www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Declining attendance in the Byzantine Catholic Church

Remaining stable in this case means that its declining because the number of Christians is suppose to increase with the years.

I know that in my parish things are not turning for the better. Each year we have less and less people attending church - but this is the case in all churches (catholic, orthodox, byzantine and non-byzantine).

There are many factors that can explain why (partially) starting with education (both parents and schools), identity issue, assimilation etc.

sad.

Amadeus posted--"In contrast, the Latin side of the Catholic Church in the U.S. had the trend reversed a long time ago that she is now able to maintain its 23% share in the total U.S. population. That is, she is matching the growth in the general population by having about 1 million infant baptisms annually (meaning, Latin Catholics are bearing enough children as their own replacement) and about 150,00 conversions annually as a result of active evangelization. Immigration from traditionally Catholic countries in Latin America is an added bonus."

Question #1--would the Roman Catholic Church show this growth if it weren't for the immigration (sometimes illegal) from traditionally Catholic countries in Latin America? Are there any figures on how much is "home grown" growth and how much is due to immigration. I know you quoted numbers, but we keep hearing reports of how the estimate of illegal immigrants is much lower than the actual amount.

Question # 2--with the addition of so many Hispanic or Latin American people, will the Roman Catholic Church find itself organically changing over the next few decades? How much will the Liturgy change, if at all? I know many churches in high growth areas offer Hispanic Liturgies. Even areas in Pennsylvania not traditionally known for a large Hispanic population (Lancaster, PA for example-the traditional home of the Amish and Mennonite) having a large increase in Hispanics. I've been in State College now for 16 years and I have noticed a large increase in Hispanics lately. I have not talked with any RC priests, nor do I go to the RC Church (except for confession) so I don't know how the breakdown has changed. But I have noticed a larger amount of Hispanics in confession!

Just curious

TIm

Latest (2002 Census) figures on the USCCB website put Hispanics at around 39% of the total Catholic population in the U.S., contributing, as a group, around 71% to growth of the Catholic Church as a whole.

Detailed report on the Hispanic component of the Catholic Church in the U.S.:

http://www.usccb.org/hispanicaffairs/demo.shtml#2

Current statistical report on the Catholic Church in the U.S.:

http://www.usccb.org/comm/statisti.shtml

The BCC has failed in its responsibilities over the last 100+ years in America...and therefore have left people with an identity crisis...


Add to that a non-existant evangelization program and throwing what parishioners you do have to the wolves when you lock and close their parishes, one can't expect to see anything but decline

How many Eastern Catholics are there in the United States of all Eastern Rites? I would have thought at least 500,000.

I know how to solve the problem ! You just get all the people who show up for Christmas and Easter to come regularly, and if some of them really do live 3 states away they could start attending the closest EC Church.

While many of us try to ignore the reality, Eastern Christianity is an Eastern faith. It simply can't thrive in this Western culture.

It is an intrinsic part of who I am, but is entirely alien to the environment that I -- and most of us -- live in.

--tim

I have to disagree somewhat. In our area, a new OCA church is thriving and growing. There is a real thirst in this area for eastern spirituality. The church has a dynamic priest and the congregation reaches out to anyone who is interested. I think the Byzantine Church, on the other hand, is often too inbred and inward looking. Perhaps the difference is between being actively interested in finding converts as opposed to simply waiting for them to drop in out of the sky.

I don't think this is unique to Eastern Christianity. It should be the experience of all Christians. That is, if they are doing their jobs correctly.

Check back with me in three generations or so and tell me how many of these people, and their children, and grandchildren, are actively following an Eastern faith in a Western setting -- outside an ethnic ghetto to reinforce the culture.

--tim

Come to Asia i.e. Malaysia, Phillipines, Timor Leste. You will grow here! Bring Christianity back home to Asia!

Chris, do you think you could elaborate on this a bit?

Tim I am trying to wrap my head around this, but I simply can't be sure of what you are trying to say or what this means...

I don't want to put words in your mouth, make assumptions or ask leading questions, so as dumb as this may sound, I am going to come right out and ask you to define "western".

Simple

Tertullian
Glory to Jesus Christ!

According to the statistics from Fr Ron Roberson, yes there are over 575,000 Eastern Catholics in the US.

The largest are
Chaldeans 125,000
Ukrainians 102,000
Syro-Malabar 100,000
Ruthenians 96,000
Maronites 74,000

Deacon El

[quote=A Simple Sinner

I am going to come right out and ask you to define "western".

Simple [/quote]

Western Christianity: Concrete.
Eastern Christianity: Ephemeral.

--tim