Showing posts with label Demographics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Demographics. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Study Offers Suprising Result on the Immemorial Mass of All Ages
A study on Summorum Pontificum shows that young people and families are represented above the average in holy masses in the Traditional Rite.
(Bonn) Also katholisch.de , the portal of the German Bishops' Conference, proves a worthy report: A new study confirms that the Masses are attended in the traditional form of the Roman Rite in above-average numbers by young people and families.
The study was presented by the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV) and was handed over to the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the end of 2020 . It was created in connection with the survey initiated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in March 2020 . "At the request" of Pope Francis, Cardinal Prefect Luis Ladaria SJ sent a detailed questionnaire to all diocesan bishops and their equals. They had to fill it in and send it back by July 31, 2020 and served to take stock of the implementation and experiences with the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum from 2007. With this motu proprio, Pope Benedict XVI. reminded the universal Church that the traditional form of the Roman Rite lives on in the Church and was never forbidden. Rather, it made it easier for all priests to celebrate in the traditional rite as it was in force until the “liturgical reform” of 1969/70.
Because of the widespread reservations against the ruling head of the church, which can be traced back to gestures, statements and omissions by him during his previous pontificate, the concern spread in traditional Church circles that Francis intended to restrict tradition in the Church again, as it was the case under Paul VI. These fears were fueled because some Italian bishops in the run-up, had demanded just that in strident tones. Added to this was that the Archbishop of La Plata [Gay Smoocher] in Argentina, Msgr. Victor Manuel "Tucho" Fer-nandez , one of the closest Pope intimates, eliminated Summorum Pontificum in 2019 in his diocese.
Little trust was fostered by the usual spiteful anathemas of "Liturgist of the Pope" Andrea Grillo, in addition there was enthusiam showed by the CDF. Traditionalist circles, however, see this as a serious cause for concern.
The FIUV to tive the Pope and the CDF information on the implementation and experience of Summorum Pontificum, based on data from 362 dioceses and 52 countries. Behind this is an effort to ensure that Rome is given a balanced overall picture.
The hitherto unpublished study was conducted by one of its authors, the Oxford philosopher, president of the Latin Mass Society and secretary of the Federation Una Voce, Joseph Shaw, presentedd in the January issue of the US journal Homiletic and Pastoral Review. In it Shaw stated:
"The association of the extraordinary form with young people and families is neither a myth nor limited to a few countries."
For the German-speaking world, the positive effect of Summorum Pontificum shows that the Mass sites have quadruppled for the Traditional Rite since its entry into force as Pro Missa Tridentina announced in the summer of 2020.
Text: Giuseppe di Nari
image: Katholisch.de (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
France: Clear Shift in Seminaries -- Diocesen Seminarians Decline, Traditional and Communauté St Martin Communities Increase
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| What will the priest of tomorrow be like? France shows a clear indication. |
At the end of the 2009/2010 academic year (shortly before priestly ordinations) there were 918 seminarians in France. At the end of the 2016/2017 academic year, the figure was 853. This represents a drop of seven percent.
The numbers include the diocesan seminaries and all seminarians, whether French or foreigners, who study for a French diocese. Also included are the secular priestly communities of tradition (including the Society of St. Pius Xth ) and the Communauté St. Martin, which is playing an increasing role in France. The picture is therefore not entirely complete, since the Catholic orders are missing. The statistics, however, deliberately includes the world clergy.
Growth of communities of tradition and community of St. Martin
The 94 French dioceses experienced a drop in French seminarians of almost a fifth (-18.2 percent). In the case of foreign seminarians preparing for a priesthood for a French diocese, the decline was even more pronounced and almost one quarter (23.1 per cent).
On the other hand, the priestly societies of tradition show an annual increase. The number of their seminarians rose from 140 in the academic year 2009/2010 to 160 in the academic year 2016/2017. This represents an increase of 14.3 percent.
During the same period, the Priestly Society of St. Martin (Communauté St. Martin), which was founded in 1976 by Jean-François Guérin, priest of the Archbishopric of Tours, was canonically erected with the help of the Archbishop of Genoa, Giuseppe Cardinal Siri. Guérin died in 2005, who was the Superior General until 2004, and was a member of the old-rite Benedictine Abbey of Fontgombault. The mother house and the community priest's seminary are now in the former Benedictine Abbey of Evron.
The Priestly Society of St. Martin, who had 43 seminarians in France in 2010, had 98 in the past year. It was able to more than double its numbers. The increase is 128 percent.
The figures do not include the members of the Propaedeutic (Preseminary).
Clear shifts in the overall picture
The changes also mean shifts in the overall picture. In 2010, French diocesan seminarians accounted for two-thirds (66%) of all seminarians preparing for the priesthood in France. With the foreign seminarians who studied for French dioceses, their share amounted to 80 per cent. The seminarians of the priestly communities of tradition accounted for 15.3 per cent of the total number. The Communauté St. Martin had a share of 4.7 percent.
In 2017, the picture is clearly different: the French diocesan seminarists now account for only 58 percent of all seminarians who are covered. Together with the foreign seminarians for French dioceses, their share is 69.7 percent. The proportion of the priestly communities of tradition has increased to 18.8 per cent, and that of the Communauté St. Martin even to 11.5 per cent.
The proportion of diocesan seminarians are also distributed quite differently in the diocese. Eleven of the 94 dioceses had only one seminarian in the past year, five had no one. 13 dioceses had only two seminarians, 17 more only three, and another 18 dioceses between four and five seminarians. In other words, two-thirds of the French bishops do not even have a new priest every year.
