So many Catholics leaving the church

[FaithfulKnight]

There’s no one reason, it varies from one individual to another. But here’s some reasons:

1. Many Catholics have not been grounded in Catholic doctrine. They don’t know what they are missing, because they have only the slightest awareness of the sacraments, Catholic Tradition, the role of Mary and the saints, and the Mass.
2. Evangelical churches tend to focus on small groups, and building interpersonal relationships. Most Catholic parishes fail to do that, even though we’re the ones who invented that strategy. Read about St. Francis de Sales, and others.
3. The non-denominational churches focus heavily on young adults. In my diocese, most Catholic activities are, in effect, for seniors. A few Catholic activities are for parents or children. Practically no Catholic sponsored activities are mainly for young adults.
   Part of the reason is that “the squeaky wheel gets the most grease”. The seniors are the “squeaky wheel”, at least in my Catholic diocese. That’s why nearby parishes with only a few hundred parishioners - almost all seniors - were kept open in spite of the priest shortage, while there was no effort to set aside clergy or lay staff specifically for young adult ministry.
4. We live in the “Me generation”. People say “I need to go where I’m going to be fed”. The whole idea of dying to self, of the call to take up one’s cross, is unpopular. Catholic (and Protestant) churches that preach the cross are losing people.
5. Evangelical and non-denominational churches and organizations tend to be far ahead of us in the use of media - radio, TV, and now, social media. I like my fellow Knights of Columbus, but my very large Council almost never uses the internet; everybody thinks in terms of “the good old days”. We aren’t attracting the young men, but the non denominational churches sure are.

The solution is prayer. After we pray, then we need to come up with solutions.

I like your post. Especially number 4, we are in a world that is all about “ME”. If whatever I’m doing does not please “ME” ,even if its something related to God then I’m not doing it.

I also feel that in todays society if it places to much of a burden and distracts from ME being ME then we simply put it aside.
I think I remember hearing once that being Catholic was not meant to be easy.
Putting a little effort into anything can reap great reward.

 

[Vitalina]

On the plus side, the Catholic Church is experiencing tremendous growth in some areas of the world, particularly in certain regions of Asia and Africa. There are also some individual parishes and dioceses in the West that are experiencing significant growth.

Additionally, I read in a book that the Catholic Church in the USA actually has a retention rate of 68%, meaning 68% of cradle Catholics still practice the faith when they’re older. This is higher than most Protestant groups but lower than the retention rates of Hindus, Amish, Mormons, and Jews. What the Protestants are much more successful at is gaining converts to replace the members they lose. According to the book, the bigger (though equally important) problem facing the Catholic Church in America is recruiting new members as opposed to retaining current members. With that being said, there are still 22 million self-identified ex-Catholics in the U.S., and we should pray for them to come back.

The anti-Catholicism from some groups probably isn’t helping. There are certain Christian and non-Christian groups that accuse Catholics of being evil and unsaved and have a tendency to twist the truth of what we actually teach. A lot of poorly-catechized Catholics will believe them and leave for other religions. Some of these groups are targeting predominantly-Catholic countries in Latin America and Europe by sending missionaries to these places. As a result, certain forms of Christianity are growing rapidly in these countries, and a lot of this growth comes from Catholics leaving Catholicism to join the churches of the missionaries.

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was deeply involved in the RCIA process at our parish and the diocesan level. At that time a study was published showing that more Catholics were leaving the Church for other denominations than converts we were attracting. (Not good)

I was asked to join a diocesan study group and determine why this was happening. We interviewed unhappy Catholics, ex-Catholics, clergy, (Catholic and non-Catholic) and new Catholic converts. It took 10 months and the most striking bit of information we discovered was:

• The reasons Catholics left the Church included, rejection of Church teaching about contraception, abortion, homosexuality, death penalty, “new Mass”, women priests, the necessity of confession, music issues and a desire for more lay (name removed by moderator)ut into the operation of parishes. There were more issues but it boiled down to the definition of “Cafeteria Catholic”.

The real shocker was the response of the new converts. We asked why they left their church and became Catholic. Everyone gave the same answer…Salvation.

