U.S. Catholic Church struggles to find balance

Many join from South America

The United States Catholic church struggles between the growth and decline of its population.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Wall Street Journal reported the rapid expansion of Catholic churches in Southern and Western America, mainly by immigrants from Latin America coming to Atlanta, Houston and Southern California.

Despite the growth in some areas, others are seeing a steep decline in church populations, leading to the closure of some parishes. The East and upper Midwest continue to lose devotees, specifically in Boston, Detroit and New York City.

Older dioceses fight to stay open while those that embrace Pope Francis' take on Christianity struggle to accommodate the influx of believers.

The Diocese of San Bernardino grew by 400,000 over the past eight years. Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino Diocese said, "It's likely they all decided to come at the same time ... It's a tremendous blessing and a challenge."

San Bernardino diocese is the 6th largest in the nation while Archdiocese of Detroit -which includes 6 counties- fell from 8th to 11th largest since 2000.

Father Joe Horn, who serves two parishes outside Detroit, said, "There's a natural question every pastor asks: Where is everybody?"

According to a Pew Research Center study, in 2007 over half of American Catholics lived in the Northeast and Midwest, but by 2014 just over half lived in the South and West.

The shift from white, European middle class members to Hispanic and Asian, younger and poorer classes also shifts the U.S. Catholic Church's emphasis concerning immigration, making it more important than it has been in the past.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, who leads the largest dioceses in the United States with about 4.5 million Catholics, said, "The center of gravity and influence in the church is shifting from the East to the West, and from the North to the South."

With Pope Francis' upcoming visit, will the U.S. Catholic Church increase its numbers?

FIND LIVE COVERAGE OF POPE FRANCIS' VISIT HERE

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