APPLES AND EPISCOPALIANS
The Ordinariate must have SERIOUSLY rattled the Episcopal Organization for Jim Naughton to screw up this badly:
In part to bolster Episcopal spirits, and in part to provide reporters with some sense of perspective, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at some numbers. According to the 2004 U. S. Congregational Life Survey—which I believe is the most recent one available—11.7 percent of Episcopalians were formerly Roman Catholic.
The Episcopal Church had slightly fewer than 2,248,000 members in 2004, indicating that not quite 263,000 of its members were former Catholics.
The Episcopal Church has shrunk some in the last seven years, and now has about two million members. Assuming that the percentage of former Catholics in the Episcopal Church has remained constant (I think it is likely to have risen, but that’s an essay for another day), there are currently some 228,000 former Roman Catholics in the Episcopal Church.
There may be a good reason that the departure of fewer than 1,500 Episcopalians to the Roman Catholic ordinariate deserves extensive media coverage while the departure in recent years of more than 225,000 Roman Catholics to join the Episcopal Church goes unmentioned even in stories about the creation of the ordinariate, but I don’t know what it is.
Slow way down there, big smacker. The Ordinariate has been in existence for what, two months? You may not be aware of this but you’ve been around for 222 years. And all those ex-Catholic Episcopalians became Episcopalians “in recent years?” Really? Every single one? No ex-Catholic Episcopalian joined before that time?
I’ve got news for you, Jim. Episcopalians have been fleeing to Rome decades before the Ordinariate was a gleam in the papal eye. See if the American Catholic church has any figures about the number of ex-Episcopalians in its ranks.
While you’re at it, go to the Orthodox, the Southern Baptists, the conservative Presbyterians, Anglican Continuers etc. and see how many ex-Episcopalians they have. And I guess you’ll have ACNA as well although I know you don’t believe their numbers.
But that’s okay. Given the great gulf fixed between Episcopal membership numbers and Episcopal average Sunday attendance, nobody with a functioning brain believes that there are anywhere near 2,000,000 Episcopalians anymore.
In part to bolster Episcopal spirits, and in part to provide reporters with some sense of perspective, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at some numbers. According to the 2004 U. S. Congregational Life Survey—which I believe is the most recent one available—11.7 percent of Episcopalians were formerly Roman Catholic.
The Episcopal Church had slightly fewer than 2,248,000 members in 2004, indicating that not quite 263,000 of its members were former Catholics.
The Episcopal Church has shrunk some in the last seven years, and now has about two million members. Assuming that the percentage of former Catholics in the Episcopal Church has remained constant (I think it is likely to have risen, but that’s an essay for another day), there are currently some 228,000 former Roman Catholics in the Episcopal Church.
There may be a good reason that the departure of fewer than 1,500 Episcopalians to the Roman Catholic ordinariate deserves extensive media coverage while the departure in recent years of more than 225,000 Roman Catholics to join the Episcopal Church goes unmentioned even in stories about the creation of the ordinariate, but I don’t know what it is.
Slow way down there, big smacker. The Ordinariate has been in existence for what, two months? You may not be aware of this but you’ve been around for 222 years. And all those ex-Catholic Episcopalians became Episcopalians “in recent years?” Really? Every single one? No ex-Catholic Episcopalian joined before that time?
I’ve got news for you, Jim. Episcopalians have been fleeing to Rome decades before the Ordinariate was a gleam in the papal eye. See if the American Catholic church has any figures about the number of ex-Episcopalians in its ranks.
While you’re at it, go to the Orthodox, the Southern Baptists, the conservative Presbyterians, Anglican Continuers etc. and see how many ex-Episcopalians they have. And I guess you’ll have ACNA as well although I know you don’t believe their numbers.
But that’s okay. Given the great gulf fixed between Episcopal membership numbers and Episcopal average Sunday attendance, nobody with a functioning brain believes that there are anywhere near 2,000,000 Episcopalians anymore.
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