Half of the diocesan seminarians are from 13 of 94 diocese - except Frejus-Toulon
More than half of all diocesan seminarians are from 13 of the 94 dioceses. Two diocese stand out: the Archdiocese of Paris and the Diocese of Frejus-Toulon. The largest number, with 70 seminarians, is the Archdiocese of Paris. At the lower end of the list, the seminarians of 42 diocese are to be counted in order to reach the number of seminarians in Paris. The archdiocese includes 3.3 per cent of the inhabitants of France, but accounts for 11.8 per cent of diocesan seminarians and 8.2 per cent of all seminarians.
The Diocese of Frejus-Toulon in Provence is a real exception. It has been headed since 2000 by the Bishop Dominique Rey. Although the Diocese is only 1.6 per cent of the population of France, the small diocese, with 42 seminarians, represents seven per cent of all diocesan seminarians and almost five per cent of all seminarians. On the whole, the seminary of Frejus-Toulon attracts most priestly vocations in proportion. At the seminary, 66 seminary participants were trained in the last academic year. In the past, Bishop Rey has promoted the establishment or founding of new orders and communities, including those with a missionary and traditional charism. The education at the diocesan seminary of Frejus-Toulon is also appreciated by priests of tradition.
27 dioceses had more seminarians in 2017 than in 2010. Not all of them signify a trend reversal, but some already. Worth mentioning was the increase, especially in the diocese of Lyon, Bayonne, Rennes, Montpellier, Meaux, Saint-Brieuc and Digne. The diocese of Bayonne is also headed by Monsignor Marc Aillet, a traditional bishop, who belongs to the Priestly Society of St. Martin.
Overall, a general shift can be observed. It leads away from the post-conciliar spirit and in a graded way towards the tradition.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Riposte Catholique
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Photo: Riposte Catholique
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Another Europe: Sunday Mass Attendance Rises in Poland to 40 Percent
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| The Other Europe: Polish Mass Attendance Climbs |
(Warsaw) There is "another Europe". The latest figures from Poland make it clear. The number of visitors to Sunday Mass has risen to 40 percent in 2016.
According to the statistical institute of the Catholic Church in Poland, the proportion of visitors in the survey population increased from 39.1 percent in 2015 to 39.8 percent in 2016. The number of Communion recipients rose from 16.3 percent to 17 percent, as Pawel Rytel-Andrianik for Zenit reported.
Poland has one of the densest parish nets in the Catholic world. About seven percent of all parishes are run by religious orders. 92 percent of Poles profess the Catholic faith. The number of priests working in parishes is almost 21,000. More than 7,000 religious are also active in the parishes.
In 2015 369,000 baptisms and 270,000 First Communions were offered and 134,000 marriages were consecrated. The figures point to a healthy, positive demographic development.
In more than 60,000 parishes around 2.5 million believers are active. A further 1.8 million believers are voluntarily active in the social sector, in child care, disability facilities, schools and hospices.
Polish catholicity is characterized by a rich Marian tradition and diverse forms of popular piety. The rosary and liturgical functions, which are based on the Marian works of Fatima, play a particularly strong role.
Text: Gerda Weiser
image: Il Timone
image: Il Timone
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Migrant Keeps German Town in Fear -- Police Are Powerless
[Wangen] A 20 year old asylum seeker from Gambia has terrorized the Swabian municipality of Wangen for weeks. Almost daily there are charges of the man harrassing, stealing, threatening or resisting police officials, say reports of the Schwäbische Zeitung.
Most recently, he shouted at a woman in the street for no reason and threatened her with a bottle, rioted in a police cell and severed cable in his refugee center. Again and again, the asylum seeker is released. The police are powerless by their own account. "Many of the legal offenses do not stick, he moves in a gray area, which we must accept as fact," said Wangen police superintendent Wolfgang Gerke.
Although the man is now banned at several local asylum centers, because of his contacts in the community this allows him to return regularly back to the city. At present, the situation was "satisfactory", Gerke admitted. However, the police keep close contact with the courts and city. (Ho)
Most recently, he shouted at a woman in the street for no reason and threatened her with a bottle, rioted in a police cell and severed cable in his refugee center. Again and again, the asylum seeker is released. The police are powerless by their own account. "Many of the legal offenses do not stick, he moves in a gray area, which we must accept as fact," said Wangen police superintendent Wolfgang Gerke.
Although the man is now banned at several local asylum centers, because of his contacts in the community this allows him to return regularly back to the city. At present, the situation was "satisfactory", Gerke admitted. However, the police keep close contact with the courts and city. (Ho)
Text: Junge Freiheit.
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Thursday, April 7, 2016
UK: Record Numbers Attend Immemorial Mass in UK During Easter Triduum
Edit: in light of various complaints based on unsubstantiated data by the usual professional mourners for the Church's demise ™, you know who you are, there is some really positive news coming out of the UK that Easter services for the Triduum have enjoyed record numbers! Mr. Joseph Shaw of the Latin Mass Society was quoted in the Catholic Herald, which unfortunately insists upon prosaically calling the Immemorial Mass of All Ages, the "Extraordinary Form":
[Catholic Herald] Across Britain more than 200 older form Masses were celebrated over Holy Week. These included Easter Sunday Masses at both Norwich and Portsmouth cathedrals.
