Catholics in America

It's no secret that Catholicism has been taking subtle and often not-so-subtle hits from the media for the past several years, a trend exacerbated by the clergy child abuse scandal, which seemingly is always in the news. The troubles in Los Angeles, being the latest target.  The stories of people leaving the Church, the decline in vocations, the closing of schools and merging of parishes, always in the headlines, tend to add to the image of a Church bleeding to death. Sr. Mary Johnson, SND, a sociologist, spoke about a different view of the current situation based on actual facts and demographics.  She informed us that yes, there is a decline in the Catholic population in the Northeast, for example, but there is a counterbalancing growth in the south and west, to the point that the numbers of Catholics in the United States grows by 1% each year, a figure that has been constant since heads have been counted.  There are 72 million Catholics in the United States today, about one fourth on the population, a percentage that has been constant since the '50's.  True there are large numbers of aging religious, but there are also large numbers between 20 and 40.  And surprisingly enough, there are more men in formation for religious life than women, a first in the history of the Catholic Church in America.  So let not the headlines dampen our spirits.  There is movement going on that does not make the headlines!  See America (Jesuit weekly magazine) October 15, 2012:  "Reality Check" by Sr. Mary Johnson and Sister Patricia Wittenberg.
Bro. Rene