Cardinal Dolan discusses reasons for uptick in young people practicing Catholicism

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City has written an op-ed discussing the rise in young people’s interest in the Catholic faith and suggesting some reasons for it.

“During one coffee break [at the recent Papal conclave], one cardinal said, ‘Have you noticed all the young people from around the world who are here in Rome?’” Cardinal Dolan wrote in the Aug. 21 New York Post op-ed.

After returning home to New York City, he realized more young people were in the pews at Mass than usual. This observation was echoed by priests across the Archdiocese of New York, who told him that not only are more young people returning to practice the faith of their childhood, but more young people not raised in the Church are choosing to become Catholic.

These observations aren’t just anecdotal: The cardinal points to data from Harvard University’s Cooperative Election Study showing that Generation Z saw a 6% increase in those identifying as Catholic from 2022 to 2023 in the US. This increase goes beyond just young people in the US, though. France has seen a 160% increase in people entering the Church in the last decade, and in the United Kingdom, there are more than double the number of 18- to 35-year-old Catholics than there are members of the Church of England in that age bracket, as CatholicVote previously reported.

Cardinal Dolan says that there probably isn’t a single reason that can explain why so many young people are seeking a deeper relationship with God through the Catholic Church, but he does identify several likely causes.

He says that the witness of saints who have lived in the recent past, like Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis — both of whom will be canonized next month — plays a role. Parish events for young people also draw people in, and the faith communities at Catholic schools as well as Catholic campus ministries at colleges and universities help many people to come to know Christ.

“Then, too, the world seems a big mess!” Cardinal Dolan wrote. “War, injustice, famine, violence, bigotry, mass shootings, political vitriol — those inclined to look to the world for meaning now know better.”

Finally, he observes that human beings have a universal need for meaning, and he says that this is a key cause of young people’s attraction to the Catholic faith.

“We look for clarity, not ambiguity,” he wrote in the New York Post.

In the op-ed, he wrote, “The Catholic faith, centered on Jesus and His Church, its belief in eternal, unwavering truth, and a moral code that differentiates between good and evil, grace and sin, provides that direction.”

>> Blessed Carlo Acutis to be canonized along with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Sept 7 <<

The post Cardinal Dolan discusses reasons for uptick in young people practicing Catholicism appeared first on CatholicVote org.