Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese Grows

The Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese, the nation’s most populous, grew by 40,000 parishioners in the last year to 3.67 million.

But as the Catholic population in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties continues to grow, the number of priests and nuns continues a decline that began in the late 1960s.

As of Jan. 1, the number of sisters in the Los Angeles archdiocese slipped below 2,000 for the first time, dropping from 2,022 a year earlier to 1,980 this year, according to the 1997 Official Catholic Directory.

Priests assigned to the archdiocese--both diocesan and religious order priests, and including retired clergy--total 1,165, down slightly from 1,179 the previous year.

Local declines match the nationwide slide in numbers of priests and sisters--generally attributed to deaths and departures from religious service outnumbering new recruits. U.S. priests at the start of this year totaled 48,097, down nearly 1,000 from a year ago; there were 87,644 sisters, a decrease of nearly 1,500 over the past year.

American Catholics are 23% of the U.S. population, but Catholic parishioners in the Los Angeles archdiocese’s three-county area make up 31% of the population.

The Los Angeles archdiocese is in no danger of losing its “most populous” title anytime soon. The next most populous archdioceses are Chicago and New York, with about 2.3 million parishioners each.

Consistent with the steady rise in number of Catholics in the archdiocese, increasing numbers of people are being baptized, confirmed and married in the church. In the past year, infant baptisms increased by 4%, adult baptisms by 9%, confirmations by 2% and marriages by more than 10%.

PEOPLE

For most of this century, U.S. church leaders tapped for a prominent role in international ecclesiastical gatherings almost invariably were ranking churchmen from the East Coast and Midwest.

But recently two Los Angeles prelates were chosen for key roles at upcoming conclaves abroad in the Catholic and Episcopal churches.

* Cardinal Roger M. Mahony was named one of three presidents-delegates for the Special Synod of Bishops for America to be held in Rome from Nov. 16 to Dec. 12. Pope John Paul II has scheduled several regional gatherings before churchwide observances in 2000. Joining Mahony as leaders of the Americas’ synod will be Brazilian Cardinal Eugenio De Araujo Sales of Rio de Janeiro and Archbishop Dario Castirillan Hoyous of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy.

* Episcopal Bishop Frederick Borsch will head one of four major sections of the Lambeth Conference, a decennial gathering of the world’s 800 Anglican bishops that will take place next year from July 19 to Aug. 9 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. The Los Angeles bishop will chair the session dealing with implications of religious pluralism for the faith of the church. Bishops from South Africa, Wales and Polynesia will lead other sessions.

PERFORMANCES

Mozart’s “Requiem” will be performed at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 10750 Ohio Ave., Westwood, by the parish’s Schola Cantorum with soloists and full orchestra, conducted by Frank Brownstead, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The choral concert will benefit St. Andrew’s Abbey in Valyermo. Tickets $15. (818) 340-8125.

* The 150-voice Agape International Choir will sing songs of freedom on July 4 and 5 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Cahuenga Pass. The 9-year-old choir, based in the Agape International Center of Truth in Santa Monica, has four CDs and two songbooks. The concert begins at 7 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $20 and $25. (310) 829-5780.

* Comedian-actor Jeff Foxworthy will star in Westwood Presbyterian Church’s 12th annual benefit musicale July 13. Donations will go to three community assistance programs supported by the church: PATH (People Assisting the Homeless), Child SHARE and the Westside Food Bank. Suggested donations are $50, $75 and $100, and seating is limited. (310) 474-4535.

DATES

Hasidic Jewish and Zen Buddhist perspectives on “overcoming inner hindrances to spiritual practice” will be explored Sunday by Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man and Peter Levitt, senior Zen practitioner at Sonoma Mountain Zen Center. Omer-Man is founder of Metiva, which is sponsoring the workshop, starting at 10 a.m., at the Metiva office, 2001 S. Barrington Ave., Suite 106, in West Los Angeles. $75. (310) 477-5370.

* Msgr. Gregory Cox, executive director of Catholic Charities in Los Angeles, will speak about welfare reform in the light of Catholic social teachings at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 10750 Ohio Ave., Westwood.

* The eight deputies elected to represent the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese at the July 16 to 25 Episcopal convention in Philadelphia will host a public meeting 10 a.m. today at the diocese’s Cathedral Center, 840 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles. Various issues facing the national church, including the election of a new presiding bishop, will be discussed.

* A UCLA Extension course starting Tuesday evening will focus on how various religious cultures influence landscape architecture around the world. The instructor, city planner David Solamain Tehrani, said the 11-week course ranges from Buddhist influence in Asia’s water gardens to religious and political statues. $365. (310) 825-9414.

* Jesuit Father John Keating of Georgetown University will discuss New Testament miracle accounts next week at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester. Keating will present a four-day course on “Gospel Miracles: Then and Now,” starting at 9:30 a.m. Monday. Tuition is $100. He also will present a lecture with slides on “Jesus’ Miracles in Visual Art” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. That talk, for a suggested $5 donation, is the first in a series of Tuesday- night campus forums. (310) 338-7772.

* A summer lecture series at the downtown Los Angeles campus of Mount St. Mary’s College will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday with a talk by New Testament scholar Gerard Sloyan, professor emeritus at Temple University, on “Christians and the Jewish Experience of Prayer.” $5 donation. (213) 477-2640.

FINALLY

Before he was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1973, the Rev. Joe Frazier was a folk singer from 1958 to 1968 with the Chad Mitchell Trio, of which John Denver was once a member. Frazier also sang with Harry Belafonte and made numerous television appearances.

Now rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach, Frazier also is the lead singer of a jazz band, Tupelo Blues, that has played at various secular venues from the South Bay to Irvine in the past two years.

On Sunday, Tupelo Blues will perform at Frazier’s church during a blues mass at the 9 a.m. service. St. Andrew’s is at 1818 Monterey Blvd. (310) 376-8989.

Notices may be mailed for consideration to Southern California File, c/o John Dart, L.A. Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, or faxed to Religion desk (818) 772-3385, or e-mailed to [email protected] Items should arrive 2-3 weeks before the event, except for spot news, and should include pertinent details about the people and organizations with address, phone number, date and time.

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A Growing Gap

The number of parishioners in the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese continues a steady growth, with 285 parishes in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. At the same time, the number of priests and nuns (both active and retired) is decreasing.

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YEAR PARISHIONERS PRIESTS NUNS 1993 3.53 million 1,298 2,158 1995 3.59 million 1,254 2,067 1997 3.67 million 1,165 1,980

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Source: The 1997 Official Catholic Directory