What's The Most Catholic Place In The United States?

[Autumn Dusk]

And DC is?  It's really no different, I assure you.  

 

Maybe not DC itself, but no where in metro Boston are they building churches.  In Manassas VA they built 3 new churches in the past 2 years, all of them filled to the brim.

[GeorgiiMichael]

And DC is?  It's really no different, I assure you.  

 

The Baltimore/DC area has tons of new churches all over both archdioceses, in addition to tons of great Catholic history (that Boston as the center of Puritanism in America doesn't have). The Baltimore/Washington area also has several Eastern Rite churches. Additionally, Archbishop Lori, the Archbishop of Baltimore, is one of the standout leaders of the American Catholic Church, spearheading many of the anti-HHS Mandate initiatives. 

 

Just because Gregor has a weird sort of love affair with Harvard, doesn't mean that Boston has a similar Catholic livelihood to Baltimore/DC. You both should know, you went to school here for 4 years.

[Basilisa Marie]

The Baltimore/DC area has tons of new churches all over both archdioceses, in addition to tons of great Catholic history (that Boston as the center of Puritanism in America doesn't have). The Baltimore/Washington area also has several Eastern Rite churches. Additionally, Archbishop Lori, the Archbishop of Baltimore, is one of the standout leaders of the American Catholic Church, spearheading many of the anti-HHS Mandate initiatives. 

 

Just because Gregor has a weird sort of love affair with Harvard, doesn't mean that Boston has a similar Catholic livelihood to Baltimore/DC. You both should know, you went to school here for 4 years.

 

I'm going to ignore that dig.  

 

Okay, so DC/Baltimore is expanding.  Doesn't make it okay to write off a city completely.  Case and point - most people would write off Portland, but I assure you there's still great Catholic communities there.  I imagine it's the same for Boston.  

[PhuturePriest]

This is true, maybe I want something that doesn't exist anymore; but my grandmother tells these stories of growing up during the days of Fortress Catholicism in New Oreans' Seventh Ward, everyone was Catholic and every thing was Catholic. If my children must blaspheme, let them blaspheme by getting together with the neighborhood children and holding pet baptisms...bah

 

Wichita, Kansas. Huge traditional Catholic population, more churches than you can count, amazing Bishop, and as a bonus, it holds the Midwest Catholic Family Conference every year. http://www.catholicfamilyconference.org/

[Autumn Dusk]

I'm going to ignore that dig.  

 

Okay, so DC/Baltimore is expanding.  Doesn't make it okay to write off a city completely.  Case and point - most people would write off Portland, but I assure you there's still great Catholic communities there.  I imagine it's the same for Boston.  

 

That's the problem...you imagine  but you don't live in the area.  There are a few good Catholic communities in Boston.  St. Clement's church.  Outside of Boston there's the shrine in Fall River and Still River.  Outside of those, there really isn't a big gathering.

 

Most of the churches tend towards extremes.  You have the "button shirts for men, skirts for women" crowds and then you have the "why should we wear pants at all" crowds.  I've heard homilies that will make your skin crawl from both sides.  

 

The community is very weak, and again very divided.  The Latino churches are doing well, but in most towns parishes have been closed or merged.  There was a sit-in at a closed parish down near Boston that got national attention last year and people were arrested for staying in a closed Church.

 

We also are a scandal epicenter so being Catholic in general is very difficult and most priests don't wear their collar in an unfamiliar town for fear of being harassed or harmed.  Several have, but haven't pressed charges for fear it would make the CC look worse.

 

I would say the only exception would be the teen groups, as they typically are very vibrant....but according to recent diocean statistics only 2% of our parish and only 4% of the general population of Catholics who attend weekly Mass are between 18-30.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Autumn Dusk

[Basilisa Marie]

If we told everyone to avoid the areas with problems, the Church would shrivel up and die in those places.  The point is that we shouldn't flock to the places that are the "best" - we need to work to strengthen the Church where we live. 

[PhuturePriest]

If we told everyone to avoid the areas with problems, the Church would shrivel up and die in those places.  The point is that we shouldn't flock to the places that are the "best" - we need to work to strengthen the Church where we live. 

 

Truth.

[GeorgiiMichael]

If we told everyone to avoid the areas with problems, the Church would shrivel up and die in those places.  The point is that we shouldn't flock to the places that are the "best" - we need to work to strengthen the Church where we live. 

 

But sending people who are just coming back to the Church to places that have lackluster communities won't help those people's personal growth and might make them fall away again. You're right, you and I shouldn't flock to the places that are the "best". But if people who are still trying to readjust themselves to the faith go out to communities that really struggle, that won't help them either.

[Autumn Dusk]

If we told everyone to avoid the areas with problems, the Church would shrivel up and die in those places.  The point is that we shouldn't flock to the places that are the "best" - we need to work to strengthen the Church where we live. 

 

 

That's true kinda.  Part of the truth is that we need to be fed.  We need friends and family and culture.  When I go to a Bible study and am literally the only one under 50 it's hard to relate.  They've been married for years and some are even widdowed.  They have no clue what it's like to be young today.  They were young at a different and I can glean knowlege from that, but it's definatly different.

