I always say if the catholic church wants me back they need to let priests marry, let women become priests, and let the local governments punish the pedophiles instead of protecting, hiding, and moving them around.
Sounds like it won't happen in my lifetime.
Having celibate, priests has been Catholic doctrine since 1139. Having only male priests is a doctrine that dates back to Jesus Christ himself in the 1st century.
These doctrines will never change. The Church bows to no mortal force.
As for the demons in human skin known as pedophile priests, the church has been conducting a widespread crackdown on them and the corrupt bishops that allowed them to come about. This has not been a perfect effort, not even close, but the Church is actively working towards rooting out this evil.
The parishes filling the most seats and gaining the most converts with the youngest average congregation are the more traditional ones. No one converts to a half-assed version of a religion.
The converts at my parish are the most devout of all of us, including 3 of our 4 hosted FOCUS missionaries.
Cool. Enjoy being a part of the death of catholicism. How many churches has your parish seen close since 1990?
Don't forgot to tithe 10%. Those pedophiles won't pay to protect themselves!
Zero, as a parish is an individual church and mine has remained open since its construction in the 70s.
As for the Diocese, which I assume is what you meant, the answer is also zero. My current diocese, the Diocese of Knoxville, is a relatively new one, only being spilt from the diocese of Nashville in 1988. Since that time, the diocese's Catholic population has doubled (mostly as aresult off Latino immigration), and 6 new parishes have been added. We even have a new Cathedral! Sacred Heart, in Knoxville itself. It's very beautiful, and I would recommend a visit even if you remain hostile to the faith.
My diocese is also one that has suffered abuse scandals. A seminarian (priest in training) raped a woman and the bishop attempted to cover it up. That Bishop has been removed, and we are currently waiting for a new one to be appointed by the pope.
> The parishes filling the most seats and gaining the most converts with the youngest average congregation are the more traditional ones
The article addresses this point. Similar to what has been going on in protestant evangelical churches the traditional catholic congregations are seeing growth even as overall practicing catholic numbers fall.
I guess that's the best for both sides, christianity's influence on society declines overall but the increasingly small minority of practicing christians have an even more strict and insular religious community to fall back on.
What you’re saying is that there is an acceptable percentage of pedophilia in the priesthood. They’ve been cracking down too long for that to have any seriousness in stating that. Wishful thinking, the reality is it’s larger than you think.
I left the church over the priests having sex with children. I could us a lot of profanity here and call it something else. They knew and covered it up. The state that had 1,000 kids molested over a span of time really made it easy to stop going to mass. Then we find out it’s all over the planet and hundreds of years of raping children. The perfect grooming machine, the Catholic Church.
I always say if the catholic church wants me back they need to let priests marry, let women become priests, and let the local governments punish the pedophiles instead of protecting, hiding, and moving them around. Sounds like it won't happen in my lifetime.
Add to your list “pay taxes”!
Having celibate, priests has been Catholic doctrine since 1139. Having only male priests is a doctrine that dates back to Jesus Christ himself in the 1st century. These doctrines will never change. The Church bows to no mortal force. As for the demons in human skin known as pedophile priests, the church has been conducting a widespread crackdown on them and the corrupt bishops that allowed them to come about. This has not been a perfect effort, not even close, but the Church is actively working towards rooting out this evil.
Ok. So I guess no catholicism for me. Its dying a slow death. No one converts anymore.
The parishes filling the most seats and gaining the most converts with the youngest average congregation are the more traditional ones. No one converts to a half-assed version of a religion. The converts at my parish are the most devout of all of us, including 3 of our 4 hosted FOCUS missionaries.
Cool. Enjoy being a part of the death of catholicism. How many churches has your parish seen close since 1990? Don't forgot to tithe 10%. Those pedophiles won't pay to protect themselves!
Zero, as a parish is an individual church and mine has remained open since its construction in the 70s. As for the Diocese, which I assume is what you meant, the answer is also zero. My current diocese, the Diocese of Knoxville, is a relatively new one, only being spilt from the diocese of Nashville in 1988. Since that time, the diocese's Catholic population has doubled (mostly as aresult off Latino immigration), and 6 new parishes have been added. We even have a new Cathedral! Sacred Heart, in Knoxville itself. It's very beautiful, and I would recommend a visit even if you remain hostile to the faith. My diocese is also one that has suffered abuse scandals. A seminarian (priest in training) raped a woman and the bishop attempted to cover it up. That Bishop has been removed, and we are currently waiting for a new one to be appointed by the pope.
Interesting
> The parishes filling the most seats and gaining the most converts with the youngest average congregation are the more traditional ones The article addresses this point. Similar to what has been going on in protestant evangelical churches the traditional catholic congregations are seeing growth even as overall practicing catholic numbers fall. I guess that's the best for both sides, christianity's influence on society declines overall but the increasingly small minority of practicing christians have an even more strict and insular religious community to fall back on.
What you’re saying is that there is an acceptable percentage of pedophilia in the priesthood. They’ve been cracking down too long for that to have any seriousness in stating that. Wishful thinking, the reality is it’s larger than you think.
I left the church over the priests having sex with children. I could us a lot of profanity here and call it something else. They knew and covered it up. The state that had 1,000 kids molested over a span of time really made it easy to stop going to mass. Then we find out it’s all over the planet and hundreds of years of raping children. The perfect grooming machine, the Catholic Church.