"The Francis Effect"

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lvcabbie

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I read this on a news post this morning and it got me to thinking.

Has your parish seen an upward movement in those attending Mass and seeking further involvement because of Pope Francis?

I ask because it appears there does seem to be some increase in attendance and a firmer stance to claim ones faith due to words and actions of Pope Francis.
 
lvcabbie said:
I read this on a news post this morning and it got me to thinking.

Has your parish seen an upward movement in those attending Mass and seeking further involvement because of Pope Francis?

I ask because it appears there does seem to be some increase in attendance and a firmer stance to claim ones faith due to words and actions of Pope Francis.
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Jury is out whether there is any sort of ‘Francis Effect’. No upward swing, but no downward slope either.

I personally don’t think it exists. At my parish attendance has been steady, and seminarians exploded during the Benedict pontificate.

nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/2015/03/beginnings-of-francis-correction-and.html
 
I haven’t seen any real increase in confession lines, though I understand at first there was a surge.
 
Pope Francis has certainly been having an effect on non-Catholics. I’ve seen even my most ardent atheist friends speak of him with some admiration.
 
Our parish has seen an increase in attendance at Mass but a decrease in people coming to Confession and Adoration in the last year or year and a half. I hesitate to attribute either to Pope Francis. 🤷
 
The parishes I visit have more of a “Weather Effect” or “Calendar Effect”.
 
lvcabbie said:
I read this on a news post this morning and it got me to thinking.

Has your parish seen an upward movement in those attending Mass and seeking further involvement because of Pope Francis?

I ask because it appears there does seem to be some increase in attendance and a firmer stance to claim ones faith due to words and actions of Pope Francis.
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My parish has had an up and down in attendance but it has absolutely nothing to do with Pope Francis. We have our own little parish issues.
 
Corki said:
Our parish has seen an increase in attendance at Mass but a decrease in people coming to Confession and Adoration in the last year or year and a half. I hesitate to attribute either to Pope Francis. 🤷
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IA downswing in confession might be the glass half full or half empty kinda thing.

Perhaps fewer people are receiving the sacrament of reconciliation because Pope Francis has encourage them to live a more righteous life, and they need the sacrament less often!
 
Neofight said:
Perhaps fewer people are receiving the sacrament of reconciliation because Pope Francis has encourage them to live a more righteous life, and they need the sacrament less often!
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On the contrary, it seems he has promoted confession by his own example, asking priests to hear more, and statements such as this notable one:

“The forgiveness of our sins is not something we can give ourselves. … the Christian community is the place where the Spirit is made present, who renews hearts in the love of God and makes all of the brethren one thing in Christ Jesus. That is why it is not enough to ask the Lord for forgiveness in one’s own mind and heart, but why instead it is necessary humbly and trustingly to confess one’s sins to a minister of the Church. In the celebration of this Sacrament, the priest represents not only God but also the whole community, who sees itself in the weakness of each of its members, who listens and is moved by his repentance, and who is reconciled with him, which cheers him up and accompanies him on the path of conversion and human and Christian growth. One might say: I confess only to God. Yes, you can say to God “forgive me” and say your sins, but our sins are also committed against the brethren, and against the Church. That is why it is necessary to ask pardon of the Church, and of the brethren in the person of the priest.” - Pope Francis, Feb 19, 2014
 
Neofight said:
Perhaps fewer people are receiving the sacrament of reconciliation because Pope Francis has encourage them to live a more righteous life, and they need the sacrament less often!
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umm…don’t think so. The more righteous they become the more they should see their own faults and sins according to the spiritual fathers and the saints.
 
Pope Francis is single handedly neutralising the hostility towards the Church triggered by the pedophile priests. That is what I am noticing in the world in general especially among the cynical young.
 
I can’t say that’s anything I’ve noticed and would be wary if I had. There appears to be a large bit of misunderstanding over what Pope Francis has said and meant. Quotes have been cherry picked to make it appear Pope Francis is bringing a modernization to the church that hasn’t truthfully been indicated.

I’ve had several friends that have picked up that it is okay to be Gay in the Catholic Church now. That is far from what the Pope said or meant but they are victims of the media and their lack of follow up. It wouldn’t surprise me if some Catholics had come to the same or similar wrong conclusions.
 
St_Pancake said:
I’ve had several friends that have picked up that it is okay to be Gay in the Catholic Church now. That is far from what the Pope said or meant but they are victims of the media and their lack of follow up. It wouldn’t surprise me if some Catholics had come to the same or similar wrong conclusions.
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I have had a couple of Catholic friends delighted because they think Francis approves Same-Sex Unions. Of course, he has said nothing of the sort.

They didn’t go to Church before Francis and, even with their misunderstanding, they aren’t going to Church now either.
 
LongingSoul said:
Pope Francis is single handedly neutralising the hostility towards the Church triggered by the pedophile priests. That is what I am noticing in the world in general especially among the cynical young.
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Those who hated the Catholic Church before still hate the Church even if they love Pope Francis. They think they can set the Pope against the Church (as if the two can be separated), and they hope that the Pope will one day renounce his Catholicism.
 
livingwordunity said:
Those who hated the Catholic Church before still hate the Church even if they love Pope Francis. They think they can set the Pope against the Church (as if the two can be separated), and they hope that the Pope will one day renounce his Catholicism.
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We saw a beautiful demonstration of the changing attitudes towards the Church in our news yesterday. The night before last one of Melbournes oldest and most beautiful Catholic Church’s burned down. Although the internals were completely destroyed, the solid external structure remains intact. Sadly in that very Church over many years the parish priest had molested young people. Five of those have since committed suicide.

In a televised phone call to the news story one of our international movie stars from that area contemplated that out of the ashes comes new life. That the fire could possibly be regarded by victims as a cleansing thing through which new life could come. It was a lovely demonstration of how the media is changing away from using the ‘serves the Church right’ line and acknowledging that the sins of some do not condemn the whole Catholic Church.

This is a trend that’s emerging lately that actually bring me to tears at the witness of transformation under Pope Francis pacacy.
 
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