My personal conclusion is that I would rather gain “quality” and lose “Quantity”.

 

[Jeanne_S]

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was deeply involved in the RCIA process at our parish and the diocesan level. At that time a study was published showing that more Catholics were leaving the Church for other denominations than converts we were attracting. (Not good)

I was asked to join a diocesan study group and determine why this was happening. We interviewed unhappy Catholics, ex-Catholics, clergy, (Catholic and non-Catholic) and new Catholic converts. It took 10 months and the most striking bit of information we discovered was:

• The reasons Catholics left the Church included, rejection of Church teaching about contraception, abortion, homosexuality, death penalty, “new Mass”, women priests, the necessity of confession, music issues and a desire for more lay (name removed by moderator)ut into the operation of parishes. There were more issues but it boiled down to the definition of “Cafeteria Catholic”.

The real shocker was the response of the new converts. We asked why they left their church and became Catholic. Everyone gave the same answer…Salvation.

My personal conclusion is that I would rather gain “quality” and lose “Quantity”.

I agree.It sounds as though the disaffected Catholics were out rightly rejecting the Catholic faith on every level. Interestingly,those who come into the faith,usually do do after much reading and research.They convert for all the reasons Cafateria Catholics leave the faith.

 

[chero23]

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was deeply involved in the RCIA process at our parish and the diocesan level. At that time a study was published showing that more Catholics were leaving the Church for other denominations than converts we were attracting. (Not good)

I was asked to join a diocesan study group and determine why this was happening. We interviewed unhappy Catholics, ex-Catholics, clergy, (Catholic and non-Catholic) and new Catholic converts. It took 10 months and the most striking bit of information we discovered was:

• The reasons Catholics left the Church included, rejection of Church teaching about contraception, abortion, homosexuality, death penalty, “new Mass”, women priests, the necessity of confession, music issues and a desire for more lay (name removed by moderator)ut into the operation of parishes. There were more issues but it boiled down to the definition of “Cafeteria Catholic”.

The real shocker was the response of the new converts. We asked why they left their church and became Catholic. Everyone gave the same answer…Salvation.

My personal conclusion is that I would rather gain “quality” and lose “Quantity”.

Wow this is mind blowing information but I do think a lot of people who I have heard come into the Church say, I was missing the whole pie. At my other church I only had a slice, but here I have the whole pie, if I follow the rules, Which is salvation.

Sure people want to be entertained, others leave because of divorce, gay marriages, abortion, but they leave for selfishness not because of strong theological reasons.

 

[Ositokc]

Almost all of my Catholic friends have not left the church, but in the eyes of many they have been labeled Cafeteria Catholics and not true Catholics for 3 main issues that are always talked about here:

Gay Marriage/Homosexuality

Birth Control

Masturbation

yes, the big “3” sexual “sins” that almost all the Catholics I know don’t consider sins. This is from my personal observation. And of course the younger generation is following suit and losing interest in any religion which considers the above mortal sins/wrong/etc…

 

[chero23]

Almost all of my Catholic friends have not left the church, but in the eyes of many they have been labeled Cafeteria Catholics and not true Catholics for 3 main issues that are always talked about here:

Gay Marriage/Homosexuality

Birth Control

Masturbation

yes, the big “3” sexual “sins” that almost all the Catholics I know don’t consider sins. This is from my personal observation. And of course the younger generation is following suit and losing interest in any religion which considers the above mortal sins/wrong/etc…

Which goes with the ME ideology.

 

[Colorad007]

Sure people want to be entertained, others leave because of divorce, gay marriages, abortion, but they leave for selfishness not because of strong theological reasons.

Plenty of people leave for churches that at least appear more committed to marriage and life than some Catholic parishes. It is a striking indictment of contemporary Catholic life that people are finding in Protestant churches an unapologetic defense of life and marriage that plenty of Catholics only dream of from their parishes.

 

[commenter]

Plenty of people leave for churches that at least appear more committed to marriage and life than some Catholic parishes. It is a striking indictment of contemporary Catholic life that people are finding in Protestant churches an unapologetic defense of life and marriage that plenty of Catholics only dream of from their parishes.

