The Roman Catholic Church - A Church in Crisis

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A piece in The Advocate sets out some statistics - see the images above which you can click to enlarge - that ought to be terrifying to the bitter old men in dresses at the Vatican and in bishoprics across America and making it plain to anyone sane that, without major change, the Roman Catholic Church is on a slow death spiral.  As the article notes:

An impulse to compassion may not be Pope Francis’s only reason for backing off the socially repressive and tone-deaf elements of Catholicism (including the anti-gay rhetoric) that disenchant parishioners; the shrinking church badly needs to invigorate the flock and raise some funds or risk going the way of the dodo. A new papal attitude might be the answer.

Yet, with far more critical things to be worried about - e.g., declining church attendance (only 25% of Catholics attend weekly mass), falling financial support from parishioners (donations are down 20%), continued payouts to sex abuse victims ($3 billion paid to date and new suits averaging $1 million a piece), new vocations to the priesthood almost non-existent - Bishop David Walkowiak of the Diocese of Grand Rapids instead is whining and condemning yesterday's ruling striking down Michigan's ban on same sex marriage.   It is symptomatic of why the Roman Catholic Church is dying in America and much of the western world. MLive.com looks at Walkowiak's batshitery:

"Today’s federal district court ruling alters the fundamental meaning and structure of marriage that has existed from the beginning," said Walkowiak, who said the ruling advances a redefinition of marriage that is incompatible with Catholic beliefs and values.

"Persons with same-sex attractions should be respected not judged," Walkowiak said in his statement. "We strongly support those who are living faithfully according to Christian teaching while finding themselves with a same-sex attraction."

Walkowiak fails to say how his statement of "respect" toward gays can be reconciled with the Church's official position that gays are "inherently disordered" and "inclined toward evil."   Nor does he say how condemning a whole group of people to a life of loneliness and celibacy is a form of showing respect and not judging.  With nearly a third of the younger generations walking away from institutional religion, one can only hope that the Catholic Church in America suffers a much deserved death sooner as opposed to later.