Pope Benedict XVI is “glad to hear” from U.S. bishops on a recent visit to the Vatican that the Catholic Church is rapidly expanding in Texas.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, told CNA that what caught the Pope’s attention the most is that “we are the region in the United States where the Catholic population is growing and growing intensely.”
Cardinal DiNardo and 21 other bishops from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma have just completed six days in Rome on what is known as an ad limina apostolorum visit. That involves making pilgrimage to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul, as well as meeting the various Vatican departments to discuss the health of the Church in each diocese.
“This has been a very fine visit,” Cardinal DiNardo said, “and we’ve had beautiful celebrations at the tomb of the apostles.” He said that “offering Christ’s sacrifice” at the tombs renewed the bishops “sensibilities” towards their “commitment to the apostolic faith” and brought about “a grand communion of all the bishops together.”
The delegation met with Pope Benedict XVI in three groups over two days. Cardinal DiNardo, who also serves as head of the U.S. bishops’ Pro-Life Committee, explained the changing demographics of the Catholic Church in their region to the Pope.
He noted that 25 years ago Houston had a Catholic population of around 12%, a that figure has since doubled.
The ethnic diversity of that new Catholic community is now such that Mass can often be offered in 18 different languages across the diocese each Sunday. The main influx has come from other parts of the U.S., such as the Midwest or Northeast, and also from other parts of the Americas.
“Houston also has the largest Vietnamese population outside Orange County in California,” explained Cardinal DiNardo.
The city has 135,000 Vietnamese, of which about 30,000 are Catholic. That figure is rising, said the cardinal, as many Vietnamese are now converting from Buddhism to Catholicism.
He described the trend as “very interesting” and ascribed it to the intensity with which Vietnamese Catholics practice their faith.
Cardinal DiNardo said the “huge influx” of people from all over the world and from elsewhere in the U.S. has produced “a grand enrichment and a very positive flavor to Catholicism.” Added to a “Texan informality” the result has been a faith which “people find very welcoming.”
This has been “extremely helpful,” he said, in making people feel “attached” to the Church so that “we can then deepen more in terms of formation and catechesis.”
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One must read this article very carefully. At first glimpse you might expect that the Church is flourishing in the Archdiocese of Galveston- Houston. It is growing because of immigration not because of evangelization. The article is correct in its assertion that the Vietnamese are a postive force in our archdiocese. Our Latino population is growing as well, but unfortunately many leave the Church after the first generation. Many of the Catholic youth are Cafeteria Catholics at best and exit the Church in droves after they are anointed with the sacred chrism at their confirmation. One of the reasons for this is because of the poor education that the children receive in terms of their faith. The majority of Catholic schools here are a glorified social justice programs and it is virtually impossible to obtain a quality group of CCE teachers when your only qualification to teach is that you take a Virtus Class about protecting God’s children. It is also very difficult to raise chilren as Catholics when the devotional life is virtually nonexistent. If your faith is not alive in your family then there is reason for little hope. Most respectfully, our good cardinal neglected to mention one area in his archdiocese that is thriving. The home schooling population is growing and as far as I can see, they are the one segment of the population (other than the Vietnamese population) that is successfully able to pass on the faith to their children. Yet, it is not encouraged because of the fear that to encourage home schooling might detract from the Catholic schools which are failing to pass on the faith to their students in any meaningful way and are only for the elite. So, the area is growing in terms of Catholic population, not because of the efforts of the archdiocese, but rather, in spite of it. Thanks be to God.
I had the opportunity to spend a few days in the company of Cardinal Dinardo and found him to be a man of zeal and integrity with a profound love for our Lord. Attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with him as celebrant/homilist refreshed my ardor and desire to serve the Lord and His holy church.
I attended a confirmation Mass last spring with Cardinal DiNardo (in Magnolia, TX), and all he said was good. But saying something is not living your faith anymore, if it ever was. He supports Alinsky community organizing, which is the social justice you speak of (Sheryl), and it will not get better until the community organizing is OUT of our Church. It is a poisonous leech that sucks the life out of parishes, sucks the money out of the baskets, and sends it to Chicago style pro-choice political corruption coffers. Please bring this to the attention of as many as you can. I grew up in Houston, and just visited it this past week for the first time in 10 years. I would never move back there. And I too abandoned the Catholic schools for homeschooling. ALSO important to send your kids to college well formed, or send them to a GOOD (TRUE) Catholic college, like the Newman list recommends—University of Dallas, Belmont Abbey, John Paul the II in San Diego, Christendom, St. Gregory in OK. Please don’t send them to Notre Dame! For info on community organizing see http://www.johntwo24-25.net
How are the Sunday Mass attendance figures changing?
It is true, only because of the immigrants, legal and otherwise, is the Catholic population of Texas growing.
Statistically it may be that Texas is growing (mainly) becaus of the immigrant situation. But VISUALLY, as I loked out on the sea of catechumenates and candidates at the last two years worth of Rite of Election’s here in the Austin Diocese (which last year recieved at Easter 1000 new Cathlics - both by baptism and reception), thos coming in are less immigrating that reports sound.
Even in the RCIA clases I teach, it’s been predominately US residents, not immigrants, coming in. Small sample, I know, but my point is that the Church here in Texas is growing, and not just because immigrants are coming in.
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