The future of the U.S. Catholic church

This is a fascinating and hopeful article about Catholics fighting to keep their parish church by having a vigil/sit in to prevent its closure. In the process they discover deeper community and a more grass-roots way of practicing their faith.

Given the dire shortage of priests, their path is one that might be our church's future. In many parts of the world (rural areas in Mexico for one) it already is. The laity are the church, with a priest visiting for the periodic baptism or wedding.

My parish, while led by a single priest with the help of a deacon, is very much driven by the leadership of its laity, particularly its women. If Catholic women walked away (I did for 20 years!), our churches would shut down within hours.

The New York Times has been doing a stellar job covering U.S. Catholics lately. I especially enjoy the video slideshows.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/us/06vigil.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink