African-American Catholics concerned about youths leaving church

Published: 2004-06-16

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- In many Catholic parishes across the country, the number of active African-American participants is dropping. This is particularly true among African-American teens and young adults who many say are leaving for other Christian denominations they find more relevant to their lives. In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the number of African-American Catholics hovers at approximately 25,000. But current trends indicate that this number will fall as young African-Americans leave the church. There are no exact figures on young blacks leaving the church "because studies done on young people leaving the church have not included a lot of black people," said Sister Eva Lumas, a Sister of Social Service who teaches at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley.

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