*Scott Hahn, the Catholic convert, said that if people realised the tremendous value of the Eucharist they would be there every day. If the priest was handing out $100 bills there would be endless queues around the Church continually - yet the Eucharist is immeasurably more valuable and yet… *
*We need to challenge our priests.
He celebrated his 25 year anniversary as a priest a couple of years ago. We are an all-black parish. We have had priests of Ghana, Nigeria, the UK, and both white and black American priests and this is the first time we have had these kinds of problems. The people at our church are usually very fond of our priests (the last priest–who was also from Ghana–said he was gaining too much weight because people were always feeding him). We had always had a reasonably large parish, but it was one of the white priests who really took the church to the next level. After a couple of years of him, we went from a reasonably large parish to a standing-room-only parish.
Nope. The priest before him was also from Ghana. We are used to having priests from different cultures (we are a black parish BTW) so it was not unusual for us to have a priest who was African, white, black, etc.
Indeed. Be it music, or homilies/sermons. These can be things which may be of importance to the spiritual needs of many.
When I attend Catholic Mass, rarely do I not hear abortion mentioned. I’d like to hear a bit more about the poor, war, the lack of adequate affordable healthcare for so many. To name a few. I think this ties into the view of some in the original post in regard to their becoming lapsed due to the political. I find lots of emphasis on conservative political issues today within Catholicism. Abortion, gay marriage, stem cells and other conservative ideas. We see it here on the forum everyday. It’s not that hard for me to understand why those lapsed for political reasons could come to believe the Catholic Church is an arm of the Republican Party in the US for instance or of other conservative parties around the world. Peace.
I think one thing the faithful might do good to remember is that for these lapsed Catholics each of their reasons is a valid reason for them. I don’t see how it helps to make light of them.
Conservative ideas, or doctrines of faith? Have fun trying to change Catholic doctrines of faith from those pesky conservative ideas.
Abortion, fetal stem cell research, cloning, same sex marriage, and euthanasia are all condemned as intrisically moral evils by the Catholic Church.
You are remain silent, stop judging, and watch quietly as principle gives way to efficacy and expediency.
I do have to say that the one knock I have against Catholicism in general, particularly American parishes, is that they do not welcome you in to the fold. When I was worshipping with a Baptist congregation years ago, as I approached the church, greeters were there and they knew that I wasn’t a member. They welcomed me, introduced themselves, showed us around, and (gasp) gave us the contact information of the pastor and member of the welcoming committee. After services were over, there was a social event in the gymnasium and we were welcomed by even more people. They really went out of their way to open their community up and made us feel welcome. Within a couple of visits, we were invited over for dinner at a couple of homes, etc… I have never had this happen in any Catholic community I have been a part of. It was more like “Are you new? Here is the parish registration form. Your donation envelopes will be delivered to you in a couple of weeks.” If I wanted to be part of the community, I have to do out of my way to make it known that I am interested in stuff. I even contacted the parochial vicar several times about being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and I never heard back.
You are so right. I visited a Baptist service and a Church of Christ service some years ago, and I got the same reception you did - from each. They were genuinely welcoming. Not to say that there aren’t similar Catholic parishes, but they are FEW and FAR between.
Yeah… seen it. And you will hear, ‘It’s not about you, it’s about the Eucharist.’ But that is one reason we are losing people to Evangelicals.
What about people who were directly involved? I had a (well loved by the parish) priest try to rape me when I was younger. When I brought it up to archbishop, he blew me off, and said “I must have had it coming.” Then they “accidently” gave out my full name in the state Catholic newspaper.
And the parishioners were not very nice to me. I was attacked by men who thought I was now “easy” and women would throw garbage at me. So I can’t even go by a Catholic Church without wanting to cry or be sick. So going to Mass is right out. The last time I tried to go to Mass I ended up crying for hours. And I’ve tried going back, but the memory of it always comes back. And I’ve been to therapy, but nothing will make the memory go away.