The Numbers Racket

Media often ask how many Catholics there are in the U.S. There’s no simple answer. Catholics are the largest congregation, but finding their exact number is not easy.

The Official Catholic Directory (OCD also known as the Kenedy Directory, in its 2008 edition gives the formidable number of 67,117,016. That includes Catholics not only in the 195 dioceses of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), but also those in dioceses of U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, Samoa, Caroline Islands and the Virgin Islands. When you subtract the 3 million-plus Catholics in these territories, the number of Catholics covered by the USCCB is about 64,117,016.

The OCD statistics come from dioceses, and they collect their numbers from parishes. Thus, the OCD numbers are people identified by the parish. Some pastors count their registrants. However, registering is emphasized in the U.S., but not everywhere, so some immigrants do not enroll in a parish when they come here. Others, no matter where they hail from, don’t sign up for anything. Some pastors periodically count the people in the pews and augment parish registration numbers with sacramental records and other estimating procedures to account for those not registered. It’s an inexact science.

Many undocumented persons don’t enroll because they are leery about giving anyone personal information, lest it lead to deportation. That, and the fact that most Latino and Mexican immigrants are Catholic, suggests that the OCD numbers underestimate. Recent U.S. Census numbers estimated the number of Latino/Hispanics at 44.3 million; other studies say 60 to 80 percent of them are Catholic. This makes it a safe bet that the number of Catholics in the U.S. is significantly higher than the OCD’s official estimate.

It is also noteworthy that when surveys, such as the Pew Religious Landscape Survey, ask people to identify their religious affiliation, about a quarter of all U.S. adults say they are Catholic. That corresponds to about 73 million adult Catholics. That’s 73 million not counting minors.

How one defines Catholic also bears looking at. The Code of Canon Law holds that all people who are baptized Catholic are Catholic and that a pastor is responsible for all Catholics in his territory. Even when people leave the Catholic Church we refer to them as an ex-Catholic or former Catholic, sort of Catholic in absentia.

Years ago a “good Catholic” meant a daily communicant, today, a “church-going Catholic.” Self-identified Catholics include everyone from the daily Mass-goers to the “born Catholic,” found in church only for their wedding and, they expect, their funeral. The word “catholic” by definition, means “comprehensive, universal,” so it’s hard to argue with their self-appellation and perhaps even judgmental to try. Note: No one is born Catholic; Catholicity comes through baptism, not birth.

The Irish writer James Joyce famously defined the Catholic Church as “here comes everybody.” When you do the numbers, Joyce may be as right as anyone.

Odds and Ends as the Pope Travels

With Pope Benedict off on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the next week will be a flurry of statements, meetings and photo opportunities, all of a historic nature and termed in a quote in one news source as perhaps the most challenging trip of his pontificate.

As the trip unfolds, Catholic News Service is keeping up with the pope's every step. They've already offered this analysis and have already posted the pope's speech from his first stop in Jordan on their blog.

As this unfolds, the question of Catholic-Jewish relations looms with the pope's visit to Israel next week. While the controversy from earlier this year is still fresh in mind, the USCCB offers additional background on this relationship, both from our offices and other sources.

First, the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the USCCB offers a page of documentation on the U.S. end of things, including archival statements and news releases going back to shortly after the complete reboot of Catholic-Jewish relations at the Second Vatican Council.

The Vatican Web site offers a comprehensive record that includes the speeches from Pope John Paul II's 2000 pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to which Benedict's pilgrimage has been frequently compared and contrasted, even before it's occurred. Highlights from John Paul include his remarks at the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem and his historic prayer at the Western Wall.

Co-ad-what-tor?

This morning saw another bishop's appointment in the U.S., with the pope accepting the resignation of Bishop Bernard Harrington of Winona (thanks for your service, Bishop Harrington) and Coadjutor Bishop John M. Quinn succeeding Bishop Harrington (congrats, Bishop Quinn).

While it was announced, just as every other appointment, by the apostolic nuncio in Washington and the pope in Rome simultaneously, this appointment didn't have quite the same dropped-out-of-the-sky feel as some in that it was preceded by another announcement last fall, naming Bishop Quinn, then an auxiliary bishop of Detroit, as Bishop Harrington's coadjutor.

In other words, it was just a matter of time before the torch was passed.

