In just 13 years, there’s been a 50 percent drop in the number of Catholic baptisms and marriages performed in the Archdiocese of Detroit, Archbishop Allen Vigneron revealed Wednesday.
Patricia Montemurri reports in the Free Press that figure stood out Wednesday for Vigneron, left, as the Detroit archdiocese released findings from a November survey of 41,000 Detroit-area Catholics.
While the survey showed that nearly two-thirds of surveyed Catholics rated their parishes as “good” or “excellent” in promoting Catholic goals, it also underscored why Catholics gave lower marks to the church’s outreach to youth, young adults, and lapsed Catholics.
“We are a shrinking community,” said Vigneron, adding that other denominations and other Catholic dioceses in the Midwest and northeast parts of the U.S. report similar declines.
Some 30% of Catholics surveyed rated their parish as “good” and 33% rated their parishes as “excellent” at meeting various goals.
The survey did not ask for participants’ opinions on the church’s teachings against female or married priests, contraception and gay unions, issues in which it is increasingly out of step with growing numbers of Americans.
Previously on Deadline Detroit:
Hey, Archbishop Vigneron, Are You Listening To Pope Francis?, by Bill McGraw
