Pew Forum Finds Clear Demographic Changes in American Catholicism

No other major faith in the U.S. has experienced greater net losses over the last few decades as a result of changes in religious affiliation than the Catholic Church.

So finds the Pew Forum in a profile of America's Catholic population released in advance of Pope Benedict's visit to the US.

I don’t imagine that it was commissioned in order to impress the Pope.

Only 41% of self-identified adult Catholics attend Mass each week, the Pew study found. That number is lowest among young adults, with just 30% of Catholics aged 18- 29 attending Mass weekly (by comparison, the figure is 63% among those over the age of 65)—a figure that suggests still greater decline in the number of active Catholics in coming years.

Who, other than the Bishops of America, can address this awful calamity? My prayer is that Benedict’s visit may stir them to the depths of their half-heartedness.

I suspect a Canadian survey would reveal much the same trend except even more advanced in apostasy.

The entire profile can be found on the Pew Forum web site.