A recent study from Georgetown University in Washington, reported that of the 64.4 million Catholics in the United States in 2007, only 36 percent attended Mass weekly. Another study conducted in the 1980s by Catholic University in Washington sociologist Dean Hoge found that 42 percent of all Catholics become inactive for at least two years in their late teens and twenties.

Anna LaNave, a parishioner of St. Raymond of Penafort Church in Springfield, and Melanie Rigney, a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington, both used to be included in those numbers of inactive Catholics. Both have since returned to the Faith — LaNave in college in 1986 and, after more than 30 years away, Rigney in 2005. Now, they are working together to help other inactive Catholics return to the Church with their book, When They Come Home, a guide for parishes on how to minister to returning Catholics.

“The Church really needs to come up with a strategy for how to bring these Catholics back,” LaNave said. “Otherwise, we’re going to have a very strong marginally Catholic group now, but in the next generation, it won’t be marginal. It will be none.”

LaNave and Rigney suggest that one way to bring inactive Catholics back into Church life is by tailoring parish programs to their needs. That is what LaNave does as facilitator of Landings at St. Charles Borromeo, a lay-oriented program designed to welcome back those returning to the Faith.

The book sets guidelines for how Catholics can set up and run programs like Landings at their own parishes. It shares tips on how to make a parish more welcoming to returning Catholics, how to market a program on the Internet, and how to run meetings in a way that eases “inactives” back into the Church instead of intimidating them or scaring them away with judgment or false information.

“A lot of people are afraid to come back because they think, ‘the Church won’t want me, I’ve done this ... ,’” La Nave said. “To have a program specifically tailored to them, with people who have been through it, is so inviting.”

Programs like the ones LaNave and Rigney encourage should be a first step for inactive Catholics — a chance to tip their toes into the water of the Church again and ask questions or discuss things they are having trouble with.

Many inactive or returning Catholics have not been exposed to Catholicism since their childhood and, as a result, have only a fourth- or fifth-grade level of understanding about the Faith. Programs like Landings serve as a place where they can come and have their questions answered in an environment where they won’t feel embarrassed.

“It’s the first opportunity to ask questions,” LaNave said. “Once they finish the program, if they feel like they need catechesis, they can go to (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) and be a sponsor or attend Cursillo or Bible study.”

LaNave says programs for returning Catholics should be thought of as a journey and a slow progress. The first step for ministers is to make the inactive Catholics feel welcome and encourage them to attend Mass weekly. Encouragement to go to confession — often the most frightening thing for returning Catholics — should come later.

Of course, ministering to returning or inactive Catholics does not have to take place entirely within the confines of a parish program, which is why LaNave and Rigney advise people to invite their inactive Catholic friends or family members to participate in parish activities.

“Don’t be a nag about it, but ask them to go to Mass with you,” LaNave said. “Some of the people we meet with hadn’t been to Mass in 30 years. What turned their hearts? We don’t know, but it could be working now in someone you know.”

If an inactive friend or family member approaches them with questions, LaNave and Rigney suggest active Catholics be honest about their own knowledge of the Faith and not to get defensive.

“If somebody in your family goes to Mass with you and they ask questions, I think the important thing is don’t make up the answers. There’s nothing wrong with, ‘I don’t know.’ Say, ‘Let’s find out together,’” Rigney said.

Instead of trying to make a friend or family member feel guilty or getting mad at them, LaNave and Rigney suggest that active Catholics should concentrate on owning their own Catholicism and becoming better witnesses to the Faith.

“Hypocrisy doesn’t work with ‘inactives.’ They watch for hypocrisy because that helps them justify their inactivity,” Rigney said. “They say, ‘Well, I don’t want to be a part of that church, they’re all a bunch of hypocrites.’”

“Sometimes it’s not just the words, but it’s how you live your life. Just share your life and don’t get defensive and start a dialogue and listen,” LaNave said. “Once they see that you’re a real person trying to live an authentic Catholic life, it’s going to be very attractive to them.”

LaNave says that by focusing on their own behavior and spirituality, people may be able to show inactive Catholics that the Church is more than just a list of obligations, it is a way to forge a relationship with God.

“Get them out of the mindset that the Church is the building, the Church is the pope, the Church is the priest, and make them realize that we are all the Church,” she said. “We’re people of God, we’re messy, we’re sinful, we’re all cracked up, and guess what? We’re all in the same building trying to make a go of it and love God.”

Buy the book

When They Come Home will be available mid-December at store.pastoralplanning.com.