This was occasionally true a few decades ago, less so now. The turnover in bishops has brought prolife and the sanctity of marriage to a much higher profile in most dioceses than it had 20 or 30 years ago. Even if you go to a liberal parish now where the pastor preaches from the gospel of Huffington Post, you probably are aware this is a dissenting parish, not basic Catholicism. You may seek out a faithful Catholic parish.

Churches like the Assemblies of God, Southern Baptists, and others deserve credit for
upholding Life, Marriage, and other core issues, sometimes better than some Catholic parishes at times. But even they have stopped their rapid growth in the US, as people are drifting to the non denominational churches. Those tend to favor Life, and Marriage, but don’t proclaim this, or any doctrine too much. The non-denominational churches in my area offer programs for weight loss, support for families of substance abusers, survivors groups for sex abuse victims, and multiple other practical helps. What doctrine they do teach seems ok, they just don’t teach much doctrine. In the long run, that will hurt people.

 

[CaliLobo]

As a former Protestant I am well-versed in this issue. I have posted on the topic of why people are much more drawn to Protestant churches. I will post again here. I await your thoughtful replies.

Catholics do well with administering the sacraments and building schools and hospitals. But that’s not enough. After all, isn’t church about the people, as well as the worship or the sacraments? Aren’t the relationships between these people crucial to building a church?

Can we honestly say that the Mass and sacraments is enough? Is that all that Jesus did while he was on earth?

Here’s what Protestants do better to foster community:

1. **Greeters **at the front door that talk to you. Yeah it’s annoying. But it at least shows they care. Don’t Catholics understand that RANDOM people enter the doors of a church, hoping to hear the voice of God? I know I’ve walked into a parish myself for this same reason. But no one even bothered to talk to me. For one moment, you can provide joy to a person who is in pain.
2. Small group ministries. In the same way that Jesus discipled a group of twelve, a church cannot just meet as one big group. Churches should also meet as smaller groups to create discipleship relationships, and to form community. The Bible, and life in general, is discussed. Friendships are formed, many deep. Study materials are used. Meals are eaten. Even parties and hangouts are organized. Most importantly, this provides the catechesis for ADULTS that Catholic churches lack. Because catechesis should not stop when you graduate Catholic high school. Do Catholics actually talk about how their spiritual journey is going with each other?

2A) **Easier for lay people to actively participate. **You want to lead one of these small groups? It is possible. You want to lead worship and play an instrument? It is possible. You want to be a greeter and pass out flyers? Work the sound system? Video editing? Website? Coffee? It is all possible.

1. Meal or hangout after the service. Promote this event as a community-building event, as a crucial part of building a church. Simple eh? But it makes a huge difference. I’ve been thinking of returning to the church I went to in 2008-09, because of the efforts they made to build community through this method. I still have very close friends from this church, who truly accept me for who I am. Unfortunately I had to leave, when I moved to Kansas in 2009.
2. **Developed college ministries. Because college is an onslaught of secular liberalism. **Protestants fight back. Do Catholics? No, I don’t mean just pro-life advocacy. How about building college ministries, with pastors or priests that are relatively young and can relate to this uneasy age? Who can talk about dating, friendship, studying, career, and growth? The uneasiness of emerging adulthood? Let’s aggressively market our ministry in college campuses. Let’s pass out flyers, and invite people to join. Let’s set up a table in the main walkway of campus. Let’s assertively invite college-age people to church. Let’s be an active beacon of counterargument against secular liberalism.

4A) Why stop at college campuses? Why not go to malls and stores, and pass out Bibles? Why not just flat out approach strangers, and ask them if we can talk to them about God? Isn’t saving people the most important job of all, the Great Commission?? For Protestants, evangelism is paramount. But I don’t see Catholics even passing out the Bible or the Catechism, anywhere!

