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William Daly's avatar

Regrettably, this Pope does not appear to be another Benedict or John Paul. He appears to be another Francis. He is not the solution to the problem, he is a symptom of the problem. Devout Cstholics should pray for his early, relatively painless death, for the good of tbe Church.

Elizabeth Rome's avatar

Daisy Mae is correct,. Young people, all people, search for comviciton and are drawn to purpose, and moral direction.

Sea Sentry's avatar

Ms. Inglese makes a good point about something that I think both clergy and the faithful struggle with. A really good book about the inside baseball in the Catholic Church is "Jesus Wept", which profiles a number of recent popes and the battles on this issue within the Church itself.

My own view is that the words and example of Jesus Christ have uplifted the lives of literally billions of people, and have set a tone for progress, responsibility and fairness that has dramatically increased human flourishing. On the other hand, the history of the institution that is the Catholic Church and its popes has been rather a two-millennium disappointment.

Allison Kimball's avatar

Daisy Mae has accurately captured the problem limiting engagement and growth in the modern Church. I would add that the problem is not limited to Gen Z, and not to Catholicism.

Alicia's avatar

nothing to do with Spain, but after 22 years in Catholic schools, my son has seen more of Jesus now that he’s in Arkansas at med school than he ever did in the expensive Catholic schools we paid for. He goes to Mass every Sunday with a group of friends he met there. These kids are conservative—they’re thoroughly sick of all this filth and lies.

Make Namibia Great's avatar

The righteous are as bold as a lion...

Fred's avatar

I think the author is making some valid arguments. I fearfully look at Catholics like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens and the resurgence of antisemitism. As a Jew, I sure can't find anything good about The Spanish Inquisition.

Sea Sentry's avatar

I wouldn't consider either of those people you mentioned to be representative of Catholicism.

Fred's avatar

Hopefully, not. But the Catholics I know have been observant Catholics for a long time. Looking at the rise in antisemitism especially among the young and reading that this trend back to Catholicism is also especially among the young, your comment is not enough to reassure me.

Sea Sentry's avatar

You may be right, I just don't know and I hope that's not the case. Most of the anti-Semitism I read about is from the Left and militant Islam. I certainly hope it doesn't take hold in the Catholic Church, among young people or anywhere else. Obviously Carlson and Owens aren't helping, but I think their wacky views are costing them support, a problem they brought on themselves.

Fred's avatar

I see the same thing. My people are heavily liberal so, when they hear the word "antisemitism," they reflexively look over their right shoulders to see the threat. For way too long, they remained oblivious to the the threats (in plain view over their left shoulders) from the left and from Muslim immigrants.

Sea Sentry's avatar

It's always puzzled me why American Jews so often vote for politicians who would disenfranchise them, or worse. They seem to have a weakness for communist ideologies, and I don't think they understand Islam's end game. A third of NYC Jews voted for Mamdani and support him still. Hard for me to understand.

Lucy Beney's avatar

Thank you for this – it is so, so true. We see an example of what not to do here in England, where the Church of England has entirely sold its soul to secular values, promoting 'be kind' at all costs, rather than 'be good' and uphold Christian teaching. As a consequence, it faces extinction, while converts to Catholicism and orthodoxy increase year on year.

Le Petit Minaret Illustré's avatar

In France, the number of conversions to Catholicism is on the rise, and young converts often turn to the traditionalist liturgy. If they’re after self-righteous, ‘humanist’ nonsense, they certainly don’t need the Church....

G M's avatar

Very true.

Look at the first apostles - they confidently proclaimed the message of Christianity in a hostile Roman Empire and they converted a lot of people.

Have conviction, proclaim the truth.