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Title: Is this the end of Catholicism?
Source:
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URL Source: http://nypost.com/2016/06/05/is-this-the-end-of-catholicism/
Published: Jun 5, 2016
Author: Naomi Schaefer Riley
Post Date: 2016-06-05 23:09:04 by Justified
Keywords: None
Views: 2453
Comments: 14
“This was harder than I thought it would be,” Margaret O’Brien told a CBS reporter last weekend. O’Brien, 86, had been one of the hundred or so parishioners holding a round-the-clock vigil at St. Frances X. Cabrini church in Scituate, Mass. Eleven years ago the Boston Archdiocese announced that it was closing the parish, a reorganization necessitated by the financial settlements after the clergy sex-abuse scandal. The parishioners at St. Frances have tried to alter the hierarchy’s decision using canon law as well as the US legal system, maintaining a presence in the building so it would not be sold out from under them. But last month, they lost their final appeal when the Supreme Court declined to take their case. And on Sunday, they held their final service, holding 11 prayer quilts the community had created to commemorate each year of their battle. What’s striking about St. Frances, though — in addition to the fact that it has stayed open longer than the other congregations that have protested these closure decisions — is the amazing level of commitment demonstrated by its congregants. For a hundred people to rotate shifts every day of the year for 11 years is nothing short of miraculous, particularly in our modern era. At a time when there are so many things besides faith that are competing for our attention, the parishioners at St. Frances prioritized religious life in a way that most Americans do not. Most Americans do not manage to go to church even once a week, let alone promise to sign up to keep watch over a religious institution for hours at a time. In the 2014 Religious Landscape Survey, about 29 percent of Catholics said they had volunteered in the previous week. But only about a third of those had done so through their church. Despite all the talk about the “Francis effect,” American Catholics have not changed their religious habits even under the new pope, according to a Pew report from last year. They go to Mass, confession, and volunteer the same number of hours. But at St. Frances they were participating in a kind of revolution. Church was an all-hands-on-deck sort of affair. Multiple generations participated in the St. Frances vigil. Triplets Christian, Scott and Sean Arnold, all 17 years old, had taken the Friday night vigil shift for most of their lives. “We’ve been doing this for 11 years,” Sean told the New York Times. “So, like, not doing this, what else are we going to do?” The regular participation has also created a kind of social cohesion that is rare these days. Parishioners regularly ran into each other thanks to the vigil and formed the type of strong bonds that were once common among neighbors. “What’s striking about St. Frances, though — is the amazing level of commitment demonstrated by its congregants.” Apparently the parishioners were willing to contribute financially as well. The parish was free of debt and had even raised the possibility of opening up a Catholic school for the community. While the hierarchy has expressed its hope that the St. Frances congregants will join other local parishes, they say they are done. Starting next week, the members will be forming a religious institution independent of the church, meeting initially at the local masonic lodge. This is a loss for the Catholic Church in more ways than one. St. Frances is the latest of many parishes to be closed, but it is unlikely to be the last. And not just because of the legal settlements. Between 2007 and 2014, according to Pew, the percentage of Americans identifying as Catholic went from 23.9 percent to 21 percent. While the Catholic hierarchy may not have had a choice in closing the parish, in order to thrive they need to re-create exactly the kind of community that St. Frances had become. Especially with a decline in vocations, the church is more dependent on lay participation than ever. “This situation presents a paradox for the Catholic Church,” says David Campbell, a professor at Notre Dame and the co-author of “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.” Campbell notes, “They are closing parishes because too few Catholics show the sort of commitment to Catholicism that has motivated and sustained these protestors . . . As a tactical matter, the Church presumably would have preferred apathy. But as a matter of long-term strategy, the protest suggests a level of commitment that could perhaps be a catalyst for greater institutional vitality.” Says O’Brien, “For reasons that I can’t understand, I feel nervous . . . On the other hand, I’m kind of relieved. We fought the good fight. We did everything we could.” When it comes to their religious congregations, that’s more than most Americans can say.
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#1. To: All (#0)
You lose people because the church doesn't punish the perverts in the church, back candidates who are pro gay, pro abortion pro open borders and pro progressive ways. Its a wonder that there is a church left!
