A Catastrophic Crisis: the Exodus of Young Catholics and the Contraceptive Mentality

"How can a Catholic couple claim to truly believe if the spouses suspend their trust in Holy Providence?" A very good question!

From One Peter Five

By Robert Lazu Kmita, PhD

How can a Catholic couple claim to truly believe if the spouses suspend their trust in Holy Providence?

I was writing diligently when, during a break, I read a short article by Mr. Phil Lawler on his Substack channel. The title immediately caught my attention: “The exodus of young Catholics. Nine out of ten ‘cradle Catholics’ leave.”[1]

We can do as much theology and philosophy as we like, we can read and quote all the Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church, but if we are unable to seriously and fruitfully discuss such issues, everything is — more or less, perhaps more — useless. ForBecause, after all, for a Catholic this is the central stake of any intellectual work: the salvation of souls. Which cannot be accomplished outside the Church. From this perspective, the condition of those who leave the Church is truly tragic. And the situation is not limited to the United States. Since my conversion to Catholicism in the Jubilee Year 2000, I have encountered this drama of religious abandonment everywhere. Being myself the father of seven children, you can imagine that for me it is a matter of the utmost personal importance. This is why I put everything else aside and began writing this article, which I assure you will be followed by others.

One detail worth mentioning is that Dr. Lawler’s article was inspired by a longer one, written by Michael Rota and Stephen Bullivant, entitled “Religious Transmission: A Solution to the Church’s Biggest Problem.”[2] This text is more extensive, with statistical data and analyses that try to explain the disastrous diagnosis: “Nine out of ten ‘cradle Catholics’ leave.” Many correct points are made there, pointing both to causes within Catholic families and external causes such as the huge influence of mass media and popular culture promoted through smartphones and TV. And yet, after reading everything carefully, I feel that the most important things have not been said.

If we’re talking about statistics on the state of faith and believers, I think the high number of young people leaving the Church is almost perfectly mirrored by another set of data: the huge number of Catholics who use contraceptives. Surveys cited by Mr. Daniel Payne in an article published in Catholic News Agency show that “large majorities of Catholics report using at least one form of artificial contraception — with over 90% having used condoms and more than 60% having used the hormonal birth control pill.”[3] And another survey, published this year by the Pew Research Center, shows that “84% of U.S. Catholics say the church should allow Catholics to use birth control.”[4]

I must stress that I give such figures only very limited value, more as an orientation. I never regard them as absolute. Born and raised in a country under the dictatorship of the single communist party, I learned how survey data can be manipulated. That is why I always approach such data with a good dose of caution. At the same time, however, after having lived in communities in both Romania and Italy, and having traveled to the United States, Scotland, France, and Germany, I can say without hesitation that in the case raised by Dr. Phil Lawler, the surveys are not lying: the demographic collapse in many Catholic communities is almost total. For example, in one parish where I lived for nine years, out of 1,400 families only one had more than 1–2 children. Generally, with the exception of certain Traditional Catholic environments (I am familiar with those connected to the FSSPX, FSSP, ICKSP, or certain monasteries), where I have seen a significant number of large families, I have encountered no better situations elsewhere.

I have often been asked by various readers of my articles why I describe the current situation of the world, and especially of the Church, as a crisis of unprecedented magnitude in history. I was am very likely suspected of pessimism. My main answer has always pointed to the greatest visible evil of the modern world. It is an evil that has always accompanied human society throughout history, but never on such a scale. I hasten to clarify that it is not abortion. No. Abortion is only the most terrible consequence of another evil, one that has become almost permanent and, in any case, almost universal: the contraceptive mentality. Yes. This is the greatest visible evil of our time.

If we consider the data presented by Phil Lawler, Michael Rota, and Stephen Bullivant regarding the number of young Catholics leaving the Church, and compare them with the statistics on the percentage of adult Catholics using contraceptives, their symmetry is striking. But whatever the real numbers may be, it is clear that we are dealing with widespread phenomena. Undoubtedly, they are connected.

The article by Rota and Bullivant raises the question of the family’s influence on children and adolescents. Of course, we all know that the Church has always taught that parents are the first apostles of the Christian faith before their own offspring. This goes without saying. What must be emphasized, however, is that the quality of the parents’ faith involves something extremely important: the presence and work of sanctifying grace. This is what makes faith alive, not dead. For let us not forget that it is not enough to merely speak the words of faith. In order to be truly nourishing for the soul and mind, they must give grace to those who hear them (Ephesians 4: 29). But grace is present only in the souls — and words — of those who not only believe but also live what they believe. Otherwise, as the Apostle James warns us, “faith without works is dead” (James 2: 20).

Let us take the final step: the great invisible evil at the root of the above apocalyptic statistics is none other than unbelief. And I am not speaking of just any kind of unbelief, but of unbelief in the protection and help that God’s Providence offers to large families — especially those who are poor. This is the authentic evangelical teaching strongly affirmed by Pope Pius XII in truly extraordinary words:

God also visits large families with His Providence, and parents, especially those who are poor, give clear testimony to this by resting all their trust in Him when human efforts are not enough. A trust that has a solid foundation and is not in vain! Providence — to put it in human words and ideas — is not a sum total of exceptional acts of divine pity; it is the ordinary result of harmonious activity on the part of the infinite wisdom, goodness and omnipotence of the Creator. God will never refuse a means of living to those He calls into being.[5]

This is true Christian faith. This faith has changed my life. It implies, on the part of Catholic parents, the acceptance of all the children whom God, in His Infinite and perfect Wisdom, has decided to bring into the world through their families. How can a Catholic couple claim to truly believe if the spouses suspend their trust in Holy Providence, replacing its blessed safeguard with the “protection” of intrinsically evil contraceptive means? And if we think about the raising and educating of children, we may ask (rhetorically): how can such a couple be truly convincing in the eyes of their children who, upon reaching adolescence or adulthood, know perfectly well why they have no more brothers and sisters?

This is the fundamental problem of the entire discussion opened by the cited authors. Only from this point can a serious conversation begin about what can be done in such a situation. Phil Lawler is right: the fundamental problem cannot be solved through new “parish programs designed to promote faith formation.” His suggestion, which points to the quality of the Holy Liturgy (perhaps discreetly suggesting even the Traditional Liturgy), is, without any doubt, welcome.

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[1] Here is the link: https://pflawler.substack.com/p/the-exodus-of-young-catholics [Accessed: 13 August 2025].

[2] It was published in Church Life Journal: A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life: https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/a-solution-to-the-churchs-biggest-problem/ [Accessed: 13 August 2025].

[3] Here: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257670/why-do-so-many-catholics-use-artificial-contraception-experts-weigh-in [Accessed: 13 August 2025].

[4] Here: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/04/30/most-us-catholics-say-they-want-the-church-to-be-more-inclusive/ [Accessed: 13 August 2025].

[5] Here: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5370 [Accessed: 13 August 2025].