 

I have about a dozen Catholic friends and sometimes attend Catholic events which draw people from as far as 40 miles away.  I only know one functioning married couple that has young children and attends Mass on a regular basis

[GregorMendel]

The Baltimore/DC area has tons of new churches all over both archdioceses, in addition to tons of great Catholic history (that Boston as the center of Puritanism in America doesn't have). The Baltimore/Washington area also has several Eastern Rite churches. Additionally, Archbishop Lori, the Archbishop of Baltimore, is one of the standout leaders of the American Catholic Church, spearheading many of the anti-HHS Mandate initiatives. 

 

Just because Gregor has a weird sort of love affair with Harvard, doesn't mean that Boston has a similar Catholic livelihood to Baltimore/DC. You both should know, you went to school here for 4 years.

 

 

How does Harvard have anything to do with Catholicism? I'm speaking of the mass of Irish catholic immigrants, like most of my family, who planted roots in Boston and New York over the past 150 years. It is in that way that I consider Boston a city of note in this conversation of most catholic areas. I dont need to argue with you, just google the demographic information. If you have some intangible system of measurement for how Catholic a people or city are (how can you pass judgement on "the practice" of an entire city of Catholics, Autumn Dusk?), by all means, please share it with the class.

 

I'd love to see you try to apply the logic of progressive cathedral construction to New York City. Does the fact that only 4 churches have been constructed in the last 50 years make New York any less catholic than Baltimore/DC, with its "tons of new churches, in addition to tons of great Catholic history"? Does the fact that the Cathedral of Saint John the Devine has been under constant construction since 1892 make it a failed place of worship? 

Edited February 22, 2013 by GregorMendel

[KnightofChrist]

Philadelphia, but not the geographical location. I'm not sure there is a "best Catholic place" in the U.S. or else where, even if you were to live in Vatican City itself, unless your heart lives in Philadelphia, it's all for nothing.

 

[6] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. [7] And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth: [8] I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. [9] Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. [10] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of the temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth.

 

Edited February 22, 2013 by KnightofChrist

[GeorgiiMichael]

How does Harvard have anything to do with Catholicism? I'm speaking of the mass of Irish catholic immigrants, like most of my family, who planted roots in Boston and New York over the past 150 years. It is in that way that I consider Boston a city of note in this conversation of most catholic areas. I dont need to argue with you, just google the demographic information. If you have some intangible system of measurement for how Catholic a people or city are (how can you pass judgement on "the practice" of an entire city of Catholics, Autumn Dusk?), by all means, please share it with the class.

 

I'd love to see you try to apply the logic of progressive cathedral construction to New York City. Does the fact that only 4 churches have been constructed in the last 50 years make New York any less catholic than Baltimore/DC, with its "tons of new churches, in addition to tons of great Catholic history"? Does the fact that the Cathedral of Saint John the Devine has been under constant construction since 1892 make it a failed place of worship? 

 

I'm saying you don't have personal experience with the Catholic community in Boston and so you shouldn't push it as a place for a newly reverted Catholic to move to. I have nothing against Boston, I'm just telling you that unless you have experience in a place, you shouldn't tell people to move there. There might be lots of great Catholic communities in Boston and New York (not sure where that came from, however), but unless you can personally attest to them, you shouldn't tout them. Also, saying that a large portion of a population is Catholic doesn't mean all that much because nationwide, only about 30% of Catholics actually attend Mass on a weekly basis and that percentage varies when looking at smaller demographics. Evangatholic wants to move to a thriving community of Catholics, and you can't say that a community is thriving unless you've actually lived there and been a part of that community.

 

My Irish Catholic ancestors moved to New York City too, and as someone with a history degree, I acknowledge that there were large Catholic populations in both Boston and New York. But having a thriving Catholic community 100 or even 50 years ago does not reflect on whether or not an area has one today. San Francisco (named for St. Francis), San Diego (after St. James), Los Angeles (The Angels) are all historically Catholic cities, named with Catholic names, but they are not hotbeds of Catholic culture today, but they might have some very strong Catholic communities. Similarly, Boston and New York are historically Catholic, but are not known to be now. So unless you have some up to date experience or knowledge (Like Basilisa has with Portland) you aren't helping the conversation.

[GregorMendel]

Look, all I was sought to contribute to this conversation was a suggestion of a city that has a noted catholic tradition.

 

I am not going to sit here and attest to the uniform catholic community of New York as I'm sure no honest person could do the same of an entire city from just their experience, but I was born there, that is where my family and most of my friends hail from, and I doubt anyone else here has attended easter mass at Saint Patricks Cathedral.

 

More to the point, I'm not sure your credentials as a history major entitle you to criticize my opinion when you have a similar limitation in your sole experience of the Baltimore/DC area.

 

So lets just move on and admit that the suggestion of cities in which to experience a strong catholic community is not worth fighting over.

Edited February 22, 2013 by GregorMendel

[ToJesusMyHeart]

I doubt anyone else here has attended easter mass at Saint Patricks Cathedral.

Would you mind telling us what it's like? 

 

I went to St. Patrick's this November but only to be escorted into the crypt to pray by John Cardinal O’Connor's body. I didn't get to celebrate mass there. 

 

I'd love to know how Easter is. :)

[Gabriela]

Oh, geez, people. Evangetholic: Just go to Vatican City!