Two More Illinois Catholic Agencies forced to shut down

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Sometimes I’d like to just move from Illinois–it seems hopeless here and things seem to just go from bad to worse. Yet, Christians are called to be living their lives right smack in the middle of the cesspool, so here is likely where I will stay.

Civil Unions…corrupt politicians…huge state income tax increases…legal persecution against Catholics…what’s next? 😦

Besides, where else can a Catholic go? Not long from now all of these things will be in all states (unless somehow the nation and its Catholics wake-up–not very from my own personal pov). 😦
 
To be honest i felt this way while living in NY (not the city) the diocese was rotten from the bishops down to the alterservers…in a diocese that had a couple hundred churches and a few hundred active and retired priests…id say that less than 5% even came close to the rules.
State sales tax plus county sales tax plus bottle deposit plus fuel surcharge puts a 99cent drink at $1.19 taxes on clothing, taxes on many legitimate food items. Laws discriminating against the poor, the old and the very young. Pot holes you could swim in, new roads to no where…brutally high car insurance even if you lived in the sticks.

i could never live there until they got it straightened out.

I now live in new england and its MUCH better. My 99 cent soda is just that. (actally i dont drink the nasty stuff) My car insurance covers a ton more for less than half. Gas is below the national average (more than 40 cents less a gal than NY)

i think this creates less tense people. I keep more of my money and can spend more and save more. It is difficult, though possible for a single person to live on a full time minimum wage job and be comfortable on their own.

Our current bishop is a lothesome crimimal…but most parishes 95-99% follw the ruberics and preach truth. And the bish is retring soon.

Basicaly what im saying is dont make yourself a maryter. There are other amazing states. I hear that atlanta and dc have grand catholic populations
 
irishpatrick said:
Sometimes I’d like to just move from Illinois–it seems hopeless here and things seem to just go from bad to worse. Yet, Christians are called to be living their lives right smack in the middle of the cesspool, so here is likely where I will stay.

Civil Unions…corrupt politicians…huge state income tax increases…legal persecution against Catholics…what’s next? 😦

Besides, where else can a Catholic go? Not long from now all of these things will be in all states (unless somehow the nation and its Catholics wake-up–not very from my own personal pov). 😦
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Yeah, but look at the value you get for those high taxes. Chicago Simeon, the high school that won the state 4A basketball championship this year and last year had 22% of its junior class meet the minimum stantard for reading, 9% for science, and only 8% for math. This is after some obscure state senator, Barak something, had millions of your tax dollars poured into the Chicago City Schools. How far could he go in politics with results like that?

My old high school ended the regular season undefeated and ranked #1, but has 99% of its graduates attend college and an average ACT composite test score of 28.4, the seventh straight year of scores at 28.0 or above. It is a Catholic school that spends about half as much money per student as the public schools. They have an unfair advantage–parents who actually give a ____ about their kids.

Even though there a lot of Catholics in Illinois, the 2010 election for the US Senate seat formerly held by President Obama, and not quite sold by a Catholic governor, featured candidates from both major parties with a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood.

I moved to Indiana in 1984. We have our share of problems also, but we are way ahead of you on the protection of marriage and the right to life.
 
Trader said:
Yeah, but look at the value you get for those high taxes. Chicago Simeon, the high school that won the state 4A basketball championship this year and last year had 22% of its junior class meet the minimum stantard for reading, 9% for science, and only 8% for math. This is after some obscure state senator, Barak something, had millions of your tax dollars poured into the Chicago City Schools. How far could he go in politics with results like that?

My old high school ended the regular season undefeated and ranked #1, but has 99% of its graduates attend college and an average ACT composite test score of 28.4, the seventh straight year of scores at 28.0 or above. It is a Catholic school that spends about half as much money per student as the public schools. They have an unfair advantage–parents who actually give a ____ about their kids.

Even though there a lot of Catholics in Illinois, the 2010 election for the US Senate seat formerly held by President Obama, and not quite sold by a Catholic governor, featured candidates from both major parties with a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood.

I moved to Indiana in 1984. We have our share of problems also, but we are way ahead of you on the protection of marriage and the right to life.
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It is really very, very difficult for faithful Catholics living in Illinois. I have a fairly large family here, so leaving is not easy just for that reason. Also, are we supposed to leave the very place that needs Christianity the most? I am really not sure that MA has anything on IL anymore…for a long time CA and MA were considered the most leftist states in the union…yet IL seems to want to make a run at that title. Saying prayer at meal time for many is “Bible thumping” activity to many in IL…so much pain living here…really.
 
purplesunshine said:
To be honest i felt this way while living in NY (not the city) the diocese was rotten from the bishops down to the alterservers…in a diocese that had a couple hundred churches and a few hundred active and retired priests…id say that less than 5% even came close to the rules.
State sales tax plus county sales tax plus bottle deposit plus fuel surcharge puts a 99cent drink at $1.19 taxes on clothing, taxes on many legitimate food items. Laws discriminating against the poor, the old and the very young. Pot holes you could swim in, new roads to no where…brutally high car insurance even if you lived in the sticks.

i could never live there until they got it straightened out.