LMS said attendance in key parishes such as Warrington and Preston were up by at least 20 per cent from last year.
Joseph Shaw, chairman of LMS, said: “”We are delighted at the number of Easter Triduum services celebrated in the Extraordinary Form this year.”
Shaw added: “The growing numbers present at Extraordinary Form celebrations of the Easter vigil this year underline the continual growth we are experiencing all over the country in attendance at the Traditional Mass.”
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
New Map Shows Mass Locations Since Summorum Pontificum
(Rome) The French side ProjectSP5 published a map of Europe which includes the Mass locations of the traditional Mass. ProjectSP5 standa for Project Summorum Pontificum. The map highlights the spread of the traditional Rite, which Pope Benedict XVI has restored the traditional Rite again to its official right of residence in the world Church.
Distinct Geographic Differences
A glance on the map immediately shows significant geographic differences between the various European states. Strikingly thick are the Mass locations in France, England and the German language area, less dense are the Catholic nations of Poland, Italy, Dpain and Portugal. Some
Counties, notably Ireland, we're not included.
The traditional Rite is thus more prominently represented in those areas where the Catholic Faith has been historically endangered by great pressure. That was true for England though the long Anglican state persecution, for France through radical secularization and for the German speaking areas through the Church schism of the 16th century, which separated both the people and the state, and in the last half-century from a protestantizing in progressive Church circles.
Map Documents Counter-Reaction
The "Rheinisch Alliance" from the leading German and French speaking bishops and theologians are in this area and worked a massive influence on the Second Vatican Council. The consequences were an inner-Church break, which has not been resolved and has thrown the Church into a difficult crisis.
The maps with the Mass locations documented in the same area as the reaction to this development and gives the impression of the vitality of faith and the Church.
The also shows a significant shortcoming. Some Mass locations are missing, others are imprecisely located on the map. . A more precise and comprehensive map, "would be desired and would make the implementation and effect of the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of Papst Benedict XVI", says the traditional site Messa in Latino. The project of the French blogger is still a noteworthy beginning.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: ProjectSP5 (Screenshot)
Bild: ProjectSP5 (Screenshot)
Trans: Tabcred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link...
AMDG
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Erosion of the German Church -- Gäswein: "Shepherds Must Not Make Decisions Based on Media Applause"
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| Flashmob in Rio... Reduced to Ridicule |
(Rome / Berlin) The Catholic Church in Germany has experienced a record number of almost 218,000 leaving the church last year. 39,000 more than the year before.
More even than in 2010, when the German Church was shaken by the sexual abuse scandal of minors and was under massive public pressure.
The figures highlight a sideshow: Between 2005 and 2013 Pope Benedict XVI was annually blamed, if there wasn't a merely local "culprit", who could share the blame, like Bishop Krenn in Austria or the bishops Mixa and Tebartz-van Elst in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Church Exit Numbers Were Instrumentalized Against Benedict XVI. - Since silence
"Controversial actions of Pope Benedict XVI. were to blame" the "like exclusion of homosexuals ", "lack of equality for women" or the "lifting of the excommunication for Lefebvrian bishops" which was said, for example in 2010 by the Austrian pastoral theologian Paul Zulehner (Vienna) and Episcopal Vicar Willi Vieböck (Linz). But there has never been when all things are considered, more leaving the Church than under Pope Francis. Since then there is an awkward silence until the among the wordy Church representatives and the media. Their "interpretations" are subsequently exposed as a church-political instrumentalisation.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, Church membership is directly coupled to tax aspect. The recognized denominations demand and are payed the so-called "church tax", which is calculated and charged by the state and sent to the churches.
Church-tax Secures Influence
The money supply is enormous. In 2011 alone, took the Catholic Church in Germany took in about 5.8 billion euros.
With 1.3 million employees, the Catholic Church is the second largest employer in Germany next to the public sector. The largest private company, Siemens, employs just over 400,000 employees.
With the bulging coffers, the German Church exerts considerable influence in the Third World.
Majority of the German Bishops Want to Change the Doctrine of the Church
Some commentators, such as the American George Weigel, writing of the growing erosion process, in addition to financial reasons, describes the tendency of most of the German bishops to trying to change the doctrine of the Church.
This includes marriage and sexual morality, especially the doctrine of the right to access the sacrament of marriage and the Eucharist. Concretely it applies to the recognition of second marriages and the admission of remarried divorcees to communion. It is exactly these issues that the Synod of Bishops will address this October.
What Curial Archbishop Geogr Gänswein Says
"It is interesting to hear what Curia Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. has to say in a far more extensive interview," said Marco Tosatti. Interview by Jaume Figa i Vaello for the Catalan and Spanish website +1 Sumant Hostories of the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya .
Question: Some of these issues come from your native Germany. Why?
Archbishop Gänswein: Yes. It is true that not all the errors come from there, but the point in question is provided as follows: 20 years ago John Paul II rejected, after a long and laborious negotiation, that divorced and remarried would have access to communion.. We can not simply go and change things established in our Magisterium.
Question: Why do some shepherds want that which is not possible?
