
The Younger Generation May Be Lost to the Church
THE UNPOPULARITY OF TRYING TO BE 'WITH-IT'
I want to propose a radical idea. Perhaps the reason teenagers bolt from the Catholic Church the minute they are out from under the parental roof is not that they want a trendier liturgy with more contemporary music. Perhaps what they really want isn’t more pizza parties and more “ski-retreat” weekends. Perhaps their biggest argument with the Church isn’t even her teaching on pre-marital sex or birth control or abortion or the ordination of women.
Perhaps they just don’t believe.
Perhaps they don’t believe in God. Don’t believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Don’t believe in the saving power of the sacraments. Don’t believe in an afterlife.
I think it’s time to consider the possibility that young people’s indifference to, defection from, and — in some cases — contempt for the Catholic Church (and often for Christianity in generabpmay not be so much a matter of style as of substance. Their attitude may be due not so much to the desire for a church more in tune with contemporary secular society as to their lack of desire for any church at all. Furthermore, I would like to offer the unsettling suggestion that their lack of faith may reflect a lack of faith they see in their elders — especially certain Church leaders.
You May Also Enjoy
During the 20th century two of the world’s largest multinationals dominated their competition with “classics” recognized even in the remote recesses of the earth.
Materialism hides behind the often just economic proposals of some socialists, and behind the efficiency and productivity of certain capitalist systems.
'Just Say No'... EWTN: What Happened to Mother Angelica's Catholic Militancy... Our Churches Will Be Empty... John Michael Talbot... How Lovely!... No Situation Justifies Taking the Life of a Baby in the Womb... The So-Called War on Terror...