I now live in new england and its MUCH better. My 99 cent soda is just that. (actally i dont drink the nasty stuff) My car insurance covers a ton more for less than half. Gas is below the national average (more than 40 cents less a gal than NY)

i think this creates less tense people. I keep more of my money and can spend more and save more. It is difficult, though possible for a single person to live on a full time minimum wage job and be comfortable on their own.

Our current bishop is a lothesome crimimal…but most parishes 95-99% follw the ruberics and preach truth. And the bish is retring soon.

Basicaly what im saying is dont make yourself a maryter. There are other amazing states. I hear that atlanta and dc have grand catholic populations
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Yes, but there is a sense that we are not supposed to just pick-up and leave people who need a strong Christian witness. Those early Christians did not run from Rome (though some probably did).

BTW, where in NE (that area is not known to be Catholic)?
 
irishpatrick said:
Civil Unions…corrupt politicians…huge state income tax increases…legal persecution against Catholics…what’s next? 😦
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The more things change, the more they stay the same. The above quote sounds like Catholics in almost every generation (though for civil unions, substitute any nonCatholic sexual mores).
 
Trader said:
…
Even though there a lot of Catholics in Illinois, the 2010 election for the US Senate seat formerly held by President Obama, and not quite sold by a Catholic governor…
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Not to quibble, but Blago is of Serbian descent and I’m 90% sure he comes from an Eastern Orthdox Church, no?
 
irishpatrick said:
BTW, where in NE (that area is not known to be Catholic)?
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Hm? New England may be the most Catholic region of the US. Catholicism is the predominant religion in every New England state:

Connecticut (32%), Massachusetts (44%), Maine (24%), New Hampshire (35%), New York (38%), Rhode Island (51%), and Vermont (38%)
gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf

That said, since ill was said about the bishop, perhaps its best that the diocese not be identifiable.
 
Dale_M said:
Hm? New England may be the most Catholic region of the US. Catholicism is the predominant religion in every New England state:

Connecticut (32%), Massachusetts (44%), Maine (24%), New Hampshire (35%), New York (38%), Rhode Island (51%), and Vermont (38%)
gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf

That said, since ill was said about the bishop, perhaps its best that the diocese not be identifiable.
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I suppose I was clumsy about my statement. I realize many Catholics live in the NE region, just as many Catholics live in NY and CA, and Illinois. Yet, what I really wanted to know is: are the Catholics and the RC Churches in NE faithful, or do they tend to the left as many Catholics in the country do today? (for example: MA, in general is very much to the left]

In other words, even if I were to think of moving from Illinois, what good would it do me if I went from one frying pan into another?
 
I got a good rebuke on the subject once when whining about the sorry state of things. I’ll share. 😉

We live in a country that retains the outward structure, culture and vocabulary of christianity and in which there is very little overt persecution of us and our beliefs. We weekly have events where people who badly need the gospel show up, sit in the pews and present themselves as at least partially interested in hearing it. We have an enormous legacy of intellectual and spiritual learning to draw from. We have the sacraments available almost any time we want them, no muss, no fuss. All we have to do is SHOW UP, stick up for the truth (spoken in love) and not back down or give in to the trend of the rapidly corrupting culture. In one sense, it’s hard to go against the flow, but objectively it really has never been easier to live out catholicism faithfully. Be thankful and get back to work.
 
manualman said:
I got a good rebuke on the subject once when whining about the sorry state of things. I’ll share. 😉

We live in a country that retains the outward structure, culture and vocabulary of christianity and in which there is very little overt persecution of us and our beliefs. We weekly have events where people who badly need the gospel show up, sit in the pews and present themselves as at least partially interested in hearing it. We have an enormous legacy of intellectual and spiritual learning to draw from. We have the sacraments available almost any time we want them, no muss, no fuss. All we have to do is SHOW UP, stick up for the truth (spoken in love) and not back down or give in to the trend of the rapidly corrupting culture. In one sense, it’s hard to go against the flow, but objectively it really has never been easier to live out catholicism faithfully. Be thankful and get back to work.
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Hmmm, seems this response has to at least partially be aimed at me. So, a question: where did I ever say I stopped working and that I was not thankful?
 
You never said those things and I’m not implying that you have. You and me just tend to irritate each other that way. 😛
 
manualman said:
Not to quibble, but Blago is of Serbian descent and I’m 90% sure he comes from an Eastern Orthdox Church, no?
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I apologize for my error. :o However I do believe the current governor who supported the civil union law is Catholic.

In my lifetime Illinois governors Statton, Kerner, Walker, Ryan, and Blagojevich have faced criminal charges, although I think Stratton was acquitted. It is hard to keep up.
 
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