What condition is the Church in?

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davy39

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I have been looking at some of the postings today, and I get the impression sometimes that the Church is in deep trouble. We have over 100 priests in Ireland suspected of molesting, we have priests and bishops that think homosexual “love” is powerful, and church closings all over the country, not to mention bankruptcies in dioceses. Is there anything good going on? Give me you opinion.
 
To answer your question: What condition is the Church in?, it’s in the same condition it’s always been in–dying out and seeming to never rise again and being resurrected just when everyone had thought it down for the count.

Throughout the history of the Church there have been those within and without who have tried their dead level best to destroy Christ’s Church. Sometimes they came pretty close, even in the first 3 centuries when so many have the mistaken idea that all was peace and harmony.

Like its Head and Lord, the Church will be vilified, persecuted, betrayed, crucified, besmirched, pushed aside, and any other thing the world, the flesh, and the devil can do to it, only to rise again, triumphant, fresh, lovely and pure.
 
EWTN is great. I believe it’s part of the new evangilization called for by JP2. See the thread about improving EWTN to get an idea. You are right in that the Church in the West is in trouble. Western society has seems to be losing it’s Judeo-Christian background. Another notable issue is the resurgence of orthodoxy among young people (I’m one of them! 😃 )
 
I agree. I see orthodoxy on the rise, as well. (Do I count as young, even though I’m old enough to be your father? I feel young 😃 )

I think like all difficult times, the Church will survive and grow stronger. It’s just going to involve some suffering in the meantime.

God Bless,

Robert
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Ace86:
EWTN is great. I believe it’s part of the new evangilization called for by JP2. See the thread about improving EWTN to get an idea. You are right in that the Church in the West is in trouble. Western society has seems to be losing it’s Judeo-Christian background. Another notable issue is the resurgence of orthodoxy among young people (I’m one of them! 😃 )
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rlg94086:
I agree. I see orthodoxy on the rise, as well. (Do I count as young, even though I’m old enough to be your father? I feel young 😃 )

I think like all difficult times, the Church will survive and grow stronger. It’s just going to involve some suffering in the meantime.

God Bless,

Robert
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There will be a new spring time in the Church of God but it will come with a big price tag. Like I say there’s no free lunch. Cardinal Wotjyla said in 1976 we are seeing the “anti-gospel vs. the gospel and the anti-church vs. the church.”
 
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davy39:
Is there anything good going on? Give me you opinion.
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I believe that St. Paul gives a compelling and transcendent testimony of the good that we do to not lose hope in (excuse the length, but I could not figure what to exclude):

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-11
 
“The darker the night the brighter the stars shine.” - Fr. John Corapi

I think Della has it right…there have been difficult times in the past and there will probably be difficult times in the future. One cannot destroy Christ, therefore, one cannot destroy his body which is the Church.
 
I think the Church, probably more so in the US, is in trouble, not dire trouble, but in trouble. The priest scandal has hurt alot, along with the public perception among some that the Church is out of touch with society. Church attendance is way down (at least in my neck of the woods), and the clergy is getting older without alot of replacements. Something needs to be done, but I’m not sure what.

Will the Church continue to survive? Yes, I think so, but the hierarchy needs to do something to reverse some of negative trends I mentioned above. God will give us the guidance, but it needs to be listened too.
 
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mikew262:
I think the Church, probably more so in the US, is in trouble, not dire trouble, but in trouble. The priest scandal has hurt alot, along with the public perception among some that the Church is out of touch with society. Church attendance is way down (at least in my neck of the woods), and the clergy is getting older without alot of replacements. Something needs to be done, but I’m not sure what.
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I’ll tell you what needs to be done–we need to be actively recruiting young men for the priesthood. Look here for some encouragement. 👍
Will the Church continue to survive? Yes, I think so, but the hierarchy needs to do something to reverse some of negative trends I mentioned above. God will give us the guidance, but it needs to be listened too.
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Maybe, but maybe all they need to do is believe in the future by encouraging vocations. I know it may sound odd considering the things you cited, but believe it or not, that’s all it really takes–faith in God and a little hard work. 😉
 
I agree with all of your comments. I guess one thing that bothers me, is that when I look over the congregation at Mass, probably at least half the people are at least 50 years old on up. Where are the young families and the teenagers? Is it this way all over? But one more thing. “The gates of hell will not prevail against it”. This is what keeps me going.
 