Archbishop Gänswein: I do not know. Maybe they give in to the Zeitgeist, perhaps they can be led by the applause of the people, which is made by the media ... to be critical of the mass media, is certainly less enjoyable. A shepherd must not decide on the basis of whether the media applauds or not. The benchmark is the Gospel, the Faith, sound doctrine, Tradition.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Mil
Image: Mil
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Friday, July 17, 2015
The Numbers Leaving the Church in Germany Are Climbing
The German Bishops' Conference has published the number of people leaving the Church in 2014. After 178,805 in 2013, 217,716 people have left the church in the following year. An increase of 20 percent! This is topped by the Protestant Church
Munich (kath.net/pm) The German Bishops' Conference (DBK) are in the midst of silly season this Friday and the dioceses have reported the Church statistics in 2014 and again this is explosive, because the number of leaving the Church has risen significantly again. After 178,805 people left in 2013, 217,716 people have left the church in 2014. That's an increase of about 20 percent. Church attendance has risen with an increase of 0.1 percent to 10.9 percent. The total number of priests is 12,219 (2013 12,336). The number of pastoral assistants is at 3,171 (2013: 3,140) which increased slightly as did the number of community workers at 4,526 (4,470 in 2013). Cardinal Reinhard Marx commented in a press release: "The statistics released today show that church is multiform and is a missionary force, even if we are made painfully aware of the high number of people leaving the Church, that we do not reach people with our message, there are personal life decisions behind the number of leaving the Church that in each case we profoundly regret but also respect the freedom of choice. We will strive to continue our mission credibly to gather so that we can proclaim the joy of the Gospel and many people will find a home in the community of church. The faith joy and momentum of Pope Francis has given us a great help. We want to be on the move with him 'raising' the church in Germany, to actively bring the people for God's sake in community and gives testimony of the great message of the Gospel."
The numbers leaving the Catholic Church are still comfortably topped by the Protestant church. There 410,000 people have left. According to the EPD deaths are also here included, however. They do not wish to publish exact numbers at present. Thus, the Catholic German Bishops' Conference counted 23.9 million members at the end of 2014, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) approximately 22.63 million.
Link to Kath.net...
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Union Between Both Ukrainian Orthodox Churches Separated From Moscow
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| Patriarch Filaret |
No Exact Figures on Membership of the Three Orthodox Churches of Ukraine
Precise details relating to religious and confessional affiliation are missing. All information is in agreement that the vast majority of Ukrainians consider themselves Christians, and among them, the Orthodox are most numerous. Less well known is which of the three Orthodox communities do Orthodox Ukrainians feel they belong. Even less is known about the displacements, which have occurred within the Orthodox community by the civil war in eastern Ukraine. Observers say that the war had strengthened the commitment to the Kyivan Patriarchate.
The Moscow Patriarchate and the Kiev Patriarchate should now represent in each case about 25 percent of Ukrainians. The Autocephalous Orthodox represent a share of 2-3 percent.
Treaty of Union Between the Two "schismatic" Ukrainian Churches
The Kiev Patriarchate and Autonomous Orthodox Church have now decided to unite. The ceremony will take place in Kiev Saint Sophia Cathedral on the 14th of September. The two Churches hope the merger will receive recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. A representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch was present at the signing of the Treaty of Union, and certified the contract by signing. The Union shall be called Ukrainian Autocephalous Church of the Kiev Patriarchate. The merger will bring more clarity in the Ukraine, but also raises new questions. It is still unsettled who will head the Union. The Autocephalous Church has not yet agreed that the 80-year Kiev Patriarch Filaret is recognized as a leader. It could also require the election of a head. Between Kyiv and the Moscow Patriarchate in 2014 talks about a reunion had been decided, but which have not yet been implemented. The Moscow Patriarchate has not commented on the Union plans. The merger is without a signal to recognize the authority of Moscow, could burden the search for the unity of Orthodoxy at the pan-Orthodox Council of 2016.
15 percent of Catholics Centered in Western Ukraine
The share of Latin and Greek Catholics is 15 percent of the population. More than 12 percent of Ukrainians belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church united with Rome. Other two and a half percent to the Latin Church.
The evangelical and Pentecostal communities have grown since the independence of Ukraine. Some of the missionary activity is carried out directly from the United States. The Russian occupied or at least majority Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine (the east and the border with Moldova) have a significantly higher number of registered evangelical groups. Statistics, where the registered churches are located, however, do not reflect the actual number of believers again.The proportion of various Protestant communities in the total population is estimated at about fifteen percent. The lowest share they have is in western Ukraine in the areas where the majority Greek Catholic areas. Plus, there's around four per cent Muslims, mainly Tatars, 0.2 percent Jews and as many members of other religions.The rest are atheists and agnostics.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Orthodoxy Trans; Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Pro Missa Tridentina: Traditional Latin Mass in Germany is Growing
Edit: here's an excerpt from an article on Regina Magazine interviewing Monika Rheinschitt of Pro Missa Tridentina.
Monika Rheinschmitt is a trained computer scientist. These days, however, she keeps a weather eye on some numbers she couldn’t have imagined in her university days — developments in Catholicism and the growth of the Latin Mass in the German-speaking world.
Monika is the Stuttgart-based Director of Pro Missa Tridentina, one of the most active organizations on the planet to practically support the Latin Mass. Since 1990 she has been the editor and publisher of a traditional newsletter, in 2010 upgraded to the magazine “Dominus vobiscum”, which is published twice a year and avidly read in Germany, Alsace, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Belgium and the Netherlands.
An Interview with Monika Rheinschmitt of Pro Missa Tridentina in Germany
Hers is not an easy job, not the least because in these countries the Latin Mass faces an unimaginable uphill battle. In Germany and its neighboring lands, secular attitudes range from indifferent to hostile about the idea of religion itself. Within the Church, both traditional teachings and the traditional rite are often suppressed, ignored or ridiculed in ways that might astonish outsiders.
