I can only contemplate the stunning level of ignorance it would take for any adult with an IQ over 80 to join the Catholic Church today.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does the Catholic Church get new members?

They are banking on the Hispanic community growth. That is why they use funds for helping caravans and illegal aliens. Some are even housing aliens who would get deported if/when they leave the church.

The vast majority of Hispanic immigrants are already Catholic so it doesn’t really matter which side of the border they’re on as far as the overall number of Catholics.

Well when Montgomery County and Arlington Catholic churches are doubling their Spanish masses at the expense of the masses in English they are filling seats here. Which keeps churches here in America from closing. SO they are banking on the Hispanic community growth - the lack of birth control and 3.5 kids per woman birth rates aid this as well.

Anonymous wrote:How does the Catholic Church get new members?

They are banking on the Hispanic community growth. That is why they use funds for helping caravans and illegal aliens. Some are even housing aliens who would get deported if/when they leave the church.

The vast majority of Hispanic immigrants are already Catholic so it doesn’t really matter which side of the border they’re on as far as the overall number of Catholics.

How does the Catholic Church get new members?

They are banking on the Hispanic community growth. That is why they use funds for helping caravans and illegal aliens. Some are even housing aliens who would get deported if/when they leave the church.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

What if I go in with the intention of learning about the Catholic church but knowing the odds I join it (vs another denomination) are very very low? If that seems like I am wasting their time, then I wouldn't do it

Should not be a problem. You will likely be in a class with others, so other than books (which they should be happy to provide you), it's fixed overhead. There's no waste of time. And as I noted earlier, if you are at all squeamish, just stream the Catholicism series. It's a good overview, Barron is a good teacher who's not afraid of the tension with the modern world, and frankly from a cinematographic perspective, it's really beautifully shot and worth watching for that alone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

What if I go in with the intention of learning about the Catholic church but knowing the odds I join it (vs another denomination) are very very low? If that seems like I am wasting their time, then I wouldn't do it

Should not be a problem. You will likely be in a class with others, so other than books (which they should be happy to provide you), it's fixed overhead. There's no waste of time.

My 40 year old friend just converted. She did those classes. She’s very happy.

Religion is such an intensely personal thing. If you are leaning in the direction of Catholicism, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

What if I go in with the intention of learning about the Catholic church but knowing the odds I join it (vs another denomination) are very very low? If that seems like I am wasting their time, then I wouldn't do it

But the odds might change once you get involved in RICA. Plus, they are giving the classes anyhow - so why not go - there is no obligation to join, as several posters have mentioned.

Now if you really don't want to spend your time learning about the Catholic church, that's another story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

What if I go in with the intention of learning about the Catholic church but knowing the odds I join it (vs another denomination) are very very low? If that seems like I am wasting their time, then I wouldn't do it

It's definitely ok! I married a non-Catholic who really had never had interest in converting. Once we had kids, he wanted to go to RCIA to better understand my faith since he had agreed to raise them Catholic. He had no intention of converting, and had that conversation with the priest when he signed up. DH described the meetings as an interactive seminar between the priest, the lay (non-religious) leader, and the half dozen or so people in his RCIA class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

What if I go in with the intention of learning about the Catholic church but knowing the odds I join it (vs another denomination) are very very low? If that seems like I am wasting their time, then I wouldn't do it

There will likely be others in the class, so you won't be wasting anyone's time. Don't let that stop you!

Baptism

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

What if I go in with the intention of learning about the Catholic church but knowing the odds I join it (vs another denomination) are very very low? If that seems like I am wasting their time, then I wouldn't do it

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Order the Gus Lloyd "Minute in the Church" booklets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.

Yes, but to be clear, you won’t need to convert at the end. Only if and when you are ready.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Cool idea about rcia, thank you

They really wouldn't mind if I said I'm Protestant but interested in the course? Sounds like I could offend them

Not at all. The course is meant for people like you - non-catholics interested in learning about Catholicism with a mind to convert. The church needs adults to convert to Catholicism. They are losing so many people born into the religion who are put off by the sexual scandals and how the church is handling them.

I just heard on the news that attendance at Mass is down 50% since 1970. You can bet that you will be warmly welcomed at RICA class.