the Church will continue to grow and expand. It will become the single moral light in the darkness. This will draw people to it, Many will begin to see that the Church was always right in what she taught both Doctrinally and morally. Vatican II will eventually be properly implemented.
 
Personally I’m expecting the church to grow a lot more rapidly in the South. Especally as more and more Catholics down here are starting to understand the concept and necessity of uniting prayer to action! 👍
 
I think that it will continue grow as more people learn and understand the Church here on Earth. I feel many that have left will be coming back - I’ve met sooo many reverts to the Church since my own reversion over 2 years ago - the ones that are the most active in my parish are the ones that have converted or reverted, and they’re spreading the faith like crazy!

In 20-30 years, I feel that the Church will be bigger and stronger. 👍
 
My hope and “vision” is that the RCC will become more zealous and more orthodox - possibly becoming slightly smaller in the northern hemispheres but becoming much larger in the southern hemispheres. I also would foresee a hispanic Pope in the not too distant future (I sure am liking this Pope).👍 :signofcross: :highprayer:
 
Doesn’t that all depend on how much we evangelize? Go out to the people, witness to them, and bring them to the house of the Lord… Then the church will be overcrowded and overflowing with people who are eagerly seeking the Lord!
 
I think the church in North America is going to grow greatly. I think the church in Europe will continue to shrink, and that ironically the church in the US will lead the way with growth. IMO, as we come out of the post VII affect, and the church continues to reassert what it has always believed, people will be drawn to the truth of the catholic faith. It is already happening, with so many youth being attracted to the church. I think what is happening now is that the ground work for a new catholic culture is being laid, and in 20-30 years the church will be growing and feeling the positive results of so many people and youth coming back in to it.

People will tire of the wishy washy fuzzy christianity of protestantism, and seek the truth. That truth is the catholic church and more and more will come home to the faith.

I also believe we will see a return to larger families as people embrace catholic sexual teaching and that the families of the church will ‘out grow’ the small families outside the faith.

But I agree, our job is to spread that truth and faith.
 
I am predicting you will start to see better numbers in Europe. That is at least what I am praying for.:signofcross:
 
I hope everyone in my family… and all my friends… will be in it.
 
I think the Church can have a big renewal in the west, but only if they make clear, transparent amends to make up for the sex scandal coverups. Retreating behind Church walls and then trying to move on by over-empahsising the rules to laity when they have not been followed by the Church leaders will only make things worse and more and more people will walk away.

An honest opening up of doors and keeping transparent policies there to the laity and public is the only way to regain the trust and credibility. Think of it as a large scale confession and redemption in reverse as the laity and public have to forgive the clergy for these sins (which will happen if done correctly).
 
I believe that there will be a huge schism in the U.S. and Canada between liberal pseudo Catholics, and conservative Catholics loyal to Rome. The remaining Church will be much smaller, but it will also be more holy. I also believe that the remaining Church will be much persecuted for speaking out against abortion and gays which will be called “hate crimes”.
 
The western Church especially will increasingly continue to be under attack by government, by the mentality of relativism, and by indifference.

I don’t think I’m being melodramatic. Public schools in the state of Massachusetts are now bound by law to teach five-year-olds that same-sex parents are okay. Due to a very recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, Catholic hospitals in the state of Connecticut are now required to provide contraceptives, and I think abortion services, in their employee health plans. Various Catholic institutions in some states no longer provide adoption services, because of state laws require them to consider placing children with same-gender couples. Which means Catholic institutions will have a harder time helping pregnant women find homes for their unwanted babies – making it more difficult to dissuade pregnant women from aborting their babies. Priests in Canada are afraid to speak out against the homosexual lifestyle, for fear of being arrested. Because of a new law in one European country, bishops can no longer legally remove priests from a parish when they’re contradicting Church teaching or living active homosexual or other lifestyles.

I have witnessed how fewer employers in the U.S. allow their workers “off time” during weekends to attend Mass. Freedom to express our faith has diminished.

I think the number of orthodox (“straight teaching”) clergy and laity will be smaller in 20-30 years. But I pray I am wrong.
 
Well things are already turning around for the better.

The hippie generation is dieing and the one coming up is far more conservative. Colleges are being exposed for there anti-conservative slant and are being forced to correct themselves.

Pro-Lifers and people against gay culture are starting to grow in number and influence. Laws are being passed to outlaw gay “marriage”. In Canada the people are so sick of this there voting in conservative parties.

An in our own camps our separated brethren are starting to fix some of there issues.

One thing I’m hoping for is a Christian version of the ACLU.

Yes I know there is the ACLJ but all they ever do is ask for money.

Seriously ACLU will ask for funding. But they’ll also tell you who to write or call on any given issue whereas the ACLJ just wants donations period. But that’s for another time.

Seriously I think this will go down in history as being like the Penal times on a more massive scale. We came to the brink but the remnant returned.

Well unless there is something to the prophecy of the next Pope being the last one lol then things really WILL be better for Catholicism in short order.
 
