Major reasons why Catholics are returning to the Church in the USA

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I’m glad you had a great experience; mine has been lousy. I didn’t find any of the Catholic parishes around here at all welcoming, have found the communities more obsessed with ethnic traditions than genuine faith and devotion (it’s more about them than God), and when I read about the Orthodox Church and history, I’m not totally convinced that the CC is “Christ’s Original Church.” Orthodoxy seems more to fit that bill. Also RCIA was AWFUL! I never had any questions answered, had to find my own answers, the priest was incredibly banal and rude, and there was no follow-up or interaction afterward. NFP was also a horrendous experience. I also don’t like Catholic media very much. Father Corapi is about it and even he is suspended right now…
mcrow said:
I’m not sure exactly why but here’s my thoughts as a newly confirmed Catholic:

#1- I found the Church to be very welcoming.

#2- I fouind the Church to be much more “modern” than most people think. By this I mean that the teachings are not outdated, in fact I found that they are exactly what we need right now.

#3- I came to realize that this is the Church that was Started by Jesus himself and passed down over the years to our current Church leadership. IMO, if I was going to become Christian this was the best source.

#4- RCIA. I loved the program that taught me what it meant to be Catholic and to welcome me into the Communty.

#5- Community. I feel that by being Catholic I’m part of a greater thing. It’s not just about my faith, not just about my Church, it’s about the millions and millions of others around the world with the same Faith as me. I can go anywhere in the world an attend church and feel like I belong there. All Catholics in the world are my brothers and sisters in faith.

#5- Tradition. Going back to #3, many, many, many years of experience, theology and tradition. Nobody has a greater knowledge of the Christian Faith than the Catholic Church does, IMO. I may not understand all of the rules and theology but I feel I can trust some of the greatest minds in Christianity who are blessed by God to lead us.

#6- Family. I think the Catholic faith is increadibly centered around the family and I love that.

#7- The richness and depth of the faith and church. I’m convinced now that I can spend the rest of my life studying and not know more than 50% of the total make up of the church and our faith. All of the difference groups involved, prayers, traditions.

These are the things that I find very attractive about the faith.

As to what got me to start looking:

#1- Internet sites like this. Without CA, I probably wouldn’t have looked much further. My wife is a cradle Catholic, so I have to say that was the primary motivation but this site helped me more than anything decide if it was right for me.

#2- Catholic radio. I spend a ton of time in the car driving. Relevant Radio, EWTN and Sirius Catholic Radio have been huge in my conversion as well. I spend a good 15 hrs per week driving, so I get a lot from these sources.

So, I’d say for me that the more modern evangelization on radio and internet were probably the biggest reason.
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gurneyhalleck1 said:
I’m glad you had a great experience; mine has been lousy. I didn’t find any of the Catholic parishes around here at all welcoming, have found the communities more obsessed with ethnic traditions than genuine faith and devotion (it’s more about them than God), and when I read about the Orthodox Church and history, I’m not totally convinced that the CC is “Christ’s Original Church.” Orthodoxy seems more to fit that bill. Also RCIA was AWFUL! I never had any questions answered, had to find my own answers, the priest was incredibly banal and rude, and there was no follow-up or interaction afterward. NFP was also a horrendous experience. I also don’t like Catholic media very much. Father Corapi is about it and even he is suspended right now…
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I’m sad to hear that but from what I hear that’s not that norm. Some churches have more ethnic stuff but that’s because some churches are in a neighborhood dominated by one ethnic background or the other. IMO, it shows how well the church can adapt to local customs and isn’t a problem. I would doubt the church “is more about them than God”. Perhaps,they don’t do things that line up with your thinking but I doubt they are denying God.

We could argue this stuff on and on but Peter was the first pope. They didn’t call it “pope” in those days but he functioned the same way a pope does today and all of the popes from then on have been passed down from Peter. So, I have to disagree with you there.

Just so we don’t derail the thread, if you want to respond to me on the issue of the Apostolic Succession, just PM me. 👍
 
In these uncertain times the church will act as a liferaft. Seriously the modern atheistic society is “eating” itself. Relativism and so-called choice are actually increasing uncertainty. I myself feel uttery lost sometimes and the church is like a rock in a swirling ocean, only for which I would be utterly drowned in iniquity.
 
Here are the top 10 reasons people return according to Our Sunday Visitor poll.

It’s interesting if you look at the Poll taken by our Sunday Visitor the top 10 reasons for returning were:
  1. Because they want meaning in their life,
  2. Because childhood memories surface,
  3. Because they made mistakes,
  4. Because they need to forgive others,
  5. Because they want to be healed,
  6. Because the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth and grace,
  7. Because they want their children to have a faith foundation,
  8. Because they want to be part of a faith community,
  9. Because they want to help other people,
… AND …
  1. Because they hunger for the Eucharist.
 
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