New Data on Trends within the Catholic Church in the U.S.

[OriginalJS]

As noted by others, much of this almost seems be design. When your ONLY scehduled confession time is smack dab in the middle of the only totally free day most people have in their lives, you are sending a message: buzz off.

By contrast, the parish where my kids go to school has daily morning mass at 8:00am. Confession is available beforehand starting at 7:30 (and since they have 3 priests in the parish, the confessional stays open until the line is gone). It’s not uncommon for there still to be a line after mass is done. This is EVERY weekday, mind you!

Want to increase the confession participation of catholics? OFFER it at a time people can make it.

This hits the nail on the head. There should be confessionals, there should be a priest available for reasonable amount of time at reasonable hours, and one should not have to make an appointment to go to confession. I think few go to confession because the church doesn’t emphasize it.

 

[OriginalJS]

I have never understood the rationale for the attacks on Vatican II. Is it not the height of presumption for Catholics to imply that John XXIII and his successors, that all the participating clergy, in short the Magisterium, didn’t know what they were doing? Aren’t we supposed to accept the teaching of the Church? Isn’t sniping at Vatican II really a stubborn refusal to accept the teaching authority of the Church. If I am wrong about this, I’m sure someone will straighten me out.

 

[Elizabeth502]

I have never understood the rationale for the attacks on Vatican II. Is it not the height of presumption for Catholics to imply that John XXIII and his successors, that all the participating clergy, in short the Magisterium, didn’t know what they were doing? Aren’t we supposed to accept the teaching of the Church? Isn’t sniping at Vatican II really a stubborn refusal to accept the teaching authority of the Church. If I am wrong about this, I’m sure someone will straighten me out.

Didn’t you know that only certain (fave) Popes, bishops, clergy really are the teaching authority of the Church, and others are “heretical”? That’s according to the --ahem-- lay “authorities” on CAF who received extremely poor catechesis if they think that the body of tradition and revelation began in 1978 (or 1478 ). Makes one wonder what are they teaching in RCIA these days? Or what they received in any other Catholic setting.

As you obviously see, but as too many CAF posters do not, the Church and its teachings are a continuum. It’s not as if the most contemporary documents are the only definitive ones, or what is most current “cancels” the past, as if you are refreshing/reloading your web browser.
Peace to you
E.

 

[Dale_M]

We “go on” about Vatican II because it did the exact opposite of renewing the Church.

That is an interesting claim. May I ask how old you are?

How much awareness did you have of the Church, locally, nationally and internationally, in 1960?