One Third of U.S. Catholics Left Church

November 23, 2010
New York, New York

(AHN) - The new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Monday the biggest task ahead for the clergy is to stem the mass exodus of Roman Catholics. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who was elected last week, cited studies that said one-third of Americans born and baptized Catholics have left the fold in recent years.

However, to stop the mass transfer to other religions or sects, Dolan admitted the clergy must first set its house on order.

While exerting efforts to prevent the exodus, the archbishop maintained Roman Catholic Church officials would not be gagged on controversial social issues such as abortion, gay marriages and immigration.

The study showed that only 50 percent of young Catholics marry in church, while Sunday mass attendance had gone down to 35 percent from 78 percent in the 1960s. He rued that people would rather fall in line for a clothing line sale than hear mass. the rest