The Vatican worries the church is losing the young -- and abuse is just one factor

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

The Vatican worries the church is losing the young — and abuse is just one factor

By Chico Harlan
October 2 at 12:34 PM

VATICAN CITY — By age 9 or 10, she had her first doubts about the faith, and not long after, she felt confident telling her parents: The Catholic Church, Agata Leoniddi said, seemed “outdated and backwards.”

The language at Mass was archaic. The teaching was rigid and unwelcoming. And some of the issues most important to her — including gender equality — were not discussed in church, where the leaders were entirely male. Agata, now age 12, had spent her childhood within the church, but more and more she was reaching the conclusion of so many young people in the developed world who’ve abandoned organized religion and, in particular, the scandal-riddled Catholic faith.

“I don’t think the church understands my generation,” said Agata, who lives in a village among rolling hills 50 miles outside of Rome. “We are not like our grandfathers.”

The failure to attract and retain young people has become a central focus this month as the Vatican holds a major summit on the topic of youth within the faith. Among the pressing questions is whether an institution often criticized as out of touch can regain relevance for a younger generation — and whether the church’s power brokers are willing to listen to what those people have to say.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-vatican-worries-the-church-is-losing-the-young--and-abuse-is-just-one-factor/2018/10/02/e7076d8c-c0e9-11e8-9f4f-a1b7af255aa5_story.html

[trotsky]

1. Here's something you won't hear me say often: The Vatican is RIGHT!!! n/t

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. The Catholic Church lost me many years ago.....

Because of its position on Birth Control, married Clergy, Women Priests, and overall attitudes on the role of women in everyday life.

Womanhood and Motherhood is so I portal to the Church led by men who have suppressed their sexuality to the point that they prey on children for release and abuse the power they have. Taking marriage and sexuality advice from celibate men is absurd.

[MineralMan]

3. What could a church run by old men have to offer a 12-year-old girl?

That's the RCC's problem. It's a patriarchal organization where old men make the rules and set the agenda. It's not a church for young people. It's a church for old men and women. Boring. Out of touch. Not relevant.

And then there's the problem of those incense-scented men sexually bothering children. That puts people right off, I'd think.

[Permanut]

4. Thomas Aquinas called women "mis-shapen men" among other things..

So it's kind of a no brainer that young women are skeptical about what the Catholic Church represents, and are aware of the history of misogyny within the church. As an old white guy who did not grow up in that tradition, I'm repulsed by this creepy behavior, and I can imagine that young men might feel the same way.