www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall A little sociological data

Ohhhh

Sam

"Yes there is. The Latin Church is growing by 20% but ONLY and I stress this ONLY from Mexican immigrants. "

I would be inclined to disagree with this statement. I know for a fact that every parish in Topeka has a large group of converts received into the Church every Easter. And not all of them are just folks married to a Catholic husband or wife. My brother-in-law and his six brothers all converted to Catholicism and some of their wives converted too (my sister being one). There have also been some well know people who have converted...Senator Sam Brownback from Kansas comes to mind. Churches are still packed for Masses, the problem is not enough priests to staff our parishes. Don

I know I am right about this:

Statistics: http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions

http://www.thearda.com/test_main.asp?Show=RCMS2000

http://www.nccbuscc.org/hispanicaffairs/enmarcha/summer01.htm#4


I know my statistics are correct but if you wish to check them, go ahead.

Dear Friends,

The fact is that U.S. Catholicism is becoming more Hispanic and ethnic than otherwise.

As one commentator said, this will mean that the Virgin Mary and devotion to her will become front and centre in the U.S. in future.

And that is great!

Alex

Alex,

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that more Catholics are coming to this country. But I feel that the Church should be doing so much more in the areas of Evangelization. This reminds me of a Latin Nun I meet who said, "since Vatican II we do not evangelize anymore." Perhaps that Nun was correct. After all one great order that use to evangelize to Jews shut down referring to Cardinal Kaspers remark that evangelization to Jews was not necessary. Oh My!

Dear Johan,

Yes, of course we need to do more evangelization.

That word, when I hear it, does conjure up images of evangelicals on street corners, and frankly, I find that approach overly simplistic and a turn-off.

We need to be welcoming to other people and make the Gospel available to them etc.

We need to answer their questions and make literature available to them and to be there as guides and supports on their journey.

That requires time and patience.

I'm glad the two of us have an abundance of both!

We don't evangelize the Jews by telling them to dump their heritage or that they are evil in God's sight for not being Christians etc.

We evangelize them by loving and accepting them for who they are, already God's Chosen People, and the vehicle by which Christ was brought to us.

It is in the brightness and warmth of our love for them that God will draw them closer to Himself.

Alex

Alex,

This is where you and I differ. I believe evangelization includes everything we can possibly do. This includes yelling from street corner, "Jesus Saves!" Of course this also includes practing what we preach. Orthodoxy is a lifestyle that has to be lived.

In the Midwest at least Don is absolutely correct. While the Hispanic population is growing, there is also a steady stream of conversions to Catholicism. As Don mentioned our senator Sam Brownback quitely converted this year along with his family and was sponsored by Senator Rick Santorum.

A friend of mine at a Latin parish in Kansas City who is the DRE had 30+ received into the Church at Easter Vigil this year from RCIA in a moderate-sized parish. Most of these were American converts and she even had one Polish immigrant family who was unchurched upon immigrating to the area.

The Gallup Organization did some work in the 1990's and found thae Catholic Church the most "static" churches in the United States. In other words it had the smallest proportion of converts and also the smallest proportion of people who were raised in that church but have left. it also said that all of the net growth is from immigration.

I do think the Catholic Church needs to consult with sociiologial experts as it considers its situation. Many here have noted the need to some understanding of the situation of Hispanic Americna Catholics. Alternatively, Johan mentions a recent book which considered (without noting it or appearently realizing it) white, college educated Catholics -- a definate minority of the Catholics.

Axios

As Christians we are called to witness to the Gospel. Evangelization need not be limited to proseltyzing for converts directly. Living by example is also important. Our Byzantine Church offers the Bethany Ministry program, designed for the faithful to minister to the sick, people in trouble, the elderly, and shut-ins. The training program for this can be instructor led or self-taught, and need not require lots of preparation time. I am personally implementing its content whenever I can, and it makes it possible for me to encounter lives that I might not otherwise come in contact with, and to be an occasion of witness.

So, I'd say the Church IS making it possible for efforts in evangelization to occur. (Information about the Bethany program has also appeared in church newsletters as well as "Orthodox Herald".)

Hey, we are pretty conservative compared to some other groups (Presbies, Episcopalians, etc.)

Logos Teen

Teen,

Are you a Methodist?

I'm with you all the way

Forgive me but I haven't heard of this before. I'd like to know more about the Bethany Ministry program. If Anyone can provide more info I'd appreciate it.

Michael

Ja, technically. I haven't converted to Catholicism yet.

Logos Teen