1. Developed young adult services. (Though the trend is back toward age integration.) I still believe this has its usefulness, because once students graduate college, then what? Emerging adulthood is another uneasy time. And what better way to bring young people together? Maybe we can promote Christian marriages this way. I know, let’s modify the music. Soft rock, contemporary, hip-hop, let’s have it all. Let’s not make the liturgy so stuffy. Tradition should not get in the way of bringing people to church, and saving them.
2. **Pop culture. **Yeah, it’s lame. But look at how many Protestants have been affected by the greatest Protestant musicians like Steven Curtis Chapman. His concerts are ministries in themselves, and people join in and sing along, worshiping along with him. How many have been converted because of his inspiring music? Today, we have Hillsong. Hillsong churches and music are doing wonders for Protestantism around the world. Where is the Catholic equivalent?

 

[CaliLobo]

Post continued. I await your thoughtful replies. Thanks for reading.

1. Pastors in Protestant churches are more easily accessible. They have marriages and families, and live normal lives. They wear normal clothes. They don’t hide behind robes and black coats and collars. That is intimidating. They don’t hide behind their intellect either. That is intimidating. Many Protestant pastors do not have degrees; all they have is street knowledge and wisdom, and the ability to relate to people. That’s all you need. That’s all Jesus needed.
2. **RCIA is too much of a barrier to enter the church. It must start in the fall and conclude at Easter, with a period of Mystagogy? Why? **And it should be ongoing so anyone can access it at any time, why does it only start in the fall, and if you miss the deadline, you have to wait ONE YEAR? A parish can’t get even one person to commit to being available to help with a yearlong RCIA? In a Protestant church, we’ll baptize you today and deal with your spiritual development one step at a time.
3. **A better business mindset. **Protestants understand this costs money. A sizable minority tithes 10% of its income in Protestant churches. No wonder why they run circles when it comes to preaching, teaching, music, audio, video, TV, and missions. Look at the website of an Evangelical church compared to that of a Catholic parish. Whose is better?
4. Speaking of missions, Protestant missions run circles around Catholic missions. **Protestant churches make missions a priority. It is not relegated to the province of the clergy. ****Protestant churches encourage lay people to participate in missions, therefore boosting the spiritual growth of the lay. **Some of the most powerful testimonies are from lay people who have just come back from mission trips. Once again, Protestant churches are re-Christianizing Europe. What is the Catholic church doing to re-Christianize Europe? As an example, look at the website of the ministry I briefly worked with in Poland. You don’t need to understand Polish to get the idea. proem.pl/
5. Sports leagues, anyone? After all, people love sports. What better way to bring people together, to have them work together, get to know each other, and form friendships? We pray before the game too.
6. A culture of lay people informally ministering to one another. We are all saints and priests. Not just the clergy.
7. In general, Protestants have much more zeal about their faith than Catholics. Zeal is contagious, and brings new believers in.

It’s not all lost for the Catholic church. Check out what the diocese of Kansas City, MO is doing. Does your diocese have this many events for younger adults?

kansascityonahill.org/

 

[mountee]

There are also many Catholic teachings and traditions they simply reject.

For example. Many people really are ok with using contraception, or gays getting married. They know the Church’s teachings on these things, reject that teaching, and find a place where those things simply are not issues.

Of all of the people I know personally who have left the Church or have issues with our doctrine, your response post accurately reflects why they feel the way they do. They feel that a loving, caring God would never leave a gay person out of heaven for being gay, or keep a person who has a spouse divorce them from remarrying and participating in the faith and on and on. One thing I have noticed is that the secular world has win over their Catholic beliefs and the only left, unless I want to constantly argue, is to pray for them to reconsider and come home.

 

[commenter]

Post continued. I await your thoughtful replies. Thanks for reading.

