Roman Catholic Church feels Europe slipping from its hands

[brooklynite]

smiling Pope Benedict XVI had just wrapped up an official visit to Portugal in May 2010, during which he praised Catholic organizations striving to protect families based on "the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman."

But barely 72 hours after the pontiff flew home, the president of Portugal declared that he would sign a bill allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed. With Spain having granted such rights five years earlier, the move turned the entire Iberian Peninsula, historically a Catholic stronghold, into an unlikely hitching post for homosexuals.

"That shows the importance of the pope's views, of the Catholic Church's views, on same-sex marriage in terms of domestic politics," Paulo Corte-Real, a gay rights activist and economics professor, recalled wryly.

More than just an embarrassment, the turn of events was emblematic of the fact that the Roman Catholic Church, once a mighty force on its home continent, is weaker in modern Europe than ever before, its influence ebbing, its privileged status increasingly called into question.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-catholic-church-europe-20130311,0,2846801.story

Plenty of sheep to lead in the rest of the world...

[cbayer]

1. They seem to be completely deaf to the data presented here and

that known about US Catholics as well.

They remain so at their own peril, imo.

[skepticscott]

8. Yes, just like the Vatican

ignored that busfulla nuns "at their peril". They really took a sucker punch on that one, didn't they?

[2naSalit]

2. ...

[BlueStreak]

3. The board of directors (Cardinals) of this giant enterprise have a tough decision

Their business model is falling apart. Their customer is changing. They really face a pivotal business decision this time.

Do they name a CEO that will try to shore up the business in the traditional markets (Europe and the US). Or do they essentially abandon their base and name a Pope that will appeal to "less discriminating" (i.e. more ignorant) customers in Africa and South America?

There isn't as much money in those new markets, but they are losing ground in the developed world.

They have to answer a fundamental question. Is religion linked to ignorance? Conversely is advancement inherently hostile to religion, especially such a regimented, hierarchical religion that seems intent on rolling back civilization by 500 years?

I don't think any of those Cardinals can face the idea that their product is not wanted in the most developed parts of the world. So they will not appoint a CEO that clearly looks like the emerging markets. They will probably try to have it both ways and fail at both.

[Dawson Leery]

5. If American Catholics left the church en-mass, that would devistate the church.

The RCC relies upon Americans generosity to survive.

[BlueStreak]

6. Agreed. That's why this is a business decision and nothing else

It isn't about which man will be most holy or which man has the best hotline to God or which man knows Latin the best.

It will be a business decision to try to balance some very contradictory goals:

1) Pursue the growth markets (i.e. the most ignorant, lowest income areas of the world) and get there before Islam does, but without cratering what is left of the franchise in the US and Europe.

2) Protect the old church establishment, but try to appear modern and progressive.

In business when you try to do too many contradictory things, you die.

[msongs]

4. some religions flourish best in societies where the ideal woman is barefoot and pregnant nt

[Warren Stupidity]

7. They are feeling something that happened decades ago.