Catholic Teachings NOT Population matter
I had spent this morning considering society, and the influence of different groups on popular culture and morality. I had originally intended to write a piece pertaining to increasing the Catholic population and by extension changing or influencing the culture at large; after all, the recent election was a reflection of values held popularly by society and when the majority perspectives change so do the laws of the land. This could well lead into a discussion of the tyranny of the majority; however, I do not wish to approach that topic; rather, I wish to continue on the Catholic demographic.
Fertility Rates
Back to my initial thinking, I had posited that Catholics having more children would more greatly influence society, but as I began to look at numbers I became dismayed because the largest growing demographic, as far as Catholicism in the United States, is the Latino population; in fact, Latinos in general are the fastest growing group in the United States. So, why am I dismayed? I am dismayed that even though this demographic is growing and that because of their influx Catholicism is still approximately 25% of the United States population, but their voting in the election pointed toward an increasingly liberalized attitude, despite the supposed conservative perceptions. In this past election, it was seen that the Catholic populace in general favored Obama 50 - 48 percent, but this number spiked amongst Hispanics to a margin of 76 - 23 percent in favor of Obama (Yahoo). Keeping this in mind, an increased population of Catholics really does not matter because they are not voting in keeping with Church, so whether Catholics are 25% of the population or 50% does not matter when they vote opposing Church teaching; therefore my initial thinking for rectifying this problem would really not solve a thing.
Attitudes
I decided to do something just for fun. What I am about to show is really not too statistically significant, but it does convey an attitude found among Catholics which is found to diverge from the Church's teaching on life.
I went onto the GSS Survey and decided to play with some of their information to see what found. I selected a group sample of self identified Catholics, who marked themselves as Traditional, Moderate, Liberal, None or Other. I cross tabulated them against Being in Favor or Against Abortion in the Case of Rape. Now, it should be noted that people self-identified their type of Catholicism, but that is not really important. What is important is that (of the sample of 623) they are all Catholic, and what can also be seen is an overall favorable view of abortion in the case of rape, a severe break from the Church's teaching on life.
Solution
There is no absolute solution to the present situation, and everyone is allowed to express their free will and to reject God, His Church and His teachings. However, there must be a greater emphasis on the part of our leaders to draw lines and apply punishments to those who are publicly manifest in grave sin and lead the flock astray by corruption of teachings and horrid examples, not excluding Canon 915 and Excommunication. People learn by understanding what is palpable, and as has been highlight in Ps 149 (DR), the Church is there to exercise authority and when necessary carry out punishment. It has a more modern example, consider it rational choice theory at play. When people understand that there is indeed a palpable punishment for their acts, they may think more also of the spiritual consequence. Now, this is not to be construed as corporal punishment, but the measures which I have stated are punishments which can carry an eternal consequence, but they are also ones that allow the faithful to tangibly know that they have digressed and have indeed separated themselves from the Church.
Education has to be re-emphasized. Catechesis must be once again strongly rooted in doctrine so that the faithful are not merely rooted in an emotional experience, but also one of the intellect and connected to the sacred tradition of the Church. There must be an emphasis on the Church Fathers and Scripture, but most of all on the Mass. The Mass must be reclaimed and celebrated reverently, and should be aptly explained to all who are Catholic, so that it is understood that nothing that takes place is superfluous but has purpose. More importantly, people must be taught about the True Presence of Christ and this is the center of our lives. Our educational institutions must also be reclaimed, and teaching must once again be taught in the light of Christ, and those who promote heterodox ideas or seek to corrupt our flock, especially our seminarians need to be purged from our learning institutions.
Life needs to be Christ centered. The faithful must once again learn that they cannot serve both God and Mammon. Holy Mother Church must preach and demonstrate those distinctions, and those who would follow Lucifer and speak heresy from the pulpit need to censured and punished. It is to the point where numbers do not matter but proper faith and proper feeding of that faith.
Truth be told, it is very unlikely that true Catholic teaching will ever be in force in the United States and with the increased attitude of liberalism, it is likely that our moral precepts will continue to be attacked and disappear from the public square, which is why we need to be fed properly and strong. Numbers do not matter. In the early Church, they were not vast but they had faith. They were persecuted and were martyred, but did not serve Mammon. Let us, by God's grace, have the same resolve, and let our priest and bishops step up and be strong because we need them now more than ever.