1. Pastors in Protestant churches are more easily accessible. They have marriages and families, and live normal lives. They wear normal clothes. They don’t hide behind robes and black coats and collars. That is intimidating. They don’t hide behind their intellect either. That is intimidating. Many Protestant pastors do not have degrees; all they have is street knowledge and wisdom, and the ability to relate to people. That’s all you need. That’s all Jesus needed.
2. **RCIA is too much of a barrier to enter the church. It must start in the fall and conclude at Easter, with a period of Mystagogy? Why? **And it should be ongoing so anyone can access it at any time, why does it only start in the fall, and if you miss the deadline, you have to wait ONE YEAR? A parish can’t get even one person to commit to being available to help with a yearlong RCIA? In a Protestant church, we’ll baptize you today and deal with your spiritual development one step at a time.
3. **A better business mindset. **Protestants understand this costs money. A sizable minority tithes 10% of its income in Protestant churches. No wonder why they run circles when it comes to preaching, teaching, music, audio, video, TV, and missions. Look at the website of an Evangelical church compared to that of a Catholic parish. Whose is better?
4. Speaking of missions, Protestant missions run circles around Catholic missions. **Protestant churches make missions a priority. It is not relegated to the province of the clergy. ****Protestant churches encourage lay people to participate in missions, therefore boosting the spiritual growth of the lay. **Some of the most powerful testimonies are from lay people who have just come back from mission trips. Once again, Protestant churches are re-Christianizing Europe. What is the Catholic church doing to re-Christianize Europe? As an example, look at the website of the ministry I briefly worked with in Poland. You don’t need to understand Polish to get the idea. proem.pl/
5. Sports leagues, anyone? After all, people love sports. What better way to bring people together, to have them work together, get to know each other, and form friendships? We pray before the game too.
6. A culture of lay people informally ministering to one another. We are all saints and priests. Not just the clergy.
7. In general, Protestants have much more zeal about their faith than Catholics. Zeal is contagious, and brings new believers in.

It’s not all lost for the Catholic church. Check out what the diocese of Kansas City, MO is doing. Does your diocese have this many events for younger adults?

kansascityonahill.org/

response to post 30 and 31:

1. Greeters - RCs have these already, I agree could be more engaging
2. Small groups - I agree, we badly need this kind of thing; we could do a lot more!
   2A - I agree we need more lay involvement; but the great majority of time, pastors ask for volunteers, and few come forward
3. meal/social - we do this a little already; there may be more than you realize, especially as parishes have ancillary programs, a school, Boy Scouts, K of C, we could do more
   4, 5. outreach to colleges, and to young adults - yes, yes, yes, I agree with you, we are horribly behind in outreach to young adults!!
4. Pop culture - kind of iffy; the pop culture is far more secularized than it was a few decades ago; I hear you, but would be cautious here; we need to prepare people to convert that culture, they absorb it all too well on their own
5. I think you misunderstand the role of clergy/religious here, both Protestant and Catholic. This would take a lot of explanation, I’ll just point out Jesus kept his peeps in an intense seminary for 3 years. I’m sure they felt ready to go, based on their street knowlege, long before the 3 years was up. I wouldn’t assume someone who was well prepared is less “approachable”. Some need preparation, to learn how to be more approachable. And effective. It’s not enough for a clergy to just be accessible; they need the tools to be effective.
6. I agree RCIA can be a little rigid at times, it was never supposed to be an end in itself. But in many places a priest will train you individually, for entrance to the Church.
7. Maybe. I lack knowledge here.
8. Some Catholics do go on missions. We could do more.
9. More Sports? More SPORTS? You obviously have not had the experience of Catholicism that I have had, in most parts of the country, we do this a great deal.
10. informal lay ministry; ok, there may be more of this going on than you realize. Many parishes, especially those that have had prayer groups or similar, do this. Catholicism needs to reemphasize the family as the domestic church, then reaching out to neighbors, friends, etc
11. Need more zeal. Well, yeah. Me for instance.

You didn’t mention knowlege of, and fidelity to Christian doctrine. Protestant churches are sometimes ineffective in encouraging conversion, either because they abandon doctrine - the liberals - or they deemphasize doctrine, like the non-denominationals. Strong Catholic (and Protestant) parishes leading people towards salvation preach Christ, and Him crucified. But you have lots of good ideas; and zeal too!

 

[Sy_Noe]

Your point would be valid if sin was the most common topic in homilies but IME it sure isn’t. Lots of stuff about love and compassion and very little on morality some the pews I’ve sat in.

Her point is valid though for people with a different experience than the experience you’ve been blessed with. And then there are also experiences beyond the pew where sin is the emphasis.

 

[dronald]

I think one thing we can all agree on is that Catholics kicked our buts at Basketball in high-school growing up.

…or maybe that was just where I live.

