Young not as religious?

My take on why non-school revenue religious activity has declined is that the students using vouchers are not wedded to the parish community (“Vouchers keep Catholic parishes open, but at a cost,” Feb. 15).

They are poorer families. Our experience is that as the older parishioners die, those who replace them are not as dedicated and involved in the parish. They volunteer less. They contribute less. They haven’t lived in the neighborhoods as long as the older parishioners who were lifetime members of their parish. People are more mobile today.

Plus, the behavior of the priest community blemished peoples’ faith in their religion. How much money went to litigation over pedophile priests? Bankruptcy caused their own demise.

Younger people aren’t as religious as their parents might have been. The church was everything to the parents. Fewer young people are becoming priests.

If vouchers are given, then those who receive them should be obligated to volunteer their time. We worked overtime to pay for parochial schools for our three children and we volunteered.

When I was in school, if you couldn’t afford it, you went to public schools and they were good. The same teachers were there 20 years after I graduated from high school, but somehow the quality went down; or, was it more having to be a nursemaid to those students who came into the school?

Edward Zoltak

Muskego