Except for 3rd World countries, the Catholic Church’s idea of evangelization is a person sitting in a parish office waiting for someone to walk in, and then having that person “evaluate” how soon the prospective convert can become Catholic (i.e., no matter how much they know or practice the Catholic faith already, they have to sit in class for months and months). Our Church has definitely lost connection with the Apostles on this oneEven though I’ve been a practicing Christian my whole life, until this past year, I knew very little about the Catholic Church. How is it that I’ve gone so long without hearing more about Catholicism?
I see billboards, newspaper ads, and television commercials for Protestant churches. Why not more outreach and PR from the Catholic Church? After all, we have a better product!
I’m a recent convert, and I’m just reflecting and wishing that I’d come into the Church long ago. I’ve been missing out! If I had only known…
Unless there are special circumstances hindering a person’s entrance into full communion, it shouldn’t take so long. I went through the usual RCIA program from Sept. through to the following Easter Vigil and that was it. Maybe you should check out another parish or talk privately to the priest. That just doesn’t sound right.Except for 3rd World countries, the Catholic Church’s idea of evangelization is a person sitting in a parish office waiting for someone to walk in, and then having that person “evaluate” how soon the prospective convert can become Catholic (i.e., no matter how much they know or practice the Catholic faith already, they have to sit in class for months and months). Our Church has definitely lost connection with the Apostles on this one
I don’t know that I would want to see the Catholic Church doing more commercials, billboards or newspaper ads, as a general rule. (But I will say, as an exception, that I loved the “Catholics Come Home” commercial. It was proof that these things can be tastefully and beautifully done.) Usually, though, it is too easy for mass market advertising to become commercial and kitschy. Many of the Protestant mega-churches do these types of billboard advertising; and more often than not, those ads are cringeworthy in their failed attempts to be “cool” and “relevant.” I would prefer that the Catholic Church not go down that route.Even though I’ve been a practicing Christian my whole life, until this past year, I knew very little about the Catholic Church. How is it that I’ve gone so long without hearing more about Catholicism?
I see billboards, newspaper ads, and television commercials for Protestant churches. Why not more outreach and PR from the Catholic Church? After all, we have a better product!
I’m a recent convert, and I’m just reflecting and wishing that I’d come into the Church long ago. I’ve been missing out! If I had only known…
Agreed. I don’t want to see the Church do anything cheesy. I just want it to present itself as an option. For example, in our local weekend newspapers, a page is dedicated to small block ads for churches to provide information for their weekly service times, their addresses, etc. I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen a Catholic Church listed.
Nice thing about the Catholic Church is that it doesn’t have try to be “relevant”. It just is relevant. Unfortunately, many people are like I was. I knew very little about the Church.
Great comments, and I agree completely.
We abolutely have the better product, and this is something Catholics need to be better about advertising (myself included). There are 68 million Catholics in the US, and you can imagine what would happen if each one were on fire with the Spirit. If we’re living the faith, it gets people curious about it and the genius of Catholicism can draw them in. Matthew Kelly has written a great book, Rediscover Catholicism, which is www.dynamiccatholic.com. Welcome to the Church BTW!Why not more outreach and PR from the Catholic Church? After all, we have a better product!
of researching the history of the Early Church, I would never have considered the Catholic Church and left Protestantism.Actually, CCH is a lay effort not one started by the Church, but it’s certainly supported by our bishops. The Church expects its laity to go out into the world and be witnesses for it. It’s worked pretty well for quite a long time. But the Holy Father has called for a greater use of modern media to spread the message. CAF was started, again, as a lay initiative. Even ETWN was not started by a bishop but by a nun. We simply need more like CCH, Coming Home Network, CAF, etc.I agree with the poster who said the Catholic Church has the best message but the worst PR. If I had not made the “mistake”
I do love the Catholics Come Home commercials, though. I think the Church is finally starting to wake up…
Sweet! I want to be like her.
My immaturity and rebellious nature at the time figured, “Well, if these guys are anti-Catholic, there must be something to it.”I don’t see anything wrong with it. After all, look at what Mother Angelica and EWTN have achieved being sandwiched between the raunchy cable shows and movies one has to pay for and don’t/won’t watch on cable television, shows/movies that are disgusting just to be able to receive EWTN. Just like the saying, "faint heart never won fair maiden, " Mother Angelica certainly didn’t have a faint heart when she stepped out in faith to start EWTN. Jesus certainly didn’t bother about how His interacting with the Gentile woman at the well appeared in public. He was just doing what He came to do.
I’ve seen those too, and they are quite slick. I’ve also noticed they say nothing about their beliefs, only present us with happy folks who have accomplished good things in their lives–the idea being that Mormonism got them there, I suppose. The Salvation Army runs a similar ad with people talking about how the SA pulled them out of the mire. And that’s all very well and good. It gets people interested, maybe even enough to look into these groups. But there’s no real substance to them–only impressions not any real information. The drawback with that is they come across as just another group plying their wares. We have to be smarter than that if we want people to take real notice. The Coming Home ads are better, but they are too limited, running only locally. They need to go nationwide next.
It’s because other denominations have had better evangelical outreaches than the Church, at least in my experiences and especially here in the South. In all the years of my life, I’ve never been approached by a Catholic at a street corner, shopping mall, college campus, etc., and asked if I knew about Jesus or what He’s done for me. I have, however, been approached by non-denominationals and protestants. Which is why I really do like the Catholics Come Home commercials. They’re a breath of fresh air!