Even though the numbers of Mass-goers and Catholics continue to drop precipitously in these countries, there seems to be little awareness on the part of Church leadership of the significant power of the Extraordinary Form to attract converts and indeed to bring Catholics home again. (For more about the German church see here.)
Against this background, the gains that the Latin Mass has made are a testimony to the true grit of Catholics, laity and clergy alike. In this exclusive interview withRegina Magazine, Monika gives us a view into her world.
Q. Tell us about Pro Missa Tridentina. When was it founded, and by whom?
Pro Missa Tridentina was founded in Stuttgart in Spring 1990 as an association of laypeople dedicated to the care of the Traditional Latin Rite of the Catholic Mass. We work to promote this “Vetus Ordo” by supporting Catholic laity who wish to be able to assist at this beautiful rite. That includes the organization of trainings for priests, altar servers and choirs as well as practical help finding locations for the Mass – and from writing letters to the local bishop to preparing the first celebration of a Traditional Latin Mass.
Pro Missa Tridentina was founded in Stuttgart in Spring 1990 as an association of laypeople dedicated to the care of the Traditional Latin Rite of the Catholic Mass. We work to promote this “Vetus Ordo” by supporting Catholic laity who wish to be able to assist at this beautiful rite. That includes the organization of trainings for priests, altar servers and choirs as well as practical help finding locations for the Mass – and from writing letters to the local bishop to preparing the first celebration of a Traditional Latin Mass.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Austria: More Leaving Church Under Pope Francis Than Under Benedict XVI
(Vienna) in Austria in 2013, there were more than leaving the church than in 2012. Nearly 55,000 Catholics have left the Catholic Church as a corporate body under public law. Thus more Austrians left the Church in the first year of the pontificate of Pope Francis, than in the last year of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. The church leaders wonder about this phenomenon, which they had not expected.
"We would have expected better numbers," said the Bishop of Linz Vicar William Viehböck. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. there was relief heard from not a few official church authorities in Austria. The reasons are to be sought in the different understanding of the Church. The election of Pope Francis was greeted with cheers. Since then everything will "different" and "better". But the harsh reality has caught up to the diocese now.
No "Bergoglio Effect" -Church Leaders Puzzle
After the election of the new Pope a "a palpable mood swing" had occurred, says Viehböck. The "mood" does not seem to be of the desired type. A "mood" seems to be no solid foundation for the Church. At the management level, one tries to maintain optimism and push the "Bergoglio effect" to the next year. Negative events would prove to act even "faster" than positive, says Vicar Viehböck consolingly.
The increase in leaving the Church does not fit the image. It dampens the alleged "change of mood". By leaving the numbers regularly leaving the Church seen driven by progressive church policy in recent years. The withdrawals were attributed to real and fictitious scandals or the "conservatives" were blamed. Once the fault was because Bishop Kurt Krenn was appointed Bishop of Sankt Pölten, then the alleged "abuse scandal" of Vienna's Archbishop Cardinal Hans Hermann Gröer or because Pope Benedict XVI. wanted to appoint the "hardliner" Pastor Gerhard Maria Wagner as Auxiliary Bishop of Linz.
Numbers of People Leaving Church Exploited by Progressive Church Policy
The new figures refute this transparent, but black and white image, thanks to support of the media. In recent years leaving the church had been interpreted by "appointed" sides as an "outcry" against "the log jam" and "backwardness", yet there is currently a conspicuous silence. Church districts which are faithful have been demanding a fact-based analysis for years. The individualization and dissolution of Church affiliation will be only be promoted rather than stopped by the progressive agenda with destruction of the liturgy, attenuated evangelization efforts and a staff that is no longer really Catholic, but speak in the name of the Church in public.
The increase in withdrawals is 4.8 percent. The percentage of Catholics in Austria's population has thus declined to a record low. From a Church perspective an exit from the Church is not possible. Through a serious act that violates church doctrine and order, believers can suffer excommunication and therefore the exclusion from the ecclesial community. [Especially if they don't want to support the Liberal Tax-Church regime with its poorly managed healthcare facilities, liturgical abuses and shoddy catechesis.] This need not be explicitly imposed, but occurs automatically upon the act.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Catholic Church in Austria
Image: Catholic Church in Austria
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Number of Christians Has Quadrupled in Russia Since the End of the Soviet Union
(Moscow), 25 years after the collapse of communism and 23 years after the end of the Soviet Union, the number of Russians who profess to be Christians, quadrupled. The critical situation of religious freedom remains in some countries of the former Soviet power.
In 1989 it was known that not more than 17 percent of Russians professed Orthodox Christianity. Since then, it has grown as much as four times. Today, 68 percent of Russians refer to themselves as Russian Orthodox.The most recent ones were released by the independent Levada Center on the 15-18th November of the previous year conducted a survey in 130 cities.
Until a few months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union atheism was regarded as the official state ideology. 75 percent of the population of Russia at that time described themselves as atheists. As early as 1991, that number had fallen to 53 percent. According to the results of the Levada poll today, not even 19 percent confess as atheists. In third place are professing Muslims, whose number has increased from six percent in 1991 climbing to seven percent in 2013.
