Re: “Seattle Archdiocese: Consolidation does not address issues” [Jan. 27, Northwest Voices]:
A recent letter writer believes that for the Catholic Church to gain membership among the young, it needs to change its “policies” regarding the “exclusion of women and married men from ordination” and “outmoded policies around all things sexual.” But that hasn’t worked for mainline Protestant churches in this country, or in Europe.
The greatest correlation with attendance by the young is attendance by their parents, which has been declining for years. Is there any wonder that all churches are seeing a decline? And in a society where freedom is interpreted as the desire to do what I want, is it surprising that we are becoming either a people who have a cafeteria-style belief (I’ll take this belief but not that one) or a people whose religion has only one member — ourselves?
Churches do need to figure out how to reach the young if they are to continue to be relevant. I’m not convinced that changing their theology is the answer to the problem.
Joseph Mulcahy, Anacortes