 

[Randy_Carson]

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was deeply involved in the RCIA process at our parish and the diocesan level. At that time a study was published showing that more Catholics were leaving the Church for other denominations than converts we were attracting. (Not good)

I was asked to join a diocesan study group and determine why this was happening. We interviewed unhappy Catholics, ex-Catholics, clergy, (Catholic and non-Catholic) and new Catholic converts. It took 10 months and the most striking bit of information we discovered was:

• The reasons Catholics left the Church included, rejection of Church teaching about contraception, abortion, homosexuality, death penalty, “new Mass”, women priests, the necessity of confession, music issues and a desire for more lay (name removed by moderator)ut into the operation of parishes. There were more issues but it boiled down to the definition of “Cafeteria Catholic”.

The real shocker was the response of the new converts. We asked why they left their church and became Catholic. Everyone gave the same answer…Salvation.

My personal conclusion is that I would rather gain “quality” and lose “Quantity”.

The Catholic Church may have to get smaller and stronger in terms of each individual’s personal commitment to Jesus and to the Church before it gets bigger again. There’s a lot of dead wood clogging the river.

Here’s an analogy: If your white socks are dirty, you need bleach to get them clean again. But how much you add to the washer makes all the difference. If there is too little, the effect is diluted, and the socks stay dirty.

Similarly, any group’s message - the Church included - can get watered down by people who don’t really understand or agree with the agenda of the group. When that happens, time, money and other resources are wasted on folks who aren’t moving the group forward.

Ever wonder why a Navy Seal team can be so small yet so effective? Intense training, commitment and focus. In contrast, consider the effectiveness of Congress in getting anything done.

Which group do you think the Apostles and the Early Church resembled more closely?

 

[Magdalena59]

This is so puzzling to me. I have seen many, many Catholics who never were seen at Mass leave for other denominations, where they seem so enthusiastic. How to explain this?

It is true that many people leave the Catholic Church but just as many or maybe more return to the Catholic church.

I myself am a revert and have been in both protestant and evangelical churches and I will say first of all that many of the protestant and evangelicals that are there are church hopping their ownselves. In our community there are 4 - 5 evangelical churches and attendance numbers tend to increase depending on sermon subjects and if there are NO building projects underway because when building projects are happening people move. One family I knew tried 31 different protestant churches searching for the truth. I searched through many my ownself before God led me home.

Also, I have since returning to the Catholic faith assisted in RCIA and there is a great number of protestants and evangelicals coming into the Catholic faith. A great show to watch to see how God is working on brining people home to the Catholic faith is Journey Home with Marcus Grodi. His website also has many conversion and reversion stories.

Our Cathedral is full every year with many, many coming into the Church, new members and reverts completing their sacraments.

Perhaps one of the reasons people leave is lack of knowledge, of truly knowing God is in the tabernacle. Their belief is they can find salvation somewhere else and perhaps being deceived into believing that once saved always saved is true appeals to them. I can say that was my reason. If you don’t know what you are leaving it is easy to become deceived into thinking you will find the true faith elsewhere but after leaving we find we are missing the true Christ. The confusion in the protestant churches causes people to realize they need to return home and many do.

I know many protestants who have left the protestant faith and come home to the Catholic church.

 

[Magdalena59]

---

1. **Greeters ******at the front door that talk to you. Yeah it’s annoying. But it at least shows they care. Don’t Catholics understand that RANDOM people enter the doors of a church, hoping to hear the voice of God? I know I’ve walked into a parish myself for this same reason. But no one even bothered to talk to me. For one moment, you can provide joy to a person who is in pain.
2. Small group ministries. In the same way that Jesus discipled a group of twelve, a church cannot just meet as one big group. Churches should also meet as smaller groups to create discipleship relationships, and to form community. The Bible, and life in general, is discussed. Friendships are formed, many deep. Study materials are used. Meals are eaten. Even parties and hangouts are organized. Most importantly, this provides the catechesis for ADULTS that Catholic churches lack. Because catechesis should not stop when you graduate Catholic high school. Do Catholics actually talk about how their spiritual journey is going with each other?

