What are your thoughts, RC1953, on the idea that peoples of the 40s and 50s took the Faith for granted; the idea that while outward appearances of the Church and times were good, there was a preparedness to accept what was about to befall them?
You are wrong. Catholic Faithful took their Faith seriously. In the photo,
the long lines for Confession, and Good Friday Services is something we
do not see today. That was just one Catholic Church in Chicago. At that
time a Church would be a block or two apart. Every Church were full on
Sunday, and Holy Days.
At that time, the Clergy from Priests, to Bishops took their obligation in
teaching the Faith seriously. John XX111 in his speech before the
Vatican 2 Council was healthy, with no serious hearsay threatening the
Church. Paul V1 said the same thing we he opened the second session.
What happened to change all of this, it was the Council and the
interpretations and ambiguous teachings that lead Priests to Bishops into teaching error and the fallout was the decline of faith among the faithful.
And many have either abandoned and lost the faith.
And the result is that those Churches that were block or 2 apart have
either been closed, demolished or converted to secular and profaned use.
A Priest I once knew would not think of changing pulpits with a
protestant minister as late as 1963 was doing so on a regular basic
starting in 1965.