Despite the impressive return of Orthodox Christianity, 70 years of state atheism has left strong traces, as the Historian and Political Scientist Andrei Zubov emphasized: "70 years of state atheism can not be overcome in one day." The number of Christians actually practicing is still low. The commitment to Orthodox Christianity is above all cultural and historic in nature. It is part of Russiandom. The Levada poll found that only four percent of Orthodox Christians attend the Divine Liturgy every Sunday. 17 percent attend the Divine Liturgy only at the high festivals. 35 percent of respondents said that they had never set foot in a church in their lives. Since 1991 83 percent of all respondents said they have never received the Holy Communion, but they are now considerably fewer, but still 62 percent.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been building years many new churches and have tried to rechristianize those cites which became "atheist" during the Soviet era. "We are not able to build as many churches as we would like and would need", says the "State Department" of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Religious freedom at risk
While Russia's commitment to Orthodox Christianity is experiencing a renaissance, the free exercise of religion in several Soviet Republics, which are sovereign independent States today, remains underdeveloped. In the name of "national security", Kazakhstan restricted freedom of religion in 2011. An infringement can be severely punished. Religious publications are subject to government censorship. The construction of churches is strictly regulated. Bibles and other religious books are confiscated, as well as icons and religious representations. They are what the state classifies as "extremist materials".
The situation in Uzbekistan is even more critical. The population is mainly Muslim, Christians are a minority. Their religious life is subject to a number of limitations. In 2013 Christians complained that reading the Bible is forbidden even in prison. The situation is similar in Turkmenistan.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Tempi
image: Tempi
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Refurbishing the Cultural Landscape --- 2,800 Churches May Disappear in France
In France, the dispute over the demolition of Catholic churches is not new. They are dilapidated and abandoned. And yet, every time a church is to be razed to the ground, it raises fierce protest from the population. "People feel that more than just some walls are broken. You feel a substantial change in their environment, their culture and thus of their own being,” wrote Claude Villot who is not under suspicion of Ultramontane sympathies.
Recent cases listed the Catholic daily La Croix on: Saint-Blaise du Breuil in Allier, St-Pie-X in Hérault, Saint-Jacques d'Abbeville in Somme (pictured) and Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens in Gesté in the department Maine-et-Loire. The number of demolished since 2000 in France is estimated by the Catholic Church at 20. Another 250 could soon follow. According to a report by the French Senate, the number of churches that are destined to disappear from the French countryside is estimated at 2,800. Most of them are located in rural areas.
"Fewer priests, Fewer Faithful, Less Demand," this is the new mantra of local politicians
"Fewer priests, measuring less and less practicing believers, therefore less need to obtain large churches, when a chapel would be enough." This is the new mantra, wrote Guy Massin Le Goff, memorial preservationist, in his 2009 report La polémique autour de la démolition of églises: le cas du Maine-et-Loire. It is this formula that compels many French communities to use demolition instead of a preferable refurbishment. Through the numerous, revolutionary interventions, which have transpired in the French history on church property, transferring to the state, many churches are owned by the municipalities.
“The use of churches calculating only the use of Masses, Sundays or on weekdays, would not properly represent the reality" the expert said. "A church is not just a place that is open to the Eucharist, or for baptisms, weddings or funerals. That it is used primarily for personal prayer of the faithful. The lit candles prove that there are diverse and numerous reasons to knock at the church door, whether alone or in small groups,” said Massin Le Goff, who sharply criticized the mayor of Anjou, one of the historic landscapes of French Catholicism, because of the ease with which they decide to demolish churches. In some cases, a dilapidated house of God is simply assumed to be able to implement new building projects, in whose way the church stands.
"What Would this Place be Without its Church?" - What Does Not Bring “Profit", Must Go
Massin Le Goff recalled that in most cases, the village was built on the church and not vice versa. Demolishing the church is meant to tear her heart and wipe out its own past. "What would this place be without its church?", such the first question that arises as Massin Le Goff, to whomever will listen. As as example, the preservationist cites the decision of the General Council of Maine-et-Loire, who also provides funds for the renovation of churches that are not listed on the historic register.
For Beatrice de Andia, founder of the Documentation Centre For Religious Heritage what is most disturbing about what happens in France: "For the first time we are destroying places of worship for no apparent reason, to make room for parking lots, restaurants, shops, places or apartments. The message of the demolitions is clear: the religious, the sacred, cultural heritage, which brings no gain, must go away. The destroyers present themselves as worthy managers who are concerned about the municipal treasury, which, according to them, would not bear the cost of the renovation of the church. "Maintenance” is but a duty for the mayor,” said de Andia.
Country Parishes Reduced Dramatically - Fewer priests, More Deacons: Opposite Tendency
One of the reasons for the "light" demolition orders, is the progressive decline of priests in France. In 2001 there were, according to officials of the Episcopal Conference, 24,251 diocesan and religious priests. In 2008, there were only 19,640, of which 15,008 were diocesan priests. Their number on 31 December 2011 (new statistics are not yet available) dropped to 13,822. In 2011, there were 13,630 parishes. In recent years, new parishes were established by the bishops to reflect changes demographic. The new parishes are concentrated in the cities, especially on the edges, while the rural areas became increasingly orphaned. There, the parishes were dramatically reduced by merging two or more parishes. At the top of the large territorial parish is a priest, but increasingly deacons are involved, the number of which grows in the opposite tendency to the decrease of the priests. And in many areas also lay people.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Heritage-religieux
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Monday, July 22, 2013
Post Card From the Sugar Loaf --- Catholics Are a Minority in Rio
(Rio de Janeiro) Pope Francis is on a flight to the area's largest and most populous country in Latin America. The Catholic Church's leader will undertake his pastoral visit to Brazil up to the 29th of July. The reason is World Youth Day, which takes place this year in the Brazilian Atlantic metropolis of Rio de Janeiro.The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life of Washington has shown a graphical representation of the religious development of the Brazilians in the past 40 years.
