Left-leaning Cardinal Zuppi celebrates traditional Vespers
Nov 6, 2022 0:48:40 GMT
StellaMaris likes this
Post by ralfy on Nov 6, 2022 0:48:40 GMT
The Catholic Church is a global phenomenon, consisting of large numbers of people outside the U.S. and the UK. It is said that if trend lines continue, then it will soon be dominated by Africa and Asia:
www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49564397
The reason is low birth rates in prosperous nations coupled with growing secularism due also to more income.
Many countries where these people are located are poor. That's why what's not seen as a big deal in rich countries is a very big deal in them.
Consider one of those countries, the Philippines, where the majority of people are Catholics. From what I gathered, it has a reported poverty rate of around 20 pct but an actual poverty rate of 70 pct. It has class sizes of around 60-120 in some places and a significant lack of classrooms, books, chairs, etc. Its government cannot even meet public education needs such that half of schools are run by the private sector.
Because of that, it has the lowest test scores worldwide in Math, Science, and Reading. Its school dropout rate is almost 50 pct, and 9 out of 10 adults who take basic civil service exams can't pass them, even after taking them several times.
Here's one notable point: in national exams, the ave. score is less than 50 pct for reading and writing not only in English but also in Filipino, their official national language.
Add to this shortages in not only teachers but also priests, and one realizes that what is a matter-of-fact in rich countries is the opposite for many Catholics.
That's why I think the Church had to establish reforms in order to address these growing groups. That reminds me of an article that mentioned that in Vatican I, most participants came from Europe and North America. But by Vatican II, many came from South America and Asia. And now, Africa.
www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49564397
The reason is low birth rates in prosperous nations coupled with growing secularism due also to more income.
Many countries where these people are located are poor. That's why what's not seen as a big deal in rich countries is a very big deal in them.
Consider one of those countries, the Philippines, where the majority of people are Catholics. From what I gathered, it has a reported poverty rate of around 20 pct but an actual poverty rate of 70 pct. It has class sizes of around 60-120 in some places and a significant lack of classrooms, books, chairs, etc. Its government cannot even meet public education needs such that half of schools are run by the private sector.
Because of that, it has the lowest test scores worldwide in Math, Science, and Reading. Its school dropout rate is almost 50 pct, and 9 out of 10 adults who take basic civil service exams can't pass them, even after taking them several times.
Here's one notable point: in national exams, the ave. score is less than 50 pct for reading and writing not only in English but also in Filipino, their official national language.
Add to this shortages in not only teachers but also priests, and one realizes that what is a matter-of-fact in rich countries is the opposite for many Catholics.
That's why I think the Church had to establish reforms in order to address these growing groups. That reminds me of an article that mentioned that in Vatican I, most participants came from Europe and North America. But by Vatican II, many came from South America and Asia. And now, Africa.