This is only clear, however, if coadjutor is already conveniently part of your vocabulary, which for the many of us, it isn't. But one of the charming aspects of Catholicism is the endless potential for learning, either through history, prayer and reflection, or the endless layers of church concepts and terminology.

The USCCB's online glossary of Catholic terms defines coadjutor:

A bishop appointed to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist the diocesan bishop. Unlike an auxiliary bishop—see auxiliary bishop—he has the right of succession, meaning that he automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires or dies. By canon law, he is also vicar general of the diocese. If the diocese is an archdiocese, he is called coadjutor archbishop instead of coadjutor bishop. In recent years a growing number of U.S. bishops in larger dioceses or archdioceses have requested and received a coadjutor in the final year or two before their retirement, in order to familiarize their successor with the workings of the (arch)diocese before he has to take over the reins.

Seems simple enough.

A couple other random facts worth noting: the Catholic Church in the U.S. has one other coadjutor at present, Coadjutor Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati (formerly bishop of Duluth), who has the right of succession when Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk retires. Also, prior to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Rome could distinguish between a coadjutor who had the right of succession and one who did not. This distinction does not exist in the current code, as canon 403, paragraph 3 plainly states, "... a coadjutor bishop does possess the right of succession."

In advance, a likely no comment

The retirement of Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter has prompted a lot of comments. Some have commented that the nominee to fill the high court vacancy should be dedicated to interpreting the Constitution rather than "legislating from the bench." President Obama commented that he wants a justice with "empathy."

And when the White House announces its pick in the coming days or weeks, a face and a personal and professional background will enter this discussion, eliciting even more comments.

In the midst of all this, it might be worth noting in advance that the U.S. bishops, as a body, will likely be making "no comment" on the nominee. This isn't because the matter is somehow unimportant, or that there won't be something of note to say about Obama's pick for the court. It's simply that the bishops don't make a habit on commenting on individual nominees, whether for the Supreme Court, cabinet posts or otherwise.

In spite of this trend, it wouldn't be fair to say we somehow have a shortage of official statements from the U.S. bishops or the Catholic Church at the national level. From specific policy decisions by the Obama Administration on matters of human life and dignity to specific legislation before Congress, from the 2009 H1N1 virus to the 2010 census, the U.S. bishops speak out consistently on matters facing the Catholic Church and the world today.

But then what makes nominees for the cabinet, judiciary, etc. so different? Apart from the admonition of Jesus to judge not lest we be judged, the best answer to this question probably resides with Justice Souter himself. His evolution from safe conservative nominee to reliably liberal justice is Supreme Court folklore. It doesn't take much to envision the nightmare of the U.S. bishops being on record saying, "this nominee's grrrrreat," only to have the new justice turn around and rule with the majority in, for instance, a case striking down abortion restrictions in all 50 states.

A piece of legislation or an executive order is concrete and static and can be studied and approved or disapproved by anyone, including the U.S. bishops. A human being, made in the image of God and given free will, is full of surprises.

Looking Ahead to Israel

In the first of what will hopefully be a few pieces from our office regarding Pope Benedict XVI's May 8-15 trip to the Holy Land, Father James Massa, executive director of the USCCB's Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, offers a reflection on the significance of this visit on the Media Relations Web page.

As an expert on interreligious issues who did his dissertation on the writings and theology of Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict), Father Massa is uniquely equipped to offer insights on what promises to be a historic visit.

Happy Cinco de Mayo: Hope for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

There’s hope for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), says Kevin Appleby, immigration policy whiz at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ office for Migration and Refugee Services. Notes Appleby:

President Obama got the ball rolling with a March meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where lawmakers stressed the need for CIR this year. Soon after, President Obama spoke at a town hall meeting in California about the need for CIR. In April, the Administration formally announced their intention to pursue CIR and the President is expected to convene working groups of policymakers and advocates to begin discussing the content of the bill. Timing for CIR legislation still remains unclear, but the Senate held its first CIR hearing of 2009 on April 30.

At an April 29th press conference, President Obama again addressed immigration reform. He expressed his desire to work with Senator John McCain, saying McCain has "the right position" on reform. Noted the President: "We can't continue with a broken immigration system. It's not good for anybody. It's not good for American workers. It's dangerous for Mexican would-be workers who are trying to cross a dangerous border. It is -- it is putting a strain on border communities, who oftentimes have to deal with a host of undocumented workers. And it keeps those undocumented workers in the shadows, which means they can be exploited at the same time as they're depressing U.S. wages."

