Keller @ Large

Theology On Tap Calls To Young Catholics At Bars

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Cardinal Sean O'Malley appealed to young Catholics to become more involved with the church by taking his outreach program to a Quincy Center barroom for the latest series of events called Theology On Tap.

Cardinal Sean laughed when asked what he was doing at a place called Bad Abbotts, saying he hopes he doesn't fit that bill.

His eminence wasn't drinking Wednesday -- he's a teetotaler.

Besides, he was very much on-duty, working to bring young people back into the life of the church.

"I think it's an opportunity for us to gather young Catholics and to reflect on different aspects of our life of faith," he said.

And reflect they did, amid the clink of beer glasses, a diverse, standing-room-only crowd of mostly 20- and 30-somethings, who listened attentively as Cardinal Sean appealed to them to turn off the TV and computer and rejoin their community of faith.

"If more of these young people will become involved in the life of the church, that's the goal -- to help them to feel a part of our Catholic family and to get them energized about their faith," he said. "You can see there's a lot of interest and people feel very comfortable in that setting. We have to go where the people are."

"The 21 to 35 (year olds) are all too busy with sports, school, careers," said Peter Kerr of Quincy. "They sort of drift away from church."

The numbers back up what he's saying. Even before the church sex scandal, attendance was flagging. Today less than 20 percent of local Catholics regularly attend mass.

"I think it's really neat that he does something like this for young adults, gets out and speaks, and he has a powerful message to deliver," said Katherine Eddy of South Boston.

"I think it was great," said Brian Keaney of Dedham. "I'm really glad that he came out tonight. I think like any fisherman he came where the fish were. Did he catch some? I think so."

While this second Theology On Tap outing by the cardinal was well-received, not everyone is applauding. In an e-mail to WBZ-TV tonight, a spokeswoman for parishioners of a Scituate church, who have been at loggerheads with Lake Street for three years, questioned why the cardinal has time to go to Bad Abbott's but not to resolve their crisis.

But still, a productive night out for a church in need of more aggressive outreach.

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