Where Did All The Catholics Go?

The above link is to the latest from one of my favorite writers Rod Dreher.  I have been reading him since he wrote in the NY Post, remember him writing of his conversion to the Catholic Church and then his exit to the Orthodox Church.  I consider him to be one of the most reliable sources of info and ideas on the Church, especially because he has written from an outside-inside-outside viewpoint.  I was able to read The Benedict Option during this lockdown and highly recommend it.  In today's link he quotes Ryan Burge:


I know, the nones are growing rapidly.

But, the share of evangelicals who are going to church weekly or more has never been higher - same for mainline Protestants.

There's been no real shifts among black Protestants. The real decline is Catholics - 45% in 1970's, 25% today Of course the corruption of the clergy accounts from a lot of it, but most Catholics were not aware of how extensive this problem was until recently. What has driven people from the Church is that for 50 years we were told that anything traditional was bad, no good, terrible and also immature. They built or redecorated Churches to make them look bland or just without any beauty. They tried to water down all the teachings and when all is said and done most Catholics did not see any reason to continue with any of it. The traditional Mass is making a big comeback (I can longer keep up with how many of the newer priests celebrate it) and hopefully with the Mass will come more traditional teachings and practices. In the end though, the most traditional priest celebrating the most traditional Mass will mean nothing if he and the people are not authentic followers of Jesus Christ. This is why I consider myself a 'Reform of the Reform' guy, whereas so many in my shoes have gone full Traddie. Catholics, especially those in positions of authority in the Church have been so fearful and angry of anything traditional that they lost sight of what it was Catholics were looking for - authenticity.