Quote from the caption with the last picture, concerning the hearing of confessions:
“Later, [George] explains that he enjoys hearing confessions: ‘What you offer is the forgiveness of Christ. It’s liberating. Forgiveness is not something we are at ease with in our society. It’s more and more difficult to get people to believe they can be forgiven.”
And if we lose confidence in the possibility of forgiveness for ourselves, we are also less likely to forgive others.
I have long admired Cardinal George, as I also did his distinguised predecessor, ++Joseph Bernadin. This photo gallery helps makes a larger-than-life figure seem human and approachable.
But the formal description of him at the top over the series of pictures caught my attention. As Archbishop of Chicago, he oversees an archdiocese that cliams “2.3 million” members. That is probably a considerably inflated number, as the RCs rarely clean their rolls and tend to think, “once RC, always RC,” even if someone has been worshipping in a Protestant church for years. But still, it’s striking that one Catholic archdiocese is larger than the entire TEC.
Given the sad state of TEC and the sad tension and strife we see on every side these days, I wonder how many TEC bishops laugh as often during the day as these pictures show this faithful RC archbishop doing. And he bears FAR more weighty pressures and responsibilities than they do.
Need I say it? I for one would very gladly trade half the bishops in TEC to get one Cardinal George in the HoB.
Well, Fr. Handy, Catholic numbers may or may not be inflated. I know I still get envelopes from a parish I’ve not attended in 10 years, so I guess I am being counted twice (at least – I have never “unregistered” from a parish). OTOH, one parish told me that if they didn’t get a contribution in 6 months, they would assume I was gone and remove me from the registry. I have also know people active in a parish for years without registering, although they are counted on a baptismal registry somewhere. At any rate, I have no idea how consistent counting may be.
It is true that unless someone asks to be removed from the rolls, they remain “a Catholic”. Fr. Andrew Greeley, in The Catholic Imagination, stated that, sociologically, people who lose their faith continue to identify as Catholics, and it really is only those who consciously change their religion who cease to “be Catholic”. I know I have seen a case of a person away from the Church many years ask from a Catholic priest on her deathbed and you hear stories like that a lot. So maybe it’s just as well to not assume anyone is truly lost to the Church.
It’s an interesting problem. My diocese is said to have 400,000 Catholics and the diocesan website has average Sunday attendance for the parishes, so maybe I’ll sit down and figure out a ratio one of these days. As always, ASA is a better indicator of health than raw membership numbers.
[As for the numbers of Roman Catholics in this country, the Pew report recently said that there are more Roman Catholics than before. But, if you count those that were raised Roman Catholic almost one half have left the church. The Roman Catholic Church is relying heavily on the influx of immigrants from the Southwest. So the problem that the Episcopal church and for that matter all mainline denominations have is that they are losing members. Less people attend church than they used to and less people say that they belong to a mainline denomination. This brings into line the so called success of the Catholic church in increasing numbers]
Stewart
Quote from the caption with the last picture, concerning the hearing of confessions:
“Later, [George] explains that he enjoys hearing confessions: ‘What you offer is the forgiveness of Christ. It’s liberating. Forgiveness is not something we are at ease with in our society. It’s more and more difficult to get people to believe they can be forgiven.”
And if we lose confidence in the possibility of forgiveness for ourselves, we are also less likely to forgive others.
I have long admired Cardinal George, as I also did his distinguised predecessor, ++Joseph Bernadin. This photo gallery helps makes a larger-than-life figure seem human and approachable.
But the formal description of him at the top over the series of pictures caught my attention. As Archbishop of Chicago, he oversees an archdiocese that cliams “2.3 million” members. That is probably a considerably inflated number, as the RCs rarely clean their rolls and tend to think, “once RC, always RC,” even if someone has been worshipping in a Protestant church for years. But still, it’s striking that one Catholic archdiocese is larger than the entire TEC.
Given the sad state of TEC and the sad tension and strife we see on every side these days, I wonder how many TEC bishops laugh as often during the day as these pictures show this faithful RC archbishop doing. And he bears FAR more weighty pressures and responsibilities than they do.
Need I say it? I for one would very gladly trade half the bishops in TEC to get one Cardinal George in the HoB.
David Handy+
Well, Fr. Handy, Catholic numbers may or may not be inflated. I know I still get envelopes from a parish I’ve not attended in 10 years, so I guess I am being counted twice (at least – I have never “unregistered” from a parish). OTOH, one parish told me that if they didn’t get a contribution in 6 months, they would assume I was gone and remove me from the registry. I have also know people active in a parish for years without registering, although they are counted on a baptismal registry somewhere. At any rate, I have no idea how consistent counting may be.
It is true that unless someone asks to be removed from the rolls, they remain “a Catholic”. Fr. Andrew Greeley, in The Catholic Imagination, stated that, sociologically, people who lose their faith continue to identify as Catholics, and it really is only those who consciously change their religion who cease to “be Catholic”. I know I have seen a case of a person away from the Church many years ask from a Catholic priest on her deathbed and you hear stories like that a lot. So maybe it’s just as well to not assume anyone is truly lost to the Church.
It’s an interesting problem. My diocese is said to have 400,000 Catholics and the diocesan website has average Sunday attendance for the parishes, so maybe I’ll sit down and figure out a ratio one of these days. As always, ASA is a better indicator of health than raw membership numbers.
Pity the reporter didn’t know that the proper styling was Francis Cardinal George. Ah well.
[As for the numbers of Roman Catholics in this country, the Pew report recently said that there are more Roman Catholics than before. But, if you count those that were raised Roman Catholic almost one half have left the church. The Roman Catholic Church is relying heavily on the influx of immigrants from the Southwest. So the problem that the Episcopal church and for that matter all mainline denominations have is that they are losing members. Less people attend church than they used to and less people say that they belong to a mainline denomination. This brings into line the so called success of the Catholic church in increasing numbers]
Stewart