As a friend working at a Catholic college said, "I didn't leave my Church; my Church left me."

The Catholic Church has lost most or all influence in the US, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, France...that come to mind right now. And it's the fault of the Church leaders, who turned away from problems, refused to discuss matters except among the priests, and yearn for a day when the Mass is again in Latin and the good Father O'Flynn is the spiritual, political, and lay Voice Of His Community.

But the Church made a mistake, at least in the US, beginning in the 19th Century: they opened schools and colleges and taught us to think.