They lose people because they are not relevant to youth, their growth is purely organic, they don't outreach, they haven't got the message that it isn't about smells and bells and they have stopped preaching Jesus. You can get a congegation thay will stay together for a generation but then what? The work of a priest is to marry, baptise and bury, which isn't what it is about
This is the core of the matter. They DID have a choice. Once the congregation organized the sit-in, the Church always had the choice. 11 years this went on, with a cohesive church - a local church out of debt - meeting and operating. At any point the local hierarchy could have relented, they could have admitted they were defeated and let that church remain open, and used it as an example of how Catholics banding together to save their church can do it - if they give the requisite level of commitment. Instead, the Catholic hierarchy in that place behaved exactly like the government, or any other large corporation. The "authorities" had made a decision, and they would litigate against their fellow Christians in court in order to "win" the point, rather than relent once the people pulled it together. So, the Catholic bishop and his lawyers finally were successful in destroying a Catholic church. They had to go get Caesar's goons to help them. They asserted their command authority, drove 100 Catholics out of the Church and murdered a church, all to serve what is more important to them, their sense of command. They served Satan and they won. Satan won. The Bishop chose an unwise course, but then doubled down on authority rather than change course. Unable to persuade the faithful, the Bishop turned to armed force, ratified by the organization that mandated abortion. He is a servant of Hell, not of God.
Guys I think what is "doing in" the Catholic RC is hierarchy never dealt with the issue of pedophiles in the church. Get rid of and turn in the pedophiles to the local justices system. Let priest marry. God gave man sexual hormones that can not be ignored! This is self flagellation type stuff that is insane! Punishing yourself because you are doing what God intended you to do which is have sex. There is a proper place and time for such things. Its a gift and an enticement to make babies.
Then they never understood what it meant to be a Catholic Christian. A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. no they have come to an understanding of what it means to be christian, Christ came to set us free and that includes being free from the domination of religion
Scripture sets down a Church organization and hierarchy: Christ spoke of the Church that He was founding (Matt. 16:18, 18:17); the elders of the Church are addressed as overseers (Acts 20:28); Church leadership sets down rules for the whole Church (Acts 15:1-29); presbyters are said to govern God's Church (1 Tim. 3:5) and directed to silence false teachers (Titus 1:5-11). A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. They are not big on enforcing the last one. The church organisation Christ set up did not envisage establishing a priesthood, he did not model using expensive buildings or taking up collections from attendees at his services. As I recall the instructions were very simple and don't require intrepretation. Our competence as ministers comes from God, not the church structure
None of which invalidates the point that Scripture sets down a Church organization and hierarchy. A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. That is an intrepretation
LOL! It's as plain as day: Christ spoke of the Church that He was founding (Matt. 16:18, 18:17); the elders of the Church are addressed as overseers (Acts 20:28); Church leadership sets down rules for the whole Church (Acts 15:1-29); presbyters are said to govern God's Church (1 Tim. 3:5) and directed to silence false teachers (Titus 1:5-11). A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them. None of this has anything to do with the Church today
None of this has anything to do with the Church today How so? (Other than silencing false teachers, which the Church today should be doing much more of.) A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.
#2. To: Justified (#0)
(Edited)
Is this the end of Catholicism?
#3. To: Justified (#0)
While the Catholic hierarchy may not have had a choice in closing the parish
#4. To: Vicomte13 (#3)
He is a servant of Hell, not of God.
#5. To: paraclete, Vicomte13 (#4)
#6. To: Justified (#0)
Starting next week, the members will be forming a religious institution independent of the church
#7. To: ConservingFreedom (#6)
Starting next week, the members will be forming a religious institution independent of the church Then they never understood what it meant to be a Catholic Christian.
#8. To: paraclete (#7)
Christ came to set us free and that includes being free from the domination of religion
#9. To: ConservingFreedom (#8)
(Edited)
#10. To: paraclete (#9)
They are not big on enforcing the last one. The church organisation Christ set up did not envisage establishing a priesthood, he did not model using expensive buildings or taking up collections from attendees at his services. As I recall the instructions were very simple and don't require intrepretation. Our competence as ministers comes from God, not the church structure
#11. To: ConservingFreedom (#10)
None of which invalidates the point that Scripture sets down a Church organization and hierarchy.
#12. To: paraclete (#11)
That is an intrepretation
#13. To: ConservingFreedom (#12)
#14. To: paraclete (#13)
"Christ spoke of the Church that He was founding (Matt. 16:18, 18:17); the elders of the Church are addressed as overseers (Acts 20:28); Church leadership sets down rules for the whole Church (Acts 15:1-29); presbyters are said to govern God's Church (1 Tim. 3:5) and directed to silence false teachers (Titus 1:5-11)."
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