The Church - today and many tomorrows from now.

Thanks to the recent visit of Benedict XVI to the United States, both television and the print media have dedicated a rather sizeable amount of time and space to the status of Catholicism in this country.
The impression given is fairly positive, but I remain convinced that Catholicism, as well as all other religions of the world, has a bleak future on this earth, and I am reminded of the book by Franz Werfel, which I’ve read twice…most recently, about three or four years ago and way back during my seminary days. It is about the future, but in no way can it be described as “science fiction.” His “future” is far more distant than any other “futuristic” novels I’ve ever heard of…in the neighborhood of 10,000 years or more. At that point, he describes a church down to its ‘bare bones,’ composed of the Religious, (monks and nuns,) and a pope ( albeit named Grand Bishop).
The situation in the present is bleak enough, according to an article in the Albuquerque Journal (AP) dated April 6th. The Journal referred to some very dismal facts gleaned from a study done in a 2007 by the Center for Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. According to that study, “About one-third of the more than 64 million U. S. Catholics never attend Mass, and about one quarter attend only a few times a year….” It also reports that “A majority never go to confession or go less than once a year.” In previous references to Werfel’s novel, I have written that his vision of the future is cited far too distant in time, in terms of the plight of Catholicism. Seems to me that he would have been closer to the mark, placing it perhaps a couple of hundred years, not thousands!
A week later, the Journal cited a few more statistics of interest. It is not clear that these facts came from the same study, but since it was commissioned by “the nation’s bishops,” and the other study cited was done by a Catholic university, it’s a fair conclusion that the data published later comes from the same source. The second article included a very interesting statement: “…most believed they could be good Roman Catholics without going to Mass.” From this, one could easily conclude that Secularism reigns pretty comfortably in the western world and the Church’s teachings have very little “teeth.” Nevertheless, “Seventy-two percent of Catholics said they were somewhat or very satisfied with the bishops’ leadership.”
This brings to mind a conversation I had awhile back with a young woman who identifies herself as being Catholic, yet seems very attracted to some so called “New Age” ideas. Terry came over to our house when the death of Pope John Paul II was announced. She was in tears! Obviously, she must be in that large category of Catholics who do not see any connection between going to Mass regularly and being a “good Roman Catholic.”
Benedict’s great influence was certainly recognized by our government. President Bush broke precedent and greeted the Pope on the tarmac of the airport…something never done for anyone before, not even heads of state. The televised Masses in St. Patricks Cathedral and one of the sports arenas were both completely packed. He was greeted with enthusiasm usually reserved for pop idols. And proves again, what I have always maintained; that the Catholic church knows full well how important it is to put on a good show. If all this pomp and high ceremony didn’t speak of the ages, they could not get away with it! When you’ve been doing this sort of things for a couple thousand years…well, that’s another matter entirely and worthy of considerable respect…even by high level leaders of other religions.