Church Retrogressed Since Vatican II

I found this article, with some interesting numbers, in the Wall Street Journal:

Regarding Father Edward T. Oakes's review of Father John W. O'Malley's book on the Second Vatican Council ("Chronicle of a Council," Dec. 26): It is not a stretch to assert that the Catholic Church, particularly in the U.S., has suffered greatly since the council took place.

Kenneth C. Jones compiled an "Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II," published in 2003. Among his findings: While the number of priests in the U.S. more than doubled to 58,000 between 1930 and 1965, that number has fallen to 45,000, and by 2020 there will be only 31,000. In 1965, there were 180,000 Catholic nuns, but by 2002 that number had fallen to 75,000; Catholic marriages have fallen in number by one third since 1965, while the annual number of annulments rose from 338 in 1968 to 50,000 in 2002. (Regarding the annulment process, it is said that, for better or worse, psychological factors have been taken into consideration much more so post-Vatican II.) And, of course, we have the clergy sex abuse scandal that culminated in 2002 and continues to this day.

Source

The author of the article names the cause of the downfall to be spirit of the times and morally corrupt churchmen.  I'm glad that he didn't say that Vatican II itself had something to do with it--I have little patience for that type of conjecture.  I have always felt that the downfall in the number of priests and nuns had more to do with the times we live in than anything else (historically morally corrupt churchmen are nothing new, so I don't agree here).  The Vietnam and post-Vietnam era brought a questioning of traditional values and pushed it to the limits.  In many ways we are still seeing that push in effect.

As the parent of two teenagers--and as a high school teacher--I know well how the values of the past are still being seriously questioned, though this doesn't surprise me since, in many ways, my generation questioned traditional values even more.  Spirit of the times? Yes, but it's nothing new. Speaking from a couple thousand years past, 1 John 4:3 tells us that the spirit of antichrist is in the world already.

For us as Christians the times offer a challenge.  Especially as Catholics we may sense an even greater challenge as numbers wane (though in my geographical area the Church is growing).  The perceived loss of past values gives rise in our times to a greater and deeper seeking.  My own parish causes a minor traffic jam each Sunday, as does the Evangelical mega-church not a quarter mile from my house.

Rather than despairing or spreading doom and gloom, we should take whatever challenges come and be confident in a positive outcome.  These times are ours, so what shall we make of them?

Comments

[Pia]

Do you think that in your diocese the numbers are rising because of the influx of Mexican immigrants, whose expression of faith may be more deeply rooted and convinced, and thus even a stimulus for other Catholics?

[Deacon DW]

I do think that immigration is part of the growth we're seeing, but not all of it is Mexican immigration. During diaconal formation in the late 90's I once heard our now retired Bishop Emeritus John McCarthy describe central Texas as sort of a hub for immigration from all directions.

With the high-tech growth in the Austin area, we've seen a great influx of people who have moved here from California (after visiting there this last summer I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave). However, California isn't all of it either. About 10 years ago I was having a conversation with the head librarian at Austin Presbyterian Seminary, whose wife is Catholic, and who at the time lived near my parish. "We attended your parish a couple times," he told me, "but we felt like it was mostly a bunch of yankees." Indeed it's true that the Austin area has experienced growth from the north and northeast US as well.

My experience is that in the Austin area there are parishes with huge numbers of Spanish speaking parishioners. My parish, which is still very much on the grow, is unusual in that it is made up predominantly of people with English, Slavic, and German surnames, many of which if not most, originated somewhere north (or perhaps west) of Texas. There are also a good number of native Texans such as myself as well as native English speakers of Hispanic decent.