by Susan Matthews
Nothing has changed since the 2011 Grand Jury Report. A few new policies and millions in payouts don’t fix what is broken within the Philadelphia Archdiocese or the Vatican. But this is not a pessimistic post fueled by righteous indignation. My anger is topped off with hope. While nothing changed, everything has changed.
There are 828 posts in our Catholics4Change evolution. Here are our founding posts along with eight more of the most read.
- My Lost Saints – by Susan Matthews. I wrote the very first C4C post in response to the 2011 Grand Jury Report that had just been released.
- Test of Faith – by Kathy Kane. I’d never liked group projects but that all changed when Kathy reached out. From that moment on she became the best half of Catholics4Change.
- Two Catholic Mothers Conspiring Together – by Monica Yant Kinney, The Philadelphia Inquirer
- I Want You to Tell the Truth – by Father Christopher Walsh
- Pastor Testifies That Lynn Kept Him in the Dark About Priest’s Sick History
- What If This Was Your Son? – by Arthur Baselice, Jr.
- Father John Paul Laicized After Being Allowed to Stay As Pastor During Secret Investigation
- Facing the Dilemma of Keeping Kids In Catholic School – by C4C subscriber, Theresa
- St. John Vianney Policy Has Dangerous Potential. Kathy Kane raises a warning flag and continues to cover this issue.
- The List Cardinal Bevilacqua Didn’t Want You to See
A New Beginning
When I named this blog Catholics4Change, the title referred to administrative reform. A decade later, the name means something very different to me. I’m a Catholic who has changed. I know I’m in good company here.
With each individual transformation, the Church is changing. Some would argue that it’s disappearing. While Church membership is down across all faiths, Gallup reported Catholic Church membership is down 18 points, from 76 to 58 percent. Protestant membership is only down nine points, from 73 to 64 percent. This mirrors the sharp decline in Catholic Mass attendance. The Center for Church Management at Villanova University projects an attendance rate in the neighborhood of 12 percent by 2023.
The vatican structure is failing but we are the Church and we have changed. Join us as we take change to the next level within a new virtual community. Click here to learn more.