2A) **Easier for lay people to actively participate. **You want to lead one of these small groups? It is possible. You want to lead worship and play an instrument? It is possible. You want to be a greeter and pass out flyers? Work the sound system? Video editing? Website? Coffee? It is all possible.

1. Meal or hangout after the service. Promote this event as a community-building event, as a crucial part of building a church. Simple eh? But it makes a huge difference. I’ve been thinking of returning to the church I went to in 2008-09, because of the efforts they made to build community through this method. I still have very close friends from this church, who truly accept me for who I am. Unfortunately I had to leave, when I moved to Kansas in 2009.
2. **Developed college ministries. Because college is an onslaught of secular liberalism. **Protestants fight back. Do Catholics? No, I don’t mean just pro-life advocacy. How about building college ministries, with pastors or priests that are relatively young and can relate to this uneasy age? Who can talk about dating, friendship, studying, career, and growth? The uneasiness of emerging adulthood? Let’s aggressively market our ministry in college campuses. Let’s pass out flyers, and invite people to join. Let’s set up a table in the main walkway of campus. Let’s assertively invite college-age people to church. Let’s be an active beacon of counterargument against secular liberalism.

4A) Why stop at college campuses? Why not go to malls and stores, and pass out Bibles? Why not just flat out approach strangers, and ask them if we can talk to them about God? Isn’t saving people the most important job of all, the Great Commission?? For Protestants, evangelism is paramount. But I don’t see Catholics even passing out the Bible or the Catechism, anywhere!

1. Developed young adult services. (Though the trend is back toward age integration.) I still believe this has its usefulness, because once students graduate college, then what? Emerging adulthood is another uneasy time. And what better way to bring young people together? Maybe we can promote Christian marriages this way. I know, let’s modify the music. Soft rock, contemporary, hip-hop, let’s have it all. Let’s not make the liturgy so stuffy. Tradition should not get in the way of bringing people to church, and saving them.
2. **Pop culture. **Yeah, it’s lame. But look at how many Protestants have been affected by the greatest Protestant musicians like Steven Curtis Chapman. His concerts are ministries in themselves, and people join in and sing along, worshiping along with him. How many have been converted because of his inspiring music? Today, we have Hillsong. Hillsong churches and music are doing wonders for Protestantism around the world. Where is the Catholic equivalent?

You have a lot of issues here I will try to address some.

We have greeters also and perhaps the reason there isn’t a lot of conversation when walking into a Catholic church is because when entering you are to remember you are entering the presence of God and many people are in prayer and a lot of conversation is distracting, though I haven’t seen a parish yet where people don’t gather after Mass and socialize. I have also known the greeters to be friendly and smiling and welcoming.

1. There are many Catholic churches that offer Bible studies and social groups. I was able to attend two Bible studies this fall and received a phone call inviting me to a third. You have to look around. There are many activities Catholics can get involved in. It is true the small group that happens in evangelical churches doesn’t happen in Catholic churches as much but there is still usually something happening. Also not all protestant churches have the small group happening. Many times in Catholic churches and mainline protestant churches you will still find the mens groups, womens groups or other opportunities to fellowship in doing good works. Also, soup kitchens are a great way to fellowship.
2. Catholic churches have times of refreshment many times after Mass or picnics in the summer, spaghetti dinners, fish fries during Lent and more. They set up booths at fairs also. There are many ways to get involved.
3. Newman Centers, Catholic Campus ministry and FOCUS
4. Check out all the apologists online, internet ministries, Catholic Answers. How about all the Sisters working in hospitals and missionary settings all around the world. Just because they are not at the mall doesn’t mean they are not out there working. You, yourself can pass out tracts and Bibles. Many Catholic homeschooling families have ministries and apostolates.
5. The music is meant to praise and worship, not to entertain. Not everyone likes rock and hip hop.

 

[Magdalena59]

Post continued. I await your thoughtful replies. Thanks for reading.

