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Father Barry's September 2010 Pastor Pages
The official statistics pertaining to the Catholic church in the United States were recently released. The source of these annual statistics are
The Official Catholic Directoryfor the U.S. as well as the Vatican's annual statistical yearbook and the Center for Applied Research
in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. Some notable statistics for the Catholic Church in the U.S. are listed below:
1965 1995 2010
Catholic Populuation 45.6 million 57.4 65.6
Percentage of US Pop. 24% 23% 21%
Total Priests 58,632 49,052 39,993
Religious Sisters 179,954 90,809 57,544
Permanent Deacons -0- 10,932 16,649
Parishes 17,637 19,331 17,958
Parishes without 549 2,161 3,353
Resident Pastor
Catholics are 17.3% of the total global population. In 2009 the total Catholic population increased by 1.7%.
Occasionally people inquire into the Church's teaching on hell. Biblical texts do not concern themselves with the number of persons who have suffered
estrangement from God. Rather, the Bible speaks about God's will to save and the redemption brought about by Christ. Why hell exists comes from
the fact that God gave each person freedom. With this freedom a person can accept or reject God. God forces no one to accept redemption or salvation.
As our Catechism notes, we choose hell when we refuse to love (#1033). The Catechism refers to 1 John 3:14: "He who does not love remains in death."
Our Catechism also reminds us that "God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God is necessary, and persistence
in it until the end" (#1037).
Many people have images of hell as fire and heat. However, these images are meant to remind us of the pain of hell. The pain of hell is final exclusion
from communion with God because of one's won fault. Hell is being alone, absolutely and forever. Catholic theologian John O'Grady explains it most
succinctly when he observes: "The meaning of hell involves pain-not physical pain but the pain of loss and the awareness of the possibility of an
eternal contradiction. People are made for God, and if a person freely rejects God then internal contradiction occurs. The Catholic Church teaches
the possibility of definitive rejection of God on the part of an individual but does not teach whether this possibility has ever happened." In other
words, the Church recognizes the existence of hell based on what is revealed by Sacred Scripture and the fact every person has a free will. However,
the Church does not identify who may or may not be there. Only God has complete knowledge of a person and all authority of final jd
Each of us are called to be good stewards of God's gifts. This means using what God has entrusted to us (e.g. time, skills, gifts, resources, relationships,
etc.) in ways that further God's Kingdom or presence on earth. Some parishioners show themselves to be good stewards and faithful servants of God by serving
as a "catechist" or religious education teacher. Being a catechist is recognized as a special vocation in the Church. This vocation has a special
significance because through it people (namely our children) come to better appreciate the love, power and wisdom of God. God chose that the message of
salvation should come NOT from angels or supernatural beings, but rather God chose to communicate the message of salvation through human flesh and through
human lives; this is seen most vividly in Jesus Christ. For each one of us it was through another person (parents, relatives, friends, teachers) that
we came to have faith in Christ and a communion with God. We thank these catechists who have responded to the invitation to be instruments of God's
salvation in the lives of our young people. These teachers sacrifice their time, energies and labor to pass on the gift of our Christian faith and
Catholic tradition to the next generation.
Teaching others about God is considered in our ancient Catholic tradition as one of the spiritual works of mercy. According to the Gospel of
Matthew (25:31-46), mercy will be the quality on which a person will ultimately be judged at the end of time. The early church went so far as to say
that those who have no mercy will be condemnded. By fulfilling their vocation as catechists, these teachers are practicing the spiritual works of mercy.
The spiritual works of mercy include instructing others in the ways of the faith, praying for others, counseling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful,
admonishing sinners, bearing wrongs patiently, and forgiving injuries. Our catechists for 2010-2011 are:
GRADE SCHOOL: Mary Tholstrup, Cheryl Madden, Jennifer Stull, George Meyer, Della Strait, Diane Leif, Jolene Harper, Deb Pelter-Laman,
Gerald & Ima Jean Chavey, Sr. Julie Christensen, Tricia Remley, Carrie Williams, Lindy Meyer, Ken Meyer, Mary Jane Hurley, Nancy Owen and Channin McEuen.
HIGH SCHOOL: Loleta Deaver, Rita Luongo, Anita Cyphers, Chrissy Henderson and Robin Hood.
CYO SPONSORS" Steve & Faith Nyswonger.
For almost 125 years to Catholics in the Diocese of Salina have been working to build up the Body of Christ in north central and northwest Kansas.
This has been done by building parishes, establishing schools, hospitals, and retreat houses as well as through a variety of other ministries. Our
ancestors in the faith endured many hardships and made many sacrifices in order to pass on the Faith to us. Many of the traditions we continue
today as well as the structures we enjoy (i.e. beautiful churches and other structures) stand in testimony to their dedication and faithfulness.
This long tradition of faith and ministry is now entrusted to us. We are now the ones that are called to continue the mission of Christ. In order to
continue our Catholic Faith and ministry, the Diocese of Salina has decided to embark on a diocesan capital campaign for the first time in our
long 125 year history. This campaign will enable us to secure the resources necessary to continue important ministries both today and well
into the future.
The theme of our first ever diocesan capital campaign is "Yesterday, Today and Forever." The goals for this campaign recognize the sacrifices
of those who preceded us (Yesterday), to acknowledge our present responsibilities (Today), and to prepare for a hopeful future (Forever). You will
be hearing a great deal about this diocesan campaign over the next two months in the bulletin, diocesan newspaper, and homilies at Mass. There are three
important needs this campaign will address:
(1) The need for material resources to assure the future education and formation of seminarians, our future pastors. The high cost of seminary
education needs a more secure source of funding.
(2) The care of elderly and infirmed priests. Retired priests receive a small monthly stipend from the diocese. The campaign addresses the urgent
need to bolster the preists' retirement fund. Without further resources this fund will be depleted in 5 years.
(3) The need to assist Catholic Charities offices throughout the Diocese to respond to the needs of the marginalized and the suffering.
More specific details about each of these areas will be shared with you in the coming weeks. Hopefully you will find this capital campaign informative
and inspiring as we continue to build upon what has been entrusted to us by past generations of Catholics.
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Pastor Pages Archives
Catholicism in U.S. Statistics for 2010 9/5/10
The Theology of Hell 9/12/10
Being Good Stewards of the Faith 9/19/10
Yesterday, Today and Forever 9/26/10
January 2010 Pastor Pages
February 2010 Pastor Pages
March 2010 Pastor Pages
April 2010 Pastor Pages
May 2010 Pastor Pages
June 2010 Pastor Pages
July 2010 Pastor Pages
August 2010 Pastor Pages
October 2010 Pastor Pages
Current Pastor Pages
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