On that Associated Press Piece and the Future of the Church in America, by Matthew Becklo

By Matthew Becklo, Catholic World Report, May 3, 2024

Tim Sullivan’s recent piece for the Associated Press on the state of the Church in America has made the rounds in Catholic circles, and it feels like a generally accurate snapshot of where things are and where they’re heading. Sullivan looks at recent developments at St. Maria Goretti parish in Madison, Wisconsin, and Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, arguing that they’re emblematic of a broader shift across the U.S. toward a “new, old” Church: Latin and Gregorian chant in the liturgy, cassocks, and habits on priests and religious, and dogma and doctrine back in the conversation.

My home parish and current parish—both in the more liberal Northeast—have seen the same shift: Latin, ad orientem, and kneelers for Communion have become standard again, while guitars, Eucharistic ministers, and altar girls have become rare. In discussing the AP piece with colleagues, they reported similar trends in the South and Midwest. It’s all anecdotal, but also undeniable: love it or hate it, change is afoot all over the country—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, sometimes in fits and starts, but all in a similar direction. …

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