The Connection Between Dying Counties, Closing Catholic Schools, and Humanae Vitae

“The Internet is abuzz this week with reports from the U.S. Census Bureau that one-fourth of all U.S. counties are dying. The reasons given are an aging population, an increase of only 9.7% in the U.S. population over the past ten years (the lowest decennial increase since the great depression), and migration to more affluent counties in the midst of a protracted economic slump. Demographers call this ‘natural decrease.’ The etiology, in fact, may not be so natural at all.

“In the same decade that “natural decrease” has taken place, Catholic bishops have been closing Catholic schools all over the nation, much to the consternation of the laity. So what’s behind the trend?”

This commentary by Dr. Gerard M. Nadal looks at the connection between these dying counties, the closing of Catholic schools, and Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, Humanae Vitae.

To continue reading the complete post, please visit:

Coming Home: Dying Counties and Closing Catholic Schools: Reconsidering Humanae Vitae (24 FEB 11)

Background Information:

Humanae Vitae - Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI on the regulation of birth (25 July 1968)