I think it largely depends on individual faithfulness and holiness. I think that The Lord works in a place where there is anyone who is being completely faithjful to Him and His Church. More so when it’s priests.
 
In some areas I see a resurgence of a return to orthodoxy and growth, and in some I see a decline. It all depends, I suppose, on the area. One thing is certain, unless we pray, pray, pray, and sacrifice, it will decline. I have heard it said from more than one seminarian that in discerning for the priesthood, the thought surfaced; “What are they to think that in the midst of the most monumental sex scandal ever to rock The Church, I am going into the priesthood?” I remember quoting a verse from the gospel of John to the potential deserters; Jesus said to His Apostles; “Do you want to leave me as well?” Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." I would then say to them, “And where shall we go? This is the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church with the WHOLE truth. Not just SOME of it or MOST of it, the WHOLE TRUTH. Where else shall we go?”

In 20 or 30 yrs…??? I think we have a lot of praying to do.
 
LDNCatholic said:
Personally I think it will shrink in Western Europe and North America, while growing in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It will probably keep the same leanings it has now. Hopefully within 20-30 years the cure for AIDS will have been developed and distibuted, allowing the Church to maintain it’s stance on contraceptives.
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Sorry to be picky, but “probably”? “allowing”? The Church’s “stance” or “leanings” re contraception and all other moral and doctrinal issues are fixed and will remain the same forever regardless of whether a cure is ever found for AIDS. Of course I pray that a cure will be found, but this will have no effect on Church doctrine.
I also think we will see an African or Latino pope, which, God Willing, will lead to the Church as a whole having a greater focus of charity and humanitarian efforts.
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I pray that we see an African and/or Latino pope too, but it’s racist to assume that the Church’s focus on charity and humanitarianism (which could hadly be any greater than it aloready is) is a function of the Pope’s race.

To the OP and others, please don’t misapply political terms like “liberal” and “conservative” to the Church. The Church is not a political party. I think you mean to ask if the Church’s members will be “more orthodox” or “less orthodox”.
 
I think its good to look at the current situation, even though we may look with dismay upon it.
Here is a commentary on one group within the church: families with adolescents

The National Study for Youth and Religion, states that, without a doubt, children are most influenced in their religious and spiritual behaviors based upon their parents’ religious and spiritual behaviors. Youth ministry is a wonderful place for young people (when the family schedule allows) to become better Catholics. Parents are keenly aware and invested in every aspect of their child’s life and youth ministry is that unknown option that works if family harmony is not disrupted. We are still stuck in a paradigm that targets the “good” youth, extracts them from their families, secludes them in a youth room, and teaches them about Christian leadership apart from the worshipping community. Youth are reluctant to make such a decision because of what their parents might think of them. Facilitating youth to encounter Jesus Christ would do serious damage to parent’s plans for them. We take them to rallies and conferences and expect them to make a radical decision to follow Christ- to be true adults and owners of their Christian faith- and these youth stare at us blankly because they know their baseball coach and hovering parents will not allow “God stuff” to interfere.
Catholic parents see themselves embodying the mystery of the Catholic faith while remaining physically detached from the institution- and their children are following suite. They are neither rebellious nor indifferent. They have put their own faithfulness ahead of what their own parents taught them about what it means to be a true Catholic. They simply view faithfulness in the daily routine on family life. In fact, these parents believe that they are becoming more church every day through sacrifice and prayer for their kids while at the same time moving farther away from Sunday Mass. They accept the ideals of the church and generally agree with church teaching, but left to use their own judgment in daily decisions. They believe the institutional church exists as a sacramental gas station. And why should they think any different when Confirmation prep is really a holding cell of catechesis that ends in a ceremony that looks and feels like graduation? Finding their basic faith experiences in the course of daily life, their irregular Mass attendance is an attempt to make a connection to daily life. And when Mass does not speak to their minds and hearts, they feel even more detached. And since our church glamorizes intellectual conversion, true faith can be found by reading the right book or listening to right Catholic apologist.
So, what is a solution?
Stop doing youth-centered programming. As the pastoral plan Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us explains “the parish is curriculum.” If we want parents and youth to discover what it means to be Catholic and do Catholic things, we must facilitate that authentic encounter with Jesus Christ and His church that reaches them where they are now, not necessarily where we want them to be in twenty years. We are still determining faithfulness as a measurable external activity based on regular attendance for both children and parents. We must encourage and model that we, as a church, value their time and talent rather than their passive existence. In other words, how we worship, pray, care for the poor, celebrate socially, baptize infants, bury the dead, and welcome at the door communicate more than a systematic catechetical program. Moreover, outside gathered church functions, the Catholic faith needs to present and relevant in the daily routine of family life- in the car ride, at the restaurant, in the negotiation of vacation, in the football bleachers, in the spousal argument and in the two minute cell-phone conversation at midnight.
 
I believe the Church will continue to grow world wide. People are seeing a need for and are indeed hungry for a deep faith filled spiritual renewal. The more you see the Church attacked, remember, the wolf does not attack the false sheep.
Deacon Ed B
 
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