Catholic millennials don't go to Mass much, but they still give up meat during Lent.

I am surprised by the overall similarity between 2008 and 2016. I agree with Michael O'Loughlin that most of the changes in the Millennials could be explained by shifting ethnic demographics and much less education in the Catholic faith (i.e. catechesis). A lot of work to do. However, since 2/3rds attend Mass only “a few times a year or less often” and 43% say they NEVER go to confession, it is especially important not to take polls of Millennials as a good indication of what informed and practicing Catholics believe. Archbishop Chaput recently defined what he meant by "Catholic: "by “Catholic,” I mean people who take their faith seriously; people who actually believe what the Catholic faith holds to be true; people who place it first in their loyalty, thoughts and actions; people who submit their lives to Jesus Christ, to Scripture and to the guidance of the community of belief we know as the Church. Anyone else who claims the Catholic label is simply fooling himself or herself — and even more importantly, misleading others."

This article asks the wrong question. What does the leadership do? The problem is there in the lukewarm and ineffective clergy who still believe that the Sacraments do all the work while the clergy refused to be crucified with Christ but seeks comfort and luxury in a world where millions of refugees are in abject misery. Is getting ashes the criteria and attending Mass the whole of it. Our response to the refugee crisis is abysmal as we are more concerned about terrorists than. Our refugee brothers and sisters. We have a greater chance of being hit by lightening in the USA. Yet we obsess with it and neglect refugees. Are we still so small that we walk past our wounded neighbors. It took a dead two year old washed up on the beach to get our temporary attention Now a five year old is the face of war. A Complete Fraud maintains at least 30% of our vote while boasting of his riches which many find admirable. Thera are more dives who are more subtle. Yet this five year old again will capture our attention again. Until the next Viagra Ad. http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/17/world/syria-little-boy-airstrike-victim/index.html

Hey, we're not finished apologizing yet! But when we do, after righting all the wrongs unacceptable to contemporary Society. Once the full Frankfurt School Agenda is unfolded. Then we will start passing out bibles. That's how somebody hopefully will reenter the Public Square...maybe... but only if polite Society assents. Just my opinion... in Christ,

This survey is superficial at best. Not that it isn't showing real trends. But it overestimates how much young people go to Church. I go to Mass at 4-5 different parishes in my area depending on timing or other circumstances and rarely see more than a couple teenagers or young adults in the pews. I travel a bit around the country and see the same thing in other areas of the country. Very few in their teens or up to 30 years old. Something is missing from a superficial survey such as this. What do these young people believe and why and what are the implications for how they should lead their life? If they actually believe in God, what kind of God and what does this God expect from them? My guess is that if these questions were asked in depth, we would get a shallow belief as well as one not consistent with the Church's understanding of God. This does not mean that young people cannot be compassionate and considerate or good citizens just that their beliefs are plastic and not firm and subject to the current trends in their environment. They will not form the basis of anything that can be lasting since they are based on changing attitudes.

This survey of Catholics and Catholic cohorts are alarming and reflect a major problem facing our Church today. Worse are other surveys of U.S. priests because a significant percent of both older and younger priests disagree with many teachings of the magisterium. When we live in a divided Church and in a crisis of truth, these findings don't help to resolve our problems. We can call for more outreach, more effective messages from the pulpit, and a more welcoming and merciful Church for those who feel disenfranchised. We can also call for, as Pope Francis did in Amoris Laetitia, to change the language priests and bishops often use to condemn and chastise the divorced and remarried and those born with a same-sex orientation. Unfortunately, what we are doing, at least collectively, is not working. The Church's message is not drawing Catholics back to the Church, to weekly Mass or to confession, especially millennials. Millennials are a most critical age cohort because they are the future generation of our CC. The Church relies on its parish priests to do the heavy lifting. However, most parish priests are overloaded with a host of administrative and pastoral responsibilities. There is not enough men entering the seminary compared to the number of priests we lose to retirement and death. Parish priests often rely on lay ministers for help. There is good news here but it is not enough. In my parish I have seen an outreach ministry to falled-way Catholics and those who have registered as Catholics but don't attend weekly Mass. It is a new ministry but most of the people I talk to question its effectiveness, albeit a worthwhile effort. I am a Knight of Columbus and in my parish we are always finding new members....another piece of good news. However, many Knights don't attend monthly meetings or participate in the many ministries we sponsor. JP II and Benedict XVI asked priests to expand weekly sermons to address the most serious issues facing our Church. However, this was not the answer since sermons are only about 10 minutes long and they have to cover the scripture readings. Unfortunately, the only Catholics listening to sermons are the one's who attend weekly Mass, not the Catholics who need to hear the message. Catholic elementary and high schools are very effective in teaching the faith. However, Catholic schools are often expensive and many poor Catholic families don't think about sending their children there because they don't think they can afford it or they don't believe that there are financial subsidies for them. I never heard of any type of financial assistance from the pulpit or from Catholic school brochures other than a one sentence that says something like 'we may be able to help families with tuition, so pleas call'. My parish has an excellent CCD program but reaching all Catholic families is a problem since most don't attend weekly Mass. The good news is that in every century the CC has seen its problems, survived and grown. However, the problems we are facing today, in my opinion, are more serious than our pre-conciliar problems. Finally, I do believe Pope Francis's pastoral approach will work if the bishops get behind his message and the changes he is trying to implement in our Church. Unfortunately, far too many bishops are against his agenda and change is painfully slow.

