"You are the rainbows that give us hope."
Not sunshine, lollipops and rainbows?
Citing a study by Dean Hoge, a sociology professor at The Catholic University of America, Bishop Kicanas said that ministers face a church in the third millennium where more of its members turn to their conscience, rather than church doctrine, to make moral decisions.
Back in eighth grade catechesis we taught that conscience included both the ability to judge and the criteria by which we judge. Church doctrine is such a set of criteria. It makes no sense to oppose conscience to doctrine; any opposition would be between doctrine and some other criteria for moral judgment.
"In the next few years, there will be one-third fewer Catholics who are deeply committed to their faith," he said. "Catholics will continue to give less credence to church teaching and more to their own personal judgment. And even though they identify themselves as Catholics, will go to church less often."
Thereby reinforcing our leaders' complacent disconnect from reality. Catholics are not just less involved within the Church, they are leaving the Church in enormous numbers in many countries. The November 2006 Milwaukee magazine article on Catholics In Crisis said
Even with the Hispanic and exurban growth, the total number of registered Catholics in the archdiocese last year fell by 20,000 ...
Continued at that rate, there'll be no one left by 2040. Continuing in the Herald,
In order to carry out the mission of Christ with hope, Bishop Kicanas said that priests, deacons, religious and laity must work in communion.
You might assume he means in communion with the bishops, but it's only an assumption from what's in the article.
The second challenge for ministers in the new millennium is to build a just society and to pass on the faith.
When they can become effective on the latter, they might have a shot at developing some credibility on the former.
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