These stats taken from Kenneth Jones' Index of Leading Catholic Indicators published in 2002:
Priests- While the number of priests in the United States more than doubled to 58,000, between 1930 and 1965, since then that number has fallen to 45,000. By 2020, there will be only 31,000 priests left, and more than half of these priests will be over 70.
Ordinations- In 1965, 1,575 new priests were ordained in the United States. In 2002, the number was 450. In 1965, only 1 percent of U.S. parishes were without a priest. Today, there are 3,000 priestless parishes, 15 percent of all U.S. parishes.
Seminarians- Between 1965 and 2002, the number of seminarians dropped from 49,000 to 4,700, a decline of over 90 percent. Two-thirds of the 600 seminaries that were operating in 1965 have now closed.
Sisters- In 1965, there were 180,000 Catholic nuns. By 2002, that had fallen to 75,000 and the average age of a Catholic nun is today 68. In 1965, there were 104,000 teaching nuns. Today, there are 8,200, a decline of 94 percent since the end of Vatican II.
Religious Orders- For religious orders in America, the end is in sight. In 1965, 3,559 young men were studying to become Jesuit priests. In 2000, the figure was 389. With the Christian Brothers, the situation is even more dire. Their number has shrunk by two-thirds, with the number of seminarians falling 99 percent. In 1965, there were 912 seminarians in the Christian Brothers. In 2000, there were only seven.
The number of young men studying to become Franciscan and Redemptorist priests fell from 3,379 in 1965 to 84 in 2000.
Catholic schools- Almost half of all Catholic high schools in the United States have closed since 1965. The student population has fallen from 700,000 to 386,000. Parochial schools suffered an even greater decline. Some 4,000 have disappeared, and the number of pupils attending has fallen below 2 million -- from 4.5 million.
Catholic Marriage- Catholic marriages have fallen in number by one-third since 1965, while the annual number of annulments has soared from 338 in 1968 to 50,000 in 2002.
Attendance at Mass- A 1958 Gallup Poll reported that three in four Catholics attended church on Sundays. A recent study by the University of Notre Dame found that only one in four now attend.
Those are pretty staggering statistics, aren't they? Especially when you look at the statistics next to the Protestant churches. According to ABCnews.com their church attendance is around 46% in the United States and according to other statistics around 38% worldwide.
Now, that being said, I am not nor will I ever say that "If the Second Vatican Council had never taken place things would be exactly the same as they were then". I honestly don't believe they would be. The world has turned into a dire place to live and an even worse place to raise children. Believe me, I know all about it. I have 3 children of my own and I dread what they will have to live with in their lifetime. But the facts above do tell a scary tale.
Here are some more facts:
According to Gallup.com the percentage of Protestant churchgoers in the United States has risen from 42% in 1955 to 45% in 2003. What that tells you is that something drastically changed in the late 1950's to the mid 1960's that affected the Catholic Church and did not affect the Protestant churches. It may sound like a stretch, but is it coincidence that the "Catholic" church has numbers that rival the Protestant church's attendance percentages? I think not. There is definitely something to be said for the fact that in 1955 the Roman Catholic Church Mass attendance percentage was 75% to the Protestant church's 42%. The most frightening of all these stats is that from 1965 the "Catholic" church's mass went from 67% to 54% and the Protestant church attendance actually raised 3%.
Now let's look at what actually caused these problems:
Almost everywhere you go it is the same. Most of the time, the outside of the Conciliar churches look like a monstrosity of modern art. The church buildings that have been around for 50 years or more have been stripped inside of everything Catholic. The tabernacle that used to sit on the High Altar has been hidden away in a room where no one can see it. The High Altar has been replaced with nothing more than a table. The beautiful stained glass windows and statues of our Blessed saints have been replaced with gaudy banners and modern art. The Sacred Music of Gregorian chant has been replaced with string bands and guitar masses.The Second Vatican Council changed the Holy Mass of the Ages into something that is no more than a glorified show. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has been thrown away and a Protestantized service put in it's place. We went from receiving Our Blessed Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament on the tongue while reverently on our knees to standing in line and irreverently receiving communion in the hand without so much as a bow.
The belief that "Outside of the Church there is no Salvation" has been replaced by Lumen Gentium that states:
"But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Mohammedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind." Lumen Gentium par. 16.
The complete rejection of the Roman Catholic doctrine of Limbo a place where those who died before Christ went to wait for his arrival to free their souls. Limbo is also referred to as Abraham's Bosom ref:Luke 16:22.
The sixth session of the Council of Florence states about limbo:
"Also, the souls of those who have incurred no stain of sin whatsoever after baptism, as well as souls who after incurring the stain of sin have been cleansed whether in their bodies or outside their bodies, as was stated above, are straightaway received into heaven and clearly behold the triune God as he is, yet one person more perfectly than another according to the difference of their merits. But the souls of those who depart this life in actual mortal sin, or in original sin alone, go down straightaway to hell to be punished, but with unequal pains"
Another product was the total unadulterated adherance to false Ecumenism. Fake "Pope" John Paul II was one of the most notorious of these. He called the World Day of Prayer in 1986 which included leaders from Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Orthodoxy and even Voodoo.
You may ask why. In Unitatis Redintegratio (a Vatican II document) it states:
8. "In certain special circumstances, such as the prescribed prayers "for unity," and during ecumenical gatherings, it is allowable, indeed desirable that Catholics should join in prayer with their separated brethren."
and
"Witness to the unity of the Church very generally forbids common worship to Christians, but the grace to be had from it sometimes commends this practice."
and
11. "The way and method in which the Catholic faith is expressed should never become an obstacle to dialogue with our brethren."
They are saying we should hide our Catholicism to convert the Protestants and other false religions. How is putting our religion in a closet when we are around the Protestants helping to convert them? It is not. It does nothing but water down the Catholic faith.
Another interesting fact is about the Divine Mercy Novena. This was brought to my attention by my friend Steven Speray. You can check out his blog by clicking HERE or the link on the right side of the page. Some sedevacantists (true Roman Catholics) don't believe in the Divine Mercy Devotion, but either way here is an interesting fact:
This devotion was submitted in 1936 and approved by the Ordinary of Vilnius in Poland. In 1958 false pope John XXIII put it it on the list of forbidden books. In 1978, John Paul I denied in again and later that year John Paul II approved it. Now, that being said, let's talk about the devotion itself and how it is treated in the Conciliar Church. If you go to EWTN's website and look at the Novena, listed under the 4th and 5th day are changes in Christ's words, yes you read correctly. The words of our Blessed Lord, the Son of God, ie. God Himself are TOO HARSH AND OFFENSIVE. I'm speechless!
All of these statements really speak for themselves don't they? This is the product of the Second Vatican Council. A false religion that usurped the papacy and the Roman Catholic faith.
However, this is what a true Pope says about Ecumenism:
10. "Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, which is visible to all, and which is to remain, according to the will of its Author, exactly the same as He instituted it."
-Pope Pius XI in Mortalium Animos
Well there you have it. You can't place a good apple (Holy Mother Church) in the basket with a bad group of apples (False Religion) and expect the good apple to cure the bad.
I know this is all very hard to accept. I went through a long period of denial. If you were raised in post Vatican II Conciliar church this has been your life and completely normal. So have the Protestants down the street. That doesn't make it right. The Truth is the Truth is the Truth. It doesn't matter what you or I or anyone thinks. As a wise man said: "The Truth is no respector of persons". Once we understand and realize that Rome has lost the True Catholic faith we can then decide what to do about it. May God bless you.
Pactum Serva
Please pray for a true Pope.
Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
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