It's really too bad that the average person relies on the MSM for his knowledge about religious affairs, because he will often be misinformed about the real situation, especially as it pertains to the Catholic Church.
The New York Sun reported "Vatican Forced To Turn to Third World for New Priests" which is true-- there are many new priests coming from the Third World. But then it spews a bunch of non-sense that any knowledgeable Catholic knows is not true:
The shortage reflects the faith's decline in Europe and America amid unpopular stances on issues such as contraception, abortion, and women in the church.
Um, no. Rather, the decline of the Church is due to insufficient catechesis by mostly liberal priests who don't bother with things like doctrine. Ask the average Catholic what he knows about doctrine. Pretty pathetic.
The demographic shift among the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics raises the possibility that the next pope will be the first non-European pontiff and may threaten the Holy See's $271 million annual budget, most of which comes from Catholics in America and Europe.
I had to re-read this one. It never occured to me ever that there would less support for the pope because he was conservative or from the Third World. What kind of crazy statement is that?
"The future of the Church is clearly in the developing world," a theology professor at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Kevin Pecklers, said. "The Vatican very much looks to the U.S. for financial help. If Americans stopped giving, it would be very deeply felt by the Vatican."
I appreciate the American Catholic Church. It is the beacon of the Church in the West, at least at the lay level. But the Church existed before the foundation of the US, and it will continue to exist even if all Catholics disappear from the US.
Besides, there are over 60 million Catholics in the US. They are not going to all of a sudden stop giving to the Church because the pope is from the Third World. If anything, with all the Latinos in the US, a Latin American bishop would be quite welcome!
Some bishops say easing the ban on celibacy or allowing women into the priesthood might help the vocation appeal to more Catholics in America and Europe.
Oh really, huh? I've never heard a bishop say anything like that. Priests have said that, sure, but not bishops. Bishops generally tow the line on major issues. Besides the statement is patently untrue. Do other denominations with married and female clergy have recruitment problems? YES! So that's not the problem. What the liberal media does not understand is that there is a lack of orthodox upbringing among the faithful, and if you don't have orthodox Catholics, you will not have a priesthood. Simple as that. If your commitment to Catholic doctrine is tenuous, why be a priest?
Check out the Big Blue Wave Message Board