Fertility Rates
Back to my initial thinking, I had posited that Catholics having more children would more greatly influence society, but as I began to look at numbers I became dismayed because the largest growing demographic, as far as Catholicism in the United States, is the Latino population; in fact, Latinos in general are the fastest growing group in the United States. So, why am I dismayed? I am dismayed that even though this demographic is growing and that because of their influx Catholicism is still approximately 25% of the United States population, but their voting in the election pointed toward an increasingly liberalized attitude, despite the supposed conservative perceptions. In this past election, it was seen that the Catholic populace in general favored Obama 50 - 48 percent, but this number spiked amongst Hispanics to a margin of 76 - 23 percent in favor of Obama (Yahoo). Keeping this in mind, an increased population of Catholics really does not matter because they are not voting in keeping with Church, so whether Catholics are 25% of the population or 50% does not matter when they vote opposing Church teaching; therefore my initial thinking for rectifying this problem would really not solve a thing.
Attitudes
I decided to do something just for fun. What I am about to show is really not too statistically significant, but it does convey an attitude found among Catholics which is found to diverge from the Church's teaching on life.
I went onto the GSS Survey and decided to play with some of their information to see what found. I selected a group sample of self identified Catholics, who marked themselves as Traditional, Moderate, Liberal, None or Other. I cross tabulated them against Being in Favor or Against Abortion in the Case of Rape. Now, it should be noted that people self-identified their type of Catholicism, but that is not really important. What is important is that (of the sample of 623) they are all Catholic, and what can also be seen is an overall favorable view of abortion in the case of rape, a severe break from the Church's teaching on life.
Solution
There is no absolute solution to the present situation, and everyone is allowed to express their free will and to reject God, His Church and His teachings. However, there must be a greater emphasis on the part of our leaders to draw lines and apply punishments to those who are publicly manifest in grave sin and lead the flock astray by corruption of teachings and horrid examples, not excluding Canon 915 and Excommunication. People learn by understanding what is palpable, and as has been highlight in Ps 149 (DR), the Church is there to exercise authority and when necessary carry out punishment. It has a more modern example, consider it rational choice theory at play. When people understand that there is indeed a palpable punishment for their acts, they may think more also of the spiritual consequence. Now, this is not to be construed as corporal punishment, but the measures which I have stated are punishments which can carry an eternal consequence, but they are also ones that allow the faithful to tangibly know that they have digressed and have indeed separated themselves from the Church.
Education has to be re-emphasized. Catechesis must be once again strongly rooted in doctrine so that the faithful are not merely rooted in an emotional experience, but also one of the intellect and connected to the sacred tradition of the Church. There must be an emphasis on the Church Fathers and Scripture, but most of all on the Mass. The Mass must be reclaimed and celebrated reverently, and should be aptly explained to all who are Catholic, so that it is understood that nothing that takes place is superfluous but has purpose. More importantly, people must be taught about the True Presence of Christ and this is the center of our lives. Our educational institutions must also be reclaimed, and teaching must once again be taught in the light of Christ, and those who promote heterodox ideas or seek to corrupt our flock, especially our seminarians need to be purged from our learning institutions.
Life needs to be Christ centered. The faithful must once again learn that they cannot serve both God and Mammon. Holy Mother Church must preach and demonstrate those distinctions, and those who would follow Lucifer and speak heresy from the pulpit need to censured and punished. It is to the point where numbers do not matter but proper faith and proper feeding of that faith.
Truth be told, it is very unlikely that true Catholic teaching will ever be in force in the United States and with the increased attitude of liberalism, it is likely that our moral precepts will continue to be attacked and disappear from the public square, which is why we need to be fed properly and strong. Numbers do not matter. In the early Church, they were not vast but they had faith. They were persecuted and were martyred, but did not serve Mammon. Let us, by God's grace, have the same resolve, and let our priest and bishops step up and be strong because we need them now more than ever.
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