On a much brighter note for the Millennials - there were several young Catholic athletes (some the best in the world) at the Olympics who discussed the role of their faith in their amazing athletic careers. For Catholic Usain Bolt, There’s Only One Gold Medal He Always Wears (Miraculous medal) http://ucatholic.com/blog/catholic-usain-bolt-theres-one-gold-medal-always-wears/ Katie Ledecky from Bethesda, MD on praying the Hail Mary before each race - http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/08/03/olympic-swimming-champion-will-pray-the-hail-mary-before-rio-races/ Simone Biles, adopted by her grandparents, and her rosary beads -  http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/08/10/us-catholic-gymnast-simone-biles-wins-olympic-gold-and-is-going-for-more/ Silver medalist shot putter: How the Knights of Columbus, priests and religious ‘helped me a ton’ http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/08/19/silver-medallist-shot-putter-priests-and-religious-helped-me-a-ton/ Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Murphy: 'I Hope Always to Live Life Based on God's Will' http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/olympic-gold-medalist-ryan-murphy-i-hope-always-to-live-life-based-on-gods/ God is always keeps His Church safe, no matter how many times we try to mess it up.

The Gen X and Millennial Catholic cohorts are not a lost generation, as some believe because they disagree with some moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Granted some are ignorant of the faith. Some of that ignorance is a fault of the individual and some of it is the fault of circumstances. However, most of these cohort Catholics believe in doing good and helping the poor and disadvantaged, which for them is more important than following some moral teachings which they disagree with.. The trends we see from polls, starting with post-Vatican II Catholics, is a reflection not only of our culture but of the unconvincing rationale for some moral teachings such as contraception. When Humanae Vitae was issued many Conferences of Bishops and priests said the encyclical was a non-infallible teaching and subject to the judgement of an good and informed conscience. My parish priest in the mid 1970s told me in a counseling session that I did not have an anti-life attitude (as I had 2 children and did not want more children for good reasons) and therefore my family choice to take the pill was not immoral. Today, this same counseling continues as my local priest in a counseling session on many issues told me the same thing, namely, once a couple goes through a NFP session, they can make up their own minds as to the best choice of birth control. When 78% of worldwide Catholics practice contraception and 40% of older and younger priests in the U.S. believe that contraception is seldom or never a sin, it supports a change in this teaching or a convincing moral theory in support of this teaching. After more than 40 years, the magisterium continues to repeat the same rationale that does not ring true for the majority of Catholics. Other issues, such as same-sex marriage is a very complex issue but I believe some changes are necessary. It makes no sense to me why homosexuals cannot be married and must live a life of sexual abstinence. Even priests can obtain a dispensation from their vows, get marry and have all the sex they want. All heterosexuals have a choice: marriage or a life of sexual abstinence. A homosexual has only one choice, all must practice a lifetime of sexual abstinence. Such a requirement imposed on them from on-high can never work because it is an impossible burden for most of them. Celibacy can only work when it is voluntarily choosen, and not imposed. I believe that those born with a same-sex orientation who enter into a permanent, faithful and loving relationship and abide by all the responsibilities and obligations as heterosexual married couples, should not suffer the guilt of sin, namely culpability.. Why would priests be allowed to give absolution to those who practice contraception under the principle of graduation, when priests are forbidden to do the same for divorced and remarried couples or for those who enter into a same-sex marriage? Why is one sinner subject to absolution but other sinners are denied absolution? The answer to my questions and the moral issues I raise are not as simple as mustering the courage of faith in order to follow every teaching of the magisterium. It is deeper than simple and often incoherent solutions. They are the subject of a faithful and informed conscience and a love of God and neighbor. They are the subject of continuing education and different interpretations of scripture based on new scholarship and a love for our Catholic Church and faith. They are the subject of a lot of prayer, sacrament, and theological and spiritual counseling. They do not undermine the sanity of our Church, the articles of our faith or respect for the magisterium. They represent a respectful disagreement about some moral teachings. I am not an unfaithful and misguided Catholic. I love my Church, my Savior and my neighbor but I do believe that some changes are necessary. When it comes to abortion, change does not automatically mean allowing abortion for any reason at any time. While some Catholics might believe in unbridled abortion, for most Catholics change means permitting the termination of a pregnancy to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape and incest. Such exceptions are rare but the magisterium will not permit it. Incidentally, most traditionalist and revisionist theologians believe in such exceptions. A good example is the Phoenix case where the most prominent traditionalist theologian who supports every teaching of the magisterium, namely Germain Grisez, considered the termination of the pregnancy in this case as 'indirect abortion' and not immoral. This represent respectful disagreement. I realize that my opinion is in tension with the teachings of the magisterium, but I make them for good reasons and they are based on my education in moral theology for 5 years under several moral theologians. For those who believe in every teaching of the magisterium, I respect such beliefs and do not denigrate their choice or their disagreement with my views. I pray for enlightenment for myself, for my Catholic brothers and sisters and for the hierarchy of our Church. I pray: In necessary things unity, in doubtful things liberty, but in all things love.

Here is something that should make one hesitate in using polls to establish truth - this time from Great Britain http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/moon-landing-celebrates-47th-anniversary-8446862 "Those aged 25-34 are the most skeptical, with 73% believing we didn’t land on the moon, compared to 38% of those aged 55+, who were actually alive for the event." So, the majority think the 1969 moonlanding was faked. In this survey only 29% believed in God (whereas 24% believed in Extraterrestrials). The GK Chesterton adage seems to be verified here “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”