Catholic Professor: Will the Catholic Church Change or Decline


I wonder how many Catholics, thousands or millions, ask what this professor asks? He wonders if his church has the ability to grow intellectually. Its public is growing. Almost 3/4th believe in abortion rights. Nearly all practice birth control. It is no longer the case clergy are producers of theology, members are consumers. Instead, it is the opposite.

The Pope in on a worldwide "listening" tour. That is almost heresy. Clergy are supposed to preach, those in the pew listen. The Pope is doing something so much in the best interests of the church but is being trashed by some of its whackos. 

I remember watching an interview on the conservative Catholic TV channel. I think it's called EWTN. A young earnest personality said, "Just because the church was wrong in the past does not mean it's wrong today." Technically correct but being wrong many times about issues central to it existence is not reassuring.   

When the church's views and secular views were different but similar the two could exist and the church was not hurt so much. The thing is, secular views have continued to change rapidly while the Church's views have changed slowly. The gap has widened. Closing that gap is what the Pope is trying to do, but he runs into many brick walls. 

Ultimately, the church, Protestant and Catholic, must change or die. Something now unknown will take its place. Will what replaces it be better or worse. We don't know. What we do know is what is here now is cruel and unrelentingly mean to large groups of society. That includes gay people and women. It's hard to imagine a group that would be worse--though surely it's possible. 

What we don't know is whether the Pope's effort to change or the dimwit's insistence on status quo will prevail. The dimwits seem to have the upper hand.  

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