Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has a piece in the Tidings congratulating himself on the number of baptisms performed this past year.
The 2008 edition of The Official Catholic Directory notes the 100,604 people baptized in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2007 included 95,408 infant Baptisms, 3,511 minor age Baptisms, and 1,685 adult Baptisms. The number of Catholics reported for our Archdiocese is 4,176,296.
To help place this number of Baptisms in perspective, the same Official Catholic Directory reports that the second and third largest Archdioceses in the country had these totals last year:
—The Archdiocese of New York: a total Catholic population of 2,554,454, and 27,011 Baptisms.
—The Archdiocese of Chicago: a total Catholic population of 2,341,000, and 38,533 Baptisms.
An additional perspective: 100,604 Baptisms exceed the total Catholic population of some 50 Arch/Dioceses across the country. This number also exceeds the total Catholic population of every one of the Eastern Rite Catholic Dioceses in our country. Put another way, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in a sense baptized “a new Diocese of Catholics into the Church last year.”
Or, put another way, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has paid out $7,157 for every baby baptized last year in settlement of priestly abuse cases totaling around $720,000,000. Statistics can cut many ways Cardinal, and many of them are very unfriendly to you. Just thought I would mention it.
Sorry about that but somebody was gonna say it and I wanted to be first.
August 21, 2008 at 9:01 am
Lets not forget the 200 plus million dollar monstrosity that sits as the big block of concrete that it is.
August 21, 2008 at 1:01 pm
How many more people, young and old, would have crossed the Tiber if not for — irony of ironies! — the bishops?
— Mack
August 21, 2008 at 3:46 pm
The scoffing at the statistic of 100,000+ people brought into the Body of Christ in LA alone is, to say the least, disturbing. I don’t see how these two issues relate at all.
August 21, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I agree with dg.
August 21, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I find it interesting that a 4 million plus diocese had only 1685 adult baptisms. That’s only 1 out of 2400. Where are the RCIA programs? In Salt Lake (a diocese of about 120,000) we had almost 600 adult baptisms last year (1 out of 200). Why are there 10 times more adult converts in Salt Lake than in Los Angeles? It seems to me that that Bishop Mahoney has nothing to be proud of at all.
August 21, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Well considering that baptisms have become more of a photo op than part of joining the Body of Christ, it is an odd statistic to be proud of.
Though the only true measure is how much of your flock makes it to Heaven, a statistic out of our hands.
August 21, 2008 at 6:43 pm
12 Apostles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit converted an empire. You’d think that 4,176,296 Angelinos could do better than 1,685 adult baptisms.
Given the scandal and weakness of many of today’s bishops (and laity), I think we should be better able to understand the circumstance faced by the faithful who were confronted by the waywardness of the Renaissance crew.
We should give thanks to God for the faithful witness of folk like Archbishops Chaput and Burke and, of course, our beloved Holy Father Benedict XVI.
August 21, 2008 at 7:00 pm
In my immediate family growing up all four of us (father, mother, sister, and I) were baptised. Currently I’m the only practicing Catholic. In Europe roughly only 10 to 20% of the baptized attend services regularly on Sunday. Hope something changes shortly!
August 29, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Something HAS changed, the laity GET IT, and are leaving in larger droves, and donating even less, as a total vote of NO CONFIDENCE in serial enabling, aid & abetting, CRIMINAL sexual perverts cardinals, like Roger Mahony, remain unremoved, and unpunished, costing laity BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, with no end in sight.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org
/abusetracker for daily empirical coverage.
As St. Peter Damien suggested: "STOP DONATING LAITY!"