The Church and Unbelievers

Elizabeth Scalia 

            The Church and Unbelievers 

“At the present time, more than in any previous age, we find Catholics turning into unbelievers . . . Catholicism seen from the inside seems to be losing, but seen from the outside, to be gaining. There is a reason for this. Our contemporaries are naturally little disposed to belief, but once they accept religion at all, there is a hidden instinct within them which unconsciously urges them toward Catholicism. Many of the doctrines and customs of the Roman Church astonish them, but they feel a secret admiration for its discipline, and its extraordinary unity attracts them. If Catholicism could ultimately escape from the political animosities to which it has given rise, I am almost certain that the same spirit of the age which now seems so contrary to it would turn into a powerful ally and that it would suddenly make great conquests.”

From Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America”, 1835

You know that old saying, “there’s nothing new under the sun?”

Found while perusing reading Magnificat, tonight.

CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BOOMING

Catholic League president Bill Donohue 

Comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:

All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.

The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.

Shedding more light on the statistics is a study released a few months ago by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion. Its "Landscape Survey" found that of those Catholics who have left the Church, roughly half became unaffiliated while the other half became Protestant. Regarding the latter half, only 23 percent did so because of the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality; only 16 percent left because of the way women are treated. Importantly, two-thirds of these Catholics elected to join a Protestant evangelical church.

In other words, disaffected Catholics who left for another religion opted to join a more conservative church. That they did not run down the block in search of a mainline denomination—one that entertains the liberal agenda on issues governing sexuality and women—is telling.

It's time some people took a hard look at the data and made some hard choices. This is great news for the Catholic Church.

ONE HEART BURSTING WITH LOVE - BLESSED MOTHER TERESA

		One Heart Full of Love by Mother Teresa (My Amazon.com review)
ONE HEART BURSTING WITH LOVE - BLESSED MOTHER TERESA, July 16, 2011 When I saw this wonderful picture of Blessed Mother Teresa on the cover of ONE HEART FULL OF LOVE, I bought about 14 copies, or more, for gifts. I kept one! I wrote in it so I could not give it away as I really wanted one!  Although I had not seen the book before, it was safe to buy the book because most of us know that anything Mother Teresa ever wrote, said or thought was beautiful; although I really wanted the book because of the cover! Everyone is loving this book!  One friend just wrote this: "By the bottom of the second page I was in tears - everyone on my Christmas list gets one of these books - if I can wait that long! Mother Teresa really knew how to "cut to the chase." Why can't we all be that way!?"  Since I have Amazon Prime, I had all of my gift copies sent directly to my friends - free shipping. Who could ask for anything more? Thank you, Amazon for Prime.  My thanks to Mother Teresa for the words and to the photographer for the amazing picture of Blessed Mother Teresa, on her knees, in prayer.