The Hemorrhaging of the Catholic Church

Bleeding creates anxiety. Our son’s severe hemophilia reminds us of this fact. Usually bleeds happen on the playground, running, climbing, jumping—God bless boys—and then he falls. “Daddy, my ankle hurts.” Out comes ice, and, if things look swollen, so does an intravenous needle to pump his veins full of blood-clotting medication. While doing all of this, the clock is ticking. With every passing moment, the possibility of permanent joint damage increases. The anxiety leads to stress.

Sometimes churches bleed, and in America this is occurring most acutely in the Roman Catholic Church where one out of every ten Americans is an ex-Catholic. In a recent Catholic National Reporter article, “The Hidden Exodus: Catholics Becoming Protestants,” the Rev. Thomas Reese S.J. provides reasons for the crisis: Keep Reading...