Why I think that the Roman Catholic Church is losing members.

[bleedingheart]

I think that the "conservative" bent of the church in regard to the Truly Pro-Life issues like Living Wages, Healthcare, Childcare and the Rights of Workers to be treated like humans is the reason why they are losing ground in South America and to some degree here in North America.

You see my grandparents were devout Roman Catholics, in fact my paternal great-grandfather was a Catholic priest who fathered a child on his housekeeper...so you could say the Catholic church is in my blood....but back to my story...

My grandparents die-hard Catholics who truly believed that the meek shall inherit the earth and that we should all treat each other equally and well....they lived by those rules. My grandfather's fought alongside the Labor Priests who fought bravely for the rights of workers and a living wage. These priests saw the absolute indignity suffered by the workers and they knew it was wrong and they worked to make things better....now technically it was to their advantage as well, a well paid populace was more likely to put more in the church coffers...but I still think they had their hearts in the right place.

Today the Church has grown complacent and instead of fighting for the rights of the downtrodden...they preach the same hooey that their predecessors in the Middle Ages did..."Accept your lot in life and pray harder.."...

Now I am a pro-choice, pro-birth control liberal Catholic that completely understands that they aren't going to change their minds on these issues, and to some degree I understand why.

BUT...I want to know why the Church that advocates letting God decide how big your family grows does not argue in favor of living wages and working/social conditions that allow families to parent those children without having to worry about putting food in their mouths and keeping a roof over their heads.

My one cousin was sent on his first priestly mission to Peru in the early 70's. He was disgusted by the poverty he saw in the streets and he pleaded with the bishop to allow him to distribute blankets...and the reply he got was .."if we supply one with a blanket, they will all want one..." no wonder he left the priesthood to marry and find work as a social worker...

If anything the 2004 Election proved to me again that the church I grew up with has allowed itself to forget the plight of those downtrodden folks who are living here on this Earth...

[artfan]

1. more than just that though

-many fundamentalist churches promise 'stuff' if you are a good fundie god will provide material wealth.

-fundies scare the crap out of their members so they are afraid to leave

-lots of American catholics use birth control and ignore other church teaching that they do not like but some (like me) leave because they can not live that way