I wonder CAEL if rather than utilizing the NCR article to explain church youth attendance or identifying non attendance as a loss of faith...if the good bishop might want to use contemporary social science learning and actually (legitimately ..not a hand picked "few" ) pay to professionally poll his flock and see what they say about faith, mass attendance, the eucharist, his diocese style of worship, what is missing, what is needed? He might be very surprised.

I think a huge contemporary problem is that the laity really are not asked what's going on.

(It's my own private guess...that flagging church attendance is due in part to the fact that the social needs for companionship,  support and meaningful community, are totally missing in the average service.) i.e. People don't feel welcome, wanted, liked connected or supported in that I hour on Sunday...and they meet these needs increasingly elsewhere!)



(I did get the sense that McElroy in San Diego did get some excellent response...)