We are currently at a gathering of dissident Catholics in Detroit listening and watching. About 1,000 in attendance tonight. By their own stats in the program:
65% are women
94% are Caucasian
97% are over 45 years old
63 % are over 65 years old
75% attend Mass weekly
3% accept all of the Church's teachings
90% say the ordination of women is "very" or "critically" important
More coming from Al at the "Call to Holiness" conference tomorrow and on the show Monday.
UPDATE:
We just sang a litany, part of which is outlined below.
Angered by Church leaders who protect pedophiles and persecute prophets, we cry...
Denied Eucharist because of failure to address the priest shortage, we cry...
Aching for the Eucharist to be nourishment for sinners, not a reward for good behavior, we cry...
Wondering why we are closing parishes rather than opening ordination , we cry...
Longing to celebrate creative theology rather than mourn their marginalization, we cry...
Oppressed by rigid structures of racism, we cry...
Blind to the beauty of God's image in gay and lesbian people, we cry...
Betrayed by Church structures that promote sexism and misogyny, we cry...
Sent from my iPhone
So, I guess you could call this gathering the "anti-World Youth Day"; small numbers, mostly old, mostly heretics...
ReplyDeleteI wonder what comes after "...we cry..."?
ReplyDeleteSome suggestions:
1. ...Waaa! Waaa! Waaa!
2. ...Baal, hear us! Astarte, hear us!
3. ...and shake our tambourines at the moon...
4. ...and wail, and scream, and shout...
5. ...Lord, give us what we want, right now, or we're going to become Unitarians!
I'm sure there are equally fitting endings to these "prayers."
So instead of Chrysler's "Imported From Detroit" we now have "Excommunicated in Detroit"?
ReplyDeleteIt's, "Dissent-Fest"
ReplyDeleteWhy would they publicize those horrible demographics?
ReplyDeleteMaryBeth
LOL. There's nothing wrong with being a Caucasian woman. Pretty far from it, actually.
ReplyDeleteBeing a Caucasian woman at this particular silly-fest is pretty bad though, simply because it's a waste of time. But some people apparently don't have anything better to do, I guess.
It will pass. I expect rather little will come of it. It'll end up just one more frame in the comic strip of life.
97% are over 45 ROTFL, I'd love to see this compared to the Call To Holiness conference also this weekend in Detroit.
ReplyDeleteLOL - Father Z with some shots at the ACC
ReplyDeleteThe really sad part is that this is only part of the picture. People are remarking that the attendees of this event are most older people, which is true. But that's because so many of the younger people who have far out views, or haven't been properly catechized, have simply left the church. This is a tragedy for the whole church.
ReplyDeleteStatistics say that the second largest denomination in the US is ex-catholic. Think about that.
I'm not saying we need to change the dogma or anything of the sort. I am saying that we need to do something about catechesis. And Catholics need to do a far better job of living the Christian life and having a relationship with God. Far too many Catholics are lousy examples of the Christian life, and that's a fact.
ReplyDeleteCelebrate diversity!
ReplyDeleteFar better that those with far-out views not be affirmed in believing that they can hold those views and still be Catholic - better they leave the Church rather than tear it down from the inside, which is what these dissidents have been doing. It's absolutely true that catechesis must improve, and the biological solution is working on that...
ReplyDeleteI listened to your segment on this conference. Granted, many of these people were lied to and damaged in other ways, but these people carried out a generation long hissy fit.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, these people are representative of the worst aspects of the Baby Boomer generation that live like spoiled brats for as long as I've lived. In the famous words of Don Henley, it's past time they "Get Over It!"
The demographic of 97% are over 45 years old; 63 % are over 65 years old places a great number of these people as young adults in the 60s, does it not? So a great number of these folks may be accustomed to dissent as the natural reaction to authority. As far as I can tell, the direction of the Church is going one way and they are going the other.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of hearing about the "biological solution." Yes, there are goofballs among the older crowd, but there are total goofballs among the younger crowd too. You shouldn't write off whole batches of humanity--it isn't rational, and it isn't Christian.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of older people looking for the church to straighten up and not be so hippie-dippie just like there are a lot of younger people hoping the same thing. Get a grip.
Sam,
ReplyDeleteNot exactly true. The major reason you don't see younger people in this crowd is that younger people don't feel any compunction to stay if they don't like the church. They just walk off. In droves. According to the latest Pew report, 1 in 3 cradle catholics leave the church when they reach adulthood. And contrary to Catholic rumor, it is quite unusual for them to come back. They're gone for good.
When you look at that room full of old fruitcakes there, that's really what you're looking at. IN their generation, many of them didn't walk off bodily. They were raised not to. They walked off "in their heads" instead. Either way, it's walking off.