UNITED STATES
La Croix (France)
July 3, 2017
About 3,000 American Catholic Church officials are participating in a unique convention in Orlando, Florida, from July 1 to 4. The gathering is seen as an opportunity for the church leaders to reflect on how to spread the gospel and reach out to a country that is becoming secular.
Céline Hoyeau, Orlando
United States
He may be at the helm of one of the most dynamic Roman Catholic parishes in Florida, with the 3,000 families present each weekend at one of the seven masses at Saint Peter’s Church in Deland, but Father Thomas Connery is still worried.
“We have many retirees in Florida, so the churches are full but take them away and it’s a catastrophe,” says Father Connery. “We’re not managing to reach the young generations.
“For every person baptized, the American church loses six Catholics,” he laments. “We don’t dare talk about it among priests, doubtless because we do not know what to do, but it is past time to break this taboo.
“Imagine a company facing such a problem. It would immediately launch an emergency plan! What about us?”
U.S. bishops do not yet have an emergency plan, but they have organized a unique gathering. For the first time in a hundred years, priests, laymen, monks, nuns and other heads of services and movements from all over the United States have come together at a meeting in Orlando, Florida from 1 to 4 July.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.