Michigan bishop explains how contraception decimates parishes
December 09, 2011
In an interview with Catholic World Report, Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette, Michigan, sees contraception as a major cause for the deterioration of American Catholic parishes.
Bishop Sample, who was ordained a bishop at the age of 50, describes himself as a member of “the first lost generation of poor catechesis.” He spoke with Catholic World Report about the critical need to restore proper religious education in order to bring young people back to the active practice of the faith.
When asked whether the prevalence of contraceptive use is a problem for the Church, Bishop Sample responded clearly:
Absolutely. Not everyone wants to talk about it, but that is a clear factor in the decline of the Catholic community. When I speak to my pastors, I hear them ask, “Where are the children?” We’re struggling to keep our Catholic school population up. This is true in our public schools as well.
My pastors want to have flourishing schools, but the children just aren’t there to fill them. Couples are using artificial contraceptives to limit the size of their families, and sterilization is also becoming a common practice. Families think they have the number of children they want, and then close off any further openness to life that God might want to bring into their family.
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Posted by: -
Dec. 10, 2011 11:01 AM ET USA
But this only half the problem, and the lesser problem at that. The deeper problem is that perhaps million of Communicants are, at least objectively speaking, in a state of mortal sin.
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Posted by: Gregory108 -
Dec. 10, 2011 4:47 AM ET USA
There is a bright side to this. I go to various parishes. There are several rather conservative parishes, where, when they call for the children's Liturgy of the Word, huge numbers of kids present themselves. Oodles! The modern "liberal" Church is contracepting; the faithful, "conservative" Church is not! The fertile will inherit the earth and the Church, for that matter. Good Catholic parents yield good Catholic kids..and vocations too! What a way to change the face and outlook of the Church!
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Posted by: -
Dec. 09, 2011 8:25 PM ET USA
If you stick your finger in the fire, you are going to get burned. If you contracept, you deny the future. Not rocket science. What we could use a study on is how to get the horse back in the barn after decades of silence. chirp, chirp.
