The breakfast, organised by Christchurch diocese, was attended by some 200 men.

They travelled to Sacred Heart church in Addington to receive spiritual food from Christchurch Bishop Michael Gielen, and to meet like-minded men, to explore how they could be part of the life of the Church.

"There's a real yearning out there at the moment - let's face it, the world is getting more and more bonkers every day," said Dr Chris Pemberton, one of the organisers and a parishioner in Christchurch South parish.

The men participating in these consecration groups find solace and a sense of belonging, providing a platform for the development of bold plans to foster the growth of Catholic men in the diocese, said Pemberton.

Jonny Hutchison, a member of the St Joseph's consecration group has been a Catholic for more than four years.

He emphasised the importance of mutual support among men, highlighting the benefits of smaller groups where individuals can help one another in their faith journey.

Encouraging his younger boys to deepen their faith becomes increasingly difficult in an environment where Catholic education and regular Mass attendance are becoming rare among their peers.

The remarkable turnout at the men's breakfast event is a positive sign for Hutchison. He expressed his surprise and satisfaction at seeing so many men gather to listen to Bishop Michael Gielen's talk.

Pemberton echoed this sentiment, emphasising that men today, regardless of their religious background, are searching for purpose and meaning in their lives.

He noted that even those who are only partially committed to the Catholic faith are making better choices. They are choosing to return, serve and actively participate in the Church.

He said many men are doubling-down on their commitment to their faith.

"But the way the world is going, they're going: ‘hang on a minute, I look at what's happening there, and the Church is clearly better than the chaos of the world, so I am going to double down on what I am already doing'."

He said that men want to give to the Church.

"They're looking to give of themselves in a way where they think it's going to be most beneficial and, at the same time, it's going to be acknowledged.

"A lot of the men said they appreciate gathering with other like-minded people, like other Catholic brothers, yeah, it was really inspiring," Gielen said.

"We all want to walk together in every aspect of life, you don't want to walk alone, so if you've got faith, you want other people with faith to walk with."

Gielen unveiled a statue of St Joseph, made in the Holy Land from olive wood, as part of the diocese's initiative to further strengthen and expand the St Joseph's consecration practice within households.

Pemberton expressed his hope for the Catholic men's breakfast to become an annual event.

Gielen said a similar function is being organised for women and he is encouraging women to "watch this space."

Source

• NZ Catholic

Since 2000, 14 million Catholics have left the faith, parish religious-education participation of children has dropped by 24 percent, Catholic school attendance has dropped by 19 percent, baptisms of infants has dropped by 28 percent, baptism of adults has dropped by 31 percent, and sacramental Catholic marriages have dropped by 41 percent.

Something is desperately wrong with the Church's approach to the New Evangelization.

The New Emangelization Project has documented that a key driver of collapse of Catholicism in the US is a serious and growing Catholic "man-crisis."

Large numbers of baptized Catholic men have left the Faith, and many of those who remain Catholic neither know nor practice the Faith and are not committed to passing the Faith on to their children.

Recent research shows that large numbers of young Catholic men are leaving the Faith, becoming "Nones," men who have no religious affiliation.

The growing losses of young Catholic men will have a devastating impact on the US Catholic Church in the coming decades, as older Catholic men pass away and young men fail to remain and marry in the Church, accelerating the losses that are already taking place.

While there are massive cultural forces outside of the Church (secularism, pluralism, anti-Christian bias, radical feminism, pornography, etc.) and missteps within the Church (failure to make men a priority, sex abuse scandals, etc.) that have contributed to the Catholic "man-crisis," the New Emangelization Project has conducted dozens of interviews with top men's evangelists that suggest a critical reason for the crisis is that bishops and priests have not yet made the evangelization and catechesis of men a clear priority.

Men are being ignored by the Church, and they know it. Continue reading

Sources

• The above article by Matthew James Christoff, who became a Catholic in 2006 and operates NewEmangelization.com, is from Catholic World Report.
• Image: The Catholic Sun