Over the single issue of birth control and the need for abortions the Roman Catholic Church has already proved an irrelevance and isnt merely losing its grip it has ALREADY LOST its grip.

Look at Italy.at the very doorstep of the Vatican.It has the lowest birthrate in Europe.No one is listening!!

Look at South America.Catholics are fed up of poverty and have decided to limit their families by using birth control and are resorting to abortions also.The Church is an irrelevance.It is VERY worried by the success of the Prorestant evangelicals, especially the Pentecostals and Baptists which are winning converts in their tens of thousands.
look at Australia.We all know Catholic families that have only one or two kids.Why?
Because the Church has already lost its grip. No one is listening.

socratease

The Catholic Church is failing in successful democracies for all the reasons mentioned and a few more. Increasing education levels and access to information finds there is a lack of evidence for the alleged wonders performed by an alleged character known as Jesus. The evidence that a Jesus person actually existed in New Testament times is flimsy at best.

The circular argument concerning the Bible, that it is about a god and it is correct because a god inspired it, no longer, holds sway intellectually. One can take the fallback position of, ‘who made the universe’, and then place a god in that position, and then name a religion to suit. In the case of Christianity, we end up with Yahweh/Jesus. It really is messy thinking.

The second key component is that cultural pressure/indoctrination supporting a Catholic belief system is lessening with each generation. Less indoctrination, more education and stable democratic political systems, means less adherents.

Catholicism in Western countries will possibly die out or at the best, become diminutively ineffectual in a couple of generations. It will therefore place more emphasis on recruiting in developing nations, which have the correct ingredients for greater success.

In fact, my guess is the CWYD was really an exercise in producing promotional material to show poorer nations that Australia’s opulence results from Catholic influence.

Clever, but nevertheless, a devious plan complementing the already disastrous influence of Christianity on the world’s most powerless peoples.

David

i guess the catholic church is not losing its grip ,

because they are still covering up the rapes and abuse of their victims in their church homes ,

as the same as the state of new south wales of which has been covering up the rapes and abuse in their states run institutions and still to this day continue to cover up those rapes and abuses that we victims suffered as children in the state care institutions through out australia ,and that of new south wales ,

we victims want justice and an apology

huffnpuff

Great article. The Pope said WYD would not have been as successful if it weren't for their 'cooperation'

their = media

The RC church is not in a backsliding.
She is building a huge all-consuming One World Church with a leader called <The False Prophet> who will later on connect with the coming European antichrist (see the mark of the beast 666).

To get this church in order, the RC leadership has to go and seduce all other religions, faiths and cultures over to their side of the fence.
Like Indonesia having her spies down here to plot to take us over as SOUTH IRIAN and China having her spies down here to take us over as NEW SOUTH CHINA, the Vatican has her spies all over the place quietly pushing One World Church doctrine and gathering info on true Christian believers.
What it means to those who know the Holy Bible and who are watching the signs of the times and who know Revelation is that somewhere out there in the not too distant future... Inquistion is once again be on the earth.