I think that it is a parish-by-parish problem. I’ve been in some parishes with tons of families. It may depend on the demographics of the particular area.

Apathy and poor catechesis by parents also contributes to the problem. My wife volunteers to teach at Church, and she is always amazed at the lack of knowledge children have about their faith. Like the rest of their kid’s education, parents leave the teaching up to others. They take their kids to Church, so they can get their First Communion out of the way, then you never see them again. A lot of the kids never make it back for Confirmation, because by that time, they have no interest in the Church. These kids grow up, go to college and get lured away by non-Catholics because they don’t know their faith.

The good news is that the ones that do make it back tend to be stronger in the faith.
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davy39:
I agree with all of your comments. I guess one thing that bothers me, is that when I look over the congregation at Mass, probably at least half the people are at least 50 years old on up. Where are the young families and the teenagers? Is it this way all over? But one more thing. “The gates of hell will not prevail against it”. This is what keeps me going.
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My parish is huge with lots of families. The priest who has been here for 5 years commented that only Sunday in 5 years had there not been any baptisms. Our Catholic school has over 800 students. In addition to our 3 priests we have one deacon and one accolayte from the seminary. These men from the seminary are in their twenties. I think it depends on where you are.
 
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mom2boyz:
My parish is huge with lots of families. The priest who has been here for 5 years commented that only Sunday in 5 years had there not been any baptisms. Our Catholic school has over 800 students. In addition to our 3 priests we have one deacon and one accolayte from the seminary. These men from the seminary are in their twenties. I think it depends on where you are.
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Maybe somebody really needs to do a study of how priests are distributed around the country. Your parish has 3 priests, others have 1 priest for 3 parishes. Something doesn’t add up.
 
All Parishes are not crated equal. One of our local Parishes has 5 priests. Of course it also has 26,000 parishioners.

Chuck
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mikew262:
Maybe somebody really needs to do a study of how priests are distributed around the country. Your parish has 3 priests, others have 1 priest for 3 parishes. Something doesn’t add up.
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The Church is in need of brave and courageous soldiers to live Authentic Lives of Holiness and Love. ~Matthew Kelly

Things may loook bleak but God has a solution, when the problems are big, Gods solution is bigger. I believe, hope and pray that the tides are turning. We are on the verge of a great thing I believe. Lets pray for conversion, and healing and repentance…
 
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davy39:
Where are the young families and the teenagers? Is it this way all over? But one more thing. “The gates of hell will not prevail against it”. This is what keeps me going.
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They’re at Mass in my parish…and at least 2 others in my area! 🙂
 
come out to St. Andrews in Newtown PA on a Sunday night at 7p. There are not enough seats. Id say 60% in attendance are teens and young adults. Im 20… we are out there…
 
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Anonymous_1:
come out to St. Andrews in Newtown PA on a Sunday night at 7p. There are not enough seats. Id say 60% in attendance are teens and young adults. Im 20… we are out there…
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I just recently joined a parish in Maryland where there are over 4500 families, (not people, but families) they have 7 services and you can’t get a seat in any of them if you show up late and the sanctuary must hold at least 1000. And from what I can tell, well over 2/3 are young families and young adults. We have 3 priests and several seminarians.

I must have picked a good one to start my Catholic journey! I am grateful. 🙂
 
Jeanette L:
I just recently joined a parish in Maryland where there are over 4500 families, (not people, but families) they have 7 services and you can’t get a seat in any of them if you show up late and the sanctuary must hold at least 1000. And from what I can tell, well over 2/3 are young families and young adults. We have 3 priests and several seminarians.

**I must have picked a good one to start my Catholic journey! I am grateful. **
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:)Shhhh… you know you had help… (The Holy Spirit!)
Pax tecum,
 
Church Militant:
Shhhh… you know you had help… (The Holy Spirit!)
Pax tecum,
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Yes, I did have help the whole way. Believe me, I wouldn’t have ended up Catholic on my own!!!

Of course, my family thinks my help came from the other direction! 😦
 
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