Brazil is the country with the most Catholics worldwide. 123 million Brazilians profess the Catholic Church. It was not until half a century ago virtually the entire population Catholic, the proportion of Catholics since the Second Vatican Council has plummeted. From 92 percent in 1970 to 65 percent in 2010.
At the same time the Protestants experienced an equally unexpected and rapid rise. Their share in the same period grew from five to 22 percent. While the Catholics are holding during the years of he 20th century at just more than 120 million members, not decreasing, but not increasing either, while the number of Protestants has grown only since 2000 from 26 to 42 million.
By Protestant, is not meant the Lutheran or Reformed churches known in Northern Hemisphere. In Brazil this historical strand of Protestantism does not flower, but the Pentecostals and Evangelicals do. One in five Brazilians belongs to a group of younger Protestant sects which were imported from the United States to the Latin American country. Since then, several new communities that have arisen in Brazil, the Igreja Pentecostal Deus é Amor (IPDA).
On a smaller scale, other religions have grown in recent decades. Most through immigration. Within the country, the number of followers of syncretic Afro-Brazilian spiritualist cults such as Umbanda and Candomblé increased from six million in 2000 to ten million.
In 1970 there were less than a million without a religion, the number of agnostics and atheists has grown to 15 million.
The changes occur as a phenomenon in both women and men, among educated and less educated. It is more pronounced among the under-50s. One difference is particularly visible between the cities and the rural areas. While the country is still 78 percent Catholic, it is in the urban areas at only 62 percent where the Evangelicals and Pentecostals are particularly active, but also the number of atheists and agnostics is greater.
In Rio de Janeiro, the goal of Pope Francis, Catholics are at 46 percent only a minority. The aim of the Pope is to breathe new missionary life with his first trip to Latin America of the Brazilian church. A new vitality that is able to stop and reverse the trend and that radiates to other Latin American countries.
Pope Francis accepted the council of Pope Benedict XVI., with whom he meets in recent times more and more frequently, and prayed yesterday before the miraculous image the The Virgin of Rome in the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore.
In the coming days Pope Francis will show how he presents the trend reversal against the erosion process of the Catholic Church to Protestant Pentecostals, agnostic and non-religious syncretistic African animist cults.
Text: Settimo Cielo / Giuseppe Nardi
Image: PEW
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to katholisches...
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Jesus Instead of Jihad -- Every Year Six Million Muslims Convert to Christianity
(Cairo / Abuja) Islamist violence is rapidly increasing in Africa. Muslim terrorist groups increasingly operate in countries which were, until recently, calm and stable as the Islamist wildfire spreads. The sociologist Massimo Introvigne was the OSCE Representative against persecution and discrimination of Christians in 2011. He sees a targeted strategy beyond the phenomenon of Islamic violence. "The Islamists are convinced that the decisive battle about whether the world is Muslim or Christian will take place in Africa." Even more important to Introvigne is, "that Islam is going to lose this battle. So it responds with bombs. "
It was the Libyan Islamic scholar and director of a training center for Imams and preacher of the Koran, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Qataani, who already proposed to raise the alarm a few years ago in an interview with the Arab-Muslim television channel Al-Jazeera. He did it with a highly explosive statement largely ignored in the West: "In Africa alone, every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity, 16,000 every day, six million a year." Introvigne confirmed the figures, which are now the same as in 2006, when Al-Qataani raised the alarm. African Christianity has a great inner strength. The contact of Muslims to Christianity led millions of Muslims to be baptized. One could say that they "fled" leave Islam. Despite the associated dangers to life and limb
Motion conversion from Islam to Christianity not only in Africa
The conversion movement from Islam to Christianity is found not only to take place in Africa. The baptism of the former Egyptian Muslim, Magdi Allam by Pope Benedict XVI. at the Easter Vigil in 2008 was the most spectacular and most visible element of this movement. In addition Allam adopted, like many Muslim converts, a typical Christian name. He opted for Cristiano. This refers to the personal name Christian. In his case, however, Allam gave a broader message that will say: Magdi "the Christian" Allam, not the Muslim.
Empirical studies are not available. Careful observers, like the sociologist Introvigne, can based on various criteria of that largely unnoticed phenomenon, however is pouring in approximate numbers. According to the British Times 15 percent of immigrants to Europe have abandoned Islam and Muslims have become Christians. In the UK the number is now estimated at 200,000. In France, every year about 15,000 Muslims become Christians. Some 10,000 of them Catholics, the rest Protestants of various denominations, especially of independent churches.
Growth of Islam only by high birth rate in Islamic states - Christianity is growing by adult baptisms
In Africa, such as Sheikh Al-Qataani complained to Al-Jazeera, "Islam has always been the main religion. There were times when 30 African languages were written in Arabic script. "Today's size relationship between Islam and Christianity makes it clear how much Islam has declined in recent years. Al-Qataani stated in his interview that there was a direct comparison between Islam and the Catholic Church, "other Christian denominations were not added into the count”. With the increase in the number of Christians and the millions of Muslims who convert to Christianity, said Sheikh Al-Qataani: "These are huge numbers."
