On Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 03:16:50 p.m. CDT, Roland Francis <roland.fran...@gmail.com> wrote: This was a timely topic of discussion among concerned Catholics in Toronto even before this article. Some Church sources were even quoted saying anonymously that 40% less churchgoers would return for regular services once restrictions were completely lifted. If that were true, it would have severe financial implications for this diocese which though having other sources of income, are overdependent on regular church donations.
Even to me as a non-believer, I wish it didn’t happen. A traditional sense of community and activity should not be lost. Ivan Pereira should be able to tell us how from complete control of the population in every aspect of their lives, the Catholic Church in Quebec today can only muster a few stragglers in rural and even suburban churches. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Folks, Most of us have been taught that the Lord works in mysterious ways. In the days of old, he regularly used to send plagues to earth and Covid, although devastating, is not as bad as having the first born of every family die. Here in the west, the Catholic church is dependent on priests from the developing world. The west also imports immigrants from the same countries so it is a nice fit in that the immigrants have ready made churches, the beliefs to move in with, and if they a very lucky, also a priest that is a native speaker of their language. As for the all important contributions to the church, the Popes of old had a great idea. They sold "indulgences" to anyone who could afford them. The less guilty have to drop money into the collection plates every Sunday. I used to count the collections - once upon a time. I still have not figured out if the contributions are made from guilt or generosity. One thing is sure, when the "contributions" stop, the clergy leave. Mervyn