1. Pastors in Protestant churches are more easily accessible. They have marriages and families, and live normal lives. They wear normal clothes. They don’t hide behind robes and black coats and collars. That is intimidating. They don’t hide behind their intellect either. That is intimidating. Many Protestant pastors do not have degrees; all they have is street knowledge and wisdom, and the ability to relate to people. That’s all you need. That’s all Jesus needed.
2. **RCIA is too much of a barrier to enter the church. It must start in the fall and conclude at Easter, with a period of Mystagogy? Why? **And it should be ongoing so anyone can access it at any time, why does it only start in the fall, and if you miss the deadline, you have to wait ONE YEAR? A parish can’t get even one person to commit to being available to help with a yearlong RCIA? In a Protestant church, we’ll baptize you today and deal with your spiritual development one step at a time.
3. **A better business mindset. **Protestants understand this costs money. A sizable minority tithes 10% of its income in Protestant churches. No wonder why they run circles when it comes to preaching, teaching, music, audio, video, TV, and missions. Look at the website of an Evangelical church compared to that of a Catholic parish. Whose is better?
4. Speaking of missions, Protestant missions run circles around Catholic missions. **Protestant churches make missions a priority. It is not relegated to the province of the clergy. ****Protestant churches encourage lay people to participate in missions, therefore boosting the spiritual growth of the lay. **Some of the most powerful testimonies are from lay people who have just come back from mission trips. Once again, Protestant churches are re-Christianizing Europe. What is the Catholic church doing to re-Christianize Europe? As an example, look at the website of the ministry I briefly worked with in Poland. You don’t need to understand Polish to get the idea. proem.pl/
5. Sports leagues, anyone? After all, people love sports. What better way to bring people together, to have them work together, get to know each other, and form friendships? We pray before the game too.
6. A culture of lay people informally ministering to one another. We are all saints and priests. Not just the clergy.
7. In general, Protestants have much more zeal about their faith than Catholics. Zeal is contagious, and brings new believers in.

It’s not all lost for the Catholic church. Check out what the diocese of Kansas City, MO is doing. Does your diocese have this many events for younger adults?

kansascityonahill.org/

1. Priests are always available in the sacrament of reconciliation and you can always call a priest if you need to talk to him and only he can give the sacrament of the last rites when called. I don’t know what you mean that they hide behind their intellect. There are all different types of personalities, in both protestant and Catholic churches. Some more outgoing than others but I am glad to know the priest has studied the faith before he tries to teach it to us. I think most priests are welcoming and there is a reason for their attire because they are of the priesthood instituted by Christ.
2. It has always been historical that people were brought into the church at Easter. Historically catechumens used to attend a lot longer RCIA. Some protestant Lutheran churches it is longer. At all the parishes I can think of we have the same people helping with RCIA and they continue through the whole year. There are probably issues with RCIA but having to quit the program because people don’t continue helping out isn’t one I have seen.
3. The Catholic church is the largest charitable organization there is.
4. That one is just incorrect. Again the Catholic church is the largest charitable organization, is the only denomination that can say it has missionaries all around the world because it is the only denomination that is universal. As do many Catholic churches around the world. There are many opportunities for Catholic lay missionaries. Just google it.
5. Catholics pray before sporting events also.
6. It is true we are all called to be saints, something we must work toward but as Hebrews 7 tells us Jesus instituted a new priesthood. A New Testament priesthood. These are men who stand in persona Christi. These are men who were called specifically to follow the role of the apostles. I think as you come more into the Catholic faith you will find many people who can inspire you but not all are called to do what the priests do.

Of course it is not all lost for the Catholic faith. Jesus promised his church would prevail against the attacks of hell.

I hope you continue in your RCIA and come to see there are many opportunities in the Catholic faith and many people are coming home. I also hope you continue to study more than just what you find in the RCIA. There is a wealth of info out there.

Also, welcome. I truly hope you stay. As one ex-protestant to another, the Catholic church is the greatest place to be and the only place Christ is in the tabernacle waiting for us.

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

Post continued. I await your thoughtful replies. Thanks for reading.

Sorry, Cali, but most of your points are nice, feel good, social programs. I know many of the local teenagers who go to the protestant church to participate in their teen social activities “because it’s fun”.

Likewise, pot lucks are fine. It’s fun to get together. It’s nice to join such things…but unless there is spiritual direction…they are all just social events.