Introvigne confirms the conversion movement against the initially expressed assumption Al Qataani could have estimated the numbers intentionally increased to arouse the Islamic world. "The global growth of Islam is almost exclusively from the high birth rates in Muslim countries where thanks to Western medicine, infant mortality could be reduced substantially," said Introvigne. Outside the Islamic States of Islam is clearly in decline. The growth of Christianity in contrast, results mainly adult baptisms. The Evangelical Wolfgang Simpson wrote: "Over the past two decades, more Muslims came to Christ than in all previous centuries."
Father Joseph Hergets evangelization of Muslims
Priests, like the Austrian Lazarist Father Josef Herget, the founder of the Institute St. Justin in Mariazell, are among the silent but still active missionaries who lead the Muslims from Islam to Christ. They live dangerously. Father Herget wrote back in 1975, when the issue of Islam in the West has been given little weight, his master's thesis on the topic: Christian Preaching in the Islamic World. Another, the Egyptian Coptic priest and Islamic Scholar Zakaria Botros was described by the Arab-Islamic newspaper Al-Insan al-Jadid as the "number one enemy of Islam.” Botros’ broadcast via satellite from the U.S., in which he explains from a Christian perspective, the problematic parts of the Koran (Jihad, status of women, stonings, etc.) may lead to secret mass conversions among Muslims. His mastery of the Arabic language and his knowledge of Islamic sources allow him to contact directly to an Arab-Muslim audience in the Middle East.
The conversions were initiated, as many viewers of Channel Botros Alfady, after initial outrage it was clear that the Ulema are not able to convincingly answer Botros’ broadcasts. Botros like Hergets is dealing with Islam differently from the usual Western criticism that focuses on political and social issues and often betrays a condescending bigoted undertone. This form of criticism is also a cause for the fact that many in the West ignore the Christians of the Middle East and North Africa. Such criticism, which is seen as prejudiced, external interference, to close to the majority of Muslims. They usually respond downright irritated or filling not least on the ranks of Islamist movements, militias and terrorist groups because too many politically charged issues come into play, in which the West is not perceived as the morally superior side, but mutated into an enemy. Botros and Herget, to stay with the two representatives of the evangelization of Muslims, on the other hand,point to salvation. This is the crucial difference that they will open the hearts of many Muslims, and at the same time offer a way out of a spiral of violence with harsh confrontations.
Radical Islam can be defused only by religion, not secularism, materialism and feminism
Raymond Ibrahim wrote in the National Review: "Many Western critics fail to appreciate that, to disempower Islam (radical or otherwise), something theocentric and spiritually satisfying — not secularism, democracy, capitalism, materialism, feminism, etc. — must be offered in its place. The falsehoods of Islam can only be challenged and supplanted by the truths of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And so "Father Zakaria Botros has been fighting fire with fire" and so must we."
People seem to bear no longer the direct or indirect violence. Roman Silantjew, secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia, said that in the successor states of the former Soviet Union, two million Muslims converted to Christianity. One of the main reasons for this is the desire for peace that they recognize in Christianity.
Two million converts in Russia, 250,000 in Malaysia, 80,000 in Algeria
In Algeria, there were approximately 80,000 Muslims who were baptized, which prompted the country's government to enact laws against Christian proselytism. In these years, Moroccan media continued its complaint against the baptism of tens of thousands Berber. People see in war and crisis zones, how Islam is and they decide for Christ, as the representative of an evangelical community in Sudan said.
In Malaysia, said the Mufti of Perak of 250,000 Muslims that have submitted officially to the authority the application for change of religion to Christianity. Such a change is only allowed for members of ethnic minorities. On the number of Malays who were baptized in secret, there is no information.
People recognize Christianity as a religion of peace, Islam as a religion of violence
Protestant and Pentecostal communities are very decisive. Sometimes they are irresponsible to the distress of the indigenous Christian churches in Islamic countries who are victims of Islamist reprisals. The Catholic Church is more reserved. The Egyptian Jesuit Samir Khalil Samir, a leading expert in the Islamic world and the Pope's adviser, complained that the Catholic clergy "discourages for fear or misunderstood, 'ecumenism ', sometimes even to advise against conversions" in Islamic states. It’s not different in European countries. The situation is admittedly says Khalil, not easy. Free Church communities "come and go, the Church has lasted 2000 years, it is here today and it will be tomorrow." Free Church groups, because of their small structures are barely palpable. likewise because they are in not officially recorded in most countries. Therefore, they are not vulnerable to attack. Quite different is the situation of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Churches. You are officially registered. The authorities know all the Christian places and know the families that belong to Church. They are vulnerable to attack because of its visibility and not only in a particular country, but also in other countries.
Differences between evangelical communities and the Catholic Church
The indigenous churches were accustomed coexistence with Muslims for centuries and in a certain form. A form which allows a convert to Islam, but not vice versa toward Christianity. The long time and the Islamic sword they had resigned themselves to defend their own area but not to reach from it. It is a form of self-defense, which is firmly entrenched in the mentality of the Eastern Christians, and could only be overcome slowly. Overcoming, which Christians very much require, is often given to life-threatening situations.
Missionaries from the outside would have, however, often lack the necessary familiarity with the cultural sensitivities, which could lead to dangerous confusion among the Muslim population. Between these extremes, it was necessary to find ways of evangelization. Working in this field are several Catholic initiatives, such as those of the Austrian Father Josef Herget and his Catechetical education.
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