Mr. Obama said he wants to start movement on CIR this year and hopes to convene working groups with Congressional lawmakers to shape the bill. He also stressed the importance of taking administrative steps through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve border security and reform worksite enforcement so that Americans gain confidence in the enforcement of current law.

On April 30, DHS released new policy directives to guide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in worksite enforcement operations. The directives call for ICE to focus on the criminal prosecution of employers who recruit and hire illegal workers. ICE is to seek out the commitment of the relevant U.S. Attorney to prosecute the targeted employer before ICE arrests any illegal workers at a worksite. The directives expand ICE's current humanitarian guidelines to worksite enforcement actions involving 25 or more illegal workers (from the previous 150). Under the new policy guidance, DHS will continue to arrest illegal workers it encounters in its investigations.

On April 30, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security held a hearing: "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009: Can We Do It and How?" Speakers included former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, who said that illegal immigrants provide a safety valve as demand for workers increases and decreases. He asserted that illegal immigration has made a significant contribution to the growth of our economy, and that legal reform is badly needed. He responded to questioning that undocumented immigrants do not compete with Americans for jobs by and large, except at the bottom end of the economy, where they compete with high school dropouts.

Chairman of the Subcommitee, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), said, "No one is happy with our current system," and now is the time to enact significant reform. Montgomery County, MD Police Chief Thomas Manger stressed the way in which reform which targets criminal immigrants rather than unlawful workers would facilitate crime-fighting through stronger relationships with the undocumented community.

Who Speaks for the Bishops?

The phone rings, and the reporter on the other end of the line asks, "Why is this other bishop quoted in the release you just put out? Isn't Cardinal George the president of the USCCB?"

What typically follows is a technical explanation of how, per the structure of the USCCB, different bishops serve as the chairmen of different committees that deal primarily with certain issues of importance to the Catholic Church. Bishop-chairmen are elected to three-year terms by their brother bishops, during which time they are the leading U.S. Church voices on any of a number of issues.

So it follows that Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the migration committee, is the designated spokesman in a statement on immigration, or that Cardinal Justin Rigali, chair of Pro-Life Activities, is responsible for the statements on abortion and stem cells.

But then matters do arise where it's appropriate to have Cardinal George himself speak for the U.S. bishops as their president. This could be an urgent matter where a voice needs to speak out at the highest level for the Church in the United States, or a case where the USCCB wants to give special weight and priority to a particular issue.

In some cases, it's appropriate to have a USCCB staff member speak out. For instance, Richard Doerflinger from Pro-Life Activities is more knowledgeable on the issue of stem cell research than many, lay or ordained, in the U.S. Church.

This question of who speaks for whom and when highlights a foundational issue for the Catholic Church: teaching authority. The Church is always teaching as it engages the world. But when multiple voices are speaking and teaching, the issue of authority comes up. Authority is, to an extent, about jurisdiction. A pastor teaches and preaches on the parish level, but a diocesan bishop is the ultimate authority in his diocese. And the bishop of Rome, the pope, holds universal teaching authority for the entire Church.

Missing from this ancient model, one might notice, is the national level. And this suggests one reason why, at the Second Vatican Council, the Church recommended the formation of national conferences of Catholic bishops. In short, the Church needs a structure, an apparatus for exercising and expressing its teaching on the national level. There is no "American pope" or "national bishop" (though some would point to New York, the media capital of the world).

How the church speaks nationally is also influenced by another Vatican II theme: collegiality, or collaboration in the governance of the Church. The USCCB is a working example of collegiality, evidenced by the array of voices one can find in its statements, documents and news releases.

"The Catholic Church is not a democracy," goes the common saying, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of cooperation and consultation at work. As a priest friend of mine says, "It has little bits of democracy sprinkled throughout." Whether it's the conclave to elect a pope, a parish council voting to recommend a new church building, or the U.S. bishops electing their brother bishops to speak on the national level for a given time on an appointed topic, the Catholic Church presents a model that some compare to cooperating parts of a body. Others would use words like community, or better, communion.