Feedback on “Catholics Come Home” Website

Here’s an update on that post about that website “Catholics Come Home”
, with those stunning videos. As you recall, the two most popular ads were “Epic” and “Movie”, where different people sit alone in a hanger and watch the movie of their lives, seeing all the bad things they did, and the good. The Catholic News Agency has just published an article about the extraordinary results of these ads. Here are a few quotes from that article:

-In less than three weeks, 3,000 Catholics returned to the Church in the Diocese of Phoenix due to the effort of a new lay apostolate, CatholicsComeHome.org

-In Phoenix, the commercials were aired on all major television networks and also ESPN, Lifetime, FOX News and others. After the first commercial campaign, not only did the diocese report a marked increase in Mass attendance, but over “31,000 unique visitors came to the website from Phoenix and other US cities plus 60 foreign countries, with questions, to look up Mass times, to read information on marriage issues, to watch testimonies or to order Matthew Kelly’s book, ‘Rediscovering Catholicism.’”

-The feedback received from the group was outstanding. Seventy-eight of the 100 participants had positive responses to the ads. In another assessment, the organization found that before watching the videos, 90% of the participants had negative impressions of the Catholic Church. After viewing ads one time, 54% had a much more favorable impression. Hearts and minds were changed after viewing these creative and inspired ads.

-The reaction to the video has been overwhelmingly positive. Viewers commented, “After seeing ‘Epic’, it made me proud to be Catholic.” Priests have noted that the video made them feel “re-invigorated about their vocation.” The video also has touched former Catholics who have said that the video showed the truth about the Church – “truth that they haven’t seen in decades.” The second commercial, “Movie” has a different effect. Peterson described the ad as mirroring the Book of Revelation which states that we will give an account of our lives at the end of time. “Most people are brought to tears when they watch “Movie,” said Peterson. It shows that though Jesus’ divine mercy, “no matter what we’ve done, we can accept the mercy of Jesus who will help us create the perfect ending to each of our lives.”

Plus the Pope has sent a video message to Americans, now on You Tube, in which he tells them about how eager he is to be with them, thanking them for the preparations and inviting them to pray, since without prayer, all that organisation ends up being pretty useless. The theme: Christ our Hope. Very exciting! This visit will be something to watch and read about.