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One need only attend a mass almost anywhere in Providence, Warwick or Cranston and many other communities to see how attendance has dropped over the decades, mostly due to the passing of long-time parishioners and the departure of skilled workers and their families for good.

It isn't for want of Catholics coming into RI, but the demographic- the majority of those arriving are attending "storefront" churches and "iglesias" where they see their collections and contributions being put back into the community and aiding their members instead of disappearing into Diocese coffers or used to repair churches which, in many cases, should be sold, re-purposed or just-plain torn down. the continued merger of parishes would benefit most in the long run.

I've tired of political discussions from the pulpit, being lectured that "we aren't giving enough" as if we run the Church or have any say in its operation.

I sat through a sermon where the priest blamed the "haves" for victimizing the "less fortunate" in RI, basically blaming anyone who drove a car to mass or dressed appropriately as being uncaring- sounds an awful lot like class envy to me.

I spoke with the priest after the service and expressed my opinion that the continuing political and business climate in RI were partly responsible for the drop in attendance, and that soon RI's population would consist of those whose income is "under the table", those who can't move away or won't, and those who make enough money that they don't care and can move away at will and take their tax money with them when taxes become too burdensome. He didn't even respond, but gave a sarcastic grin and moved away from the group of people who began discussing what I said, turned his back on us and spoke to some others.

If that's an example of how they address dissent, they can't realistically fix their problems.