The good news?
Catholics earn more
The bad news? They give less
By David Myers
Bob Voboril, one of two keynote speakers at
the Aug. 25 Stewardship Day, serves as superintendent of schools for the
Diocese of Wichita, so it was natural that he start his presentation with a
quiz:
Q) What is the largest
denomination in the
Q) How many Catholics are in the
Q) How many
Catholics are registered in a parish? A) Sixty million at best are registered.
Forty-five percent of young people are not registered.
Q) Of the top dozen
religious groups in the
Q) How many Catholics
know the name of their bishop? A) Fewer than half of all Catholics know their
bishop’s name.
Q) How many
denominations have fewer clergy today than 25 years ago? A) All the other denominations
have more clergy than 25 years ago. Catholics have 20 percent less.
Q) What has happened to
Catholic attendance in the last 25 years, down or up? A) Attendance has dropped
more than half, from 80 percent to 37 percent.
Q) How many Catholics
go to confession even once a year? A) Fewer than half of all Catholics go to
confession once a year.
Q) When two Catholics
marry, how often are they married in the Catholic Church? A) One-third of
Catholic couples get married outside the church.
Q) Nationally, the
average adult gives 2.2 percent of their income to their church. Do Catholics
give more or less? A) Catholics give 0.7 to 1.1 percent.
“Not only do we have
more money, but we give less,” Voboril said. “It’s
not a money problem; it’s a faith problem.”
To further get his
point across, Voboril explained that he thinks of
stewardship in terms of four questions:
1) What do you have?
2) Where did it come
from?
3) What am I supposed
to do with it?
4) What do I owe
anybody else?
“How do you think most
Catholics responded when asked the first question?” Voboril
asked.
“‘Not enough,’”
he said.
“How
about the second question?”
“Blood and sweat,” one
person responded. “I earned it,” came another answer.
“That’s right,” Voboril said. “I earned it.”
To the third question, Voboril said that the response had been, “‘Whatever I want.’”
And
to the fourth question?
“‘Nothing.’”
“It is a materialistic
point of view that says I can have what I want; I purchased it,” he said. “What
is it that’s really important in life that you can purchase? Love?
How many of you bought your spouse? You can’t purchase anything that matters.
You say you want to be happy? Do good things. ...
“These are the four
important lessons of stewardship,” he said.
1) If it’s stewardship,
it comes first. It’s not what you have left over.
2) If it’s stewardship,
it comes out of your substance. If it comes out of your leftovers, it’s not
stewardship
3) It is generous. You
give of yourself.
4) It has to hurt. It
has to be sacrificial.
“Stewardship is a
choice to change your life,” Voboril said. “It’s a
choice between sharing generously and keeping it all. If you are a disciple, it
is your only choice. At the root of it, it’s a change of heart. If you really
embrace stewardship, give God your heart. Give it all, and you will never ever
look back.”