Here are some stats as of 2018...
In fact, if one looks at the bottom ten (10) on the list, guess what states make up six (6) of those ten??
Give up?
The New England states!!
That's right; in order from "higher" to lower, they are: Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
Maine: 1.58; Connecticut: 1.57; Rhode Island: 1.49; New Hampshire: 1.47; Massachusetts: 1.45; and Vermont: a tragically low 1.44!!! Vermont is only higher than the District of Columbia: 1.35, and Puerto Rico: a dismal 1.04!
What a disaster!
It should be noted that Rhode Island is considered to be the most "Catholic" state in the U.S. In fact, Massachusetts and New Jersey (N.J. has a birth rate of 1.78) follow Rhode Island in that category. But Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire are in the top twenty (20) of the states with the most Catholic populations.
So, if this is the case, and it is, then how can it be that the birth rates in those three states are so low? What might be some of the factors that have led to those terribly low birth rates?
I have a couple of questions for anyone that may be interested, and may be indicative of why the birth rates are so low: 1) what does it mean to be Catholic in those three states? And, 2) if one claims to be Catholic, shouldn't that person follow Church teaching on faith and morals? In fact, if one claims to be Catholic, there is no choice but to follow Church teaching. So, the second question has now been answered, but how about the first: what does it mean to be Catholic in those states?
Apparently, not much.
One factor: all three states are bastions of liberalism. We know that the sin of liberalism is incompatible with Church teaching, for one thing, and is diametrically opposed to the command to multiply and subdue the Earth. That's not my command, but the God Who made us. And by the way, He wasn't speaking metaphorically! Just as Christ wasn't speaking metaphorically when He told all of us that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood (worthily) we will not have life in us! Of course, just the opposite is true too (St. John, Chap. 6).
It seems that those Catholics are very much American Catholics, rather than Catholic Americans! Is there a difference? Yes, in a big way.
Many years ago, the prolific writer of letters and encyclicals, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), complimented America and Americans because we were able to practice our faith and be free (relatively so) from persecution. But at the same time, condemned AMERICANISM. Basically, the watering-down of Church doctrine in order not to offend non-Catholics. There was more, but that compromise alone, has become the milestone around the neck of the Church here in the U.S. of A.
Americanism, has also fostered the scourges of abortion, contraception, euthanasia, and now infanticide, not to mention homosexuality, all "legal", apparently, in our country!
Could it also be a titanic chastisement for those crimes, especially committed by those who claim to be "Catholic"?
We know that one cannot be a follower of Christ, and, at the same time, follow the demon; it's one or the other. Simply stated: we can't have it both ways in this life!
Pray for discernment, and pray for our country...
Gene DeLalla
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