Catholic Church

I've been doing some thinking about religion and what not.
Now, i consider myself semi-religious, as well as a spiritual person. I was baptised in the Catholic faith and have done my reconciliation, communion and confirmation and plan to get married in a catholic church.

But what gets me is when old people moan about young people, especially Gen Y, not attending church.

Personally I don't feel I need to attend Church to talk to God and feel his presence or whatever it is that going to Church is supposed to make you feel.

I think some of that has to do with the fact that the Church is so far out of touch with young people. Their stances on so many things are so way out of date that young people can't relate.
We weren't taught by Nuns at school, in fact I doubt whether any young catholics have had anything to so with a nun.

Firstly, the Church's stance on women Priests.
Many of us Gen Y's have grown up with our mother's working. Mine certainly did, full time, for quite early on in my life. So it's second nature to see women working and in positions of authority. While women may not have equality in the workplace yet, make no mistake that it is coming. Women now occupy many high power positions around the world. Take the German Chancellor Angela Merkl, Hilary Clinton etc etc.

Secondly, homosexuality.
For a lot of people homosexuality is not something that can be helped, it was how the person was born and thus was meant to be like that, something that God, the creator, did.
Many of us have homosexual friends and we accept them. We've grown up with Ellen DeGeneres on our tv screens, we've listened to Freddie Mercury and Ricky Martin.
Isn't religion about acceptance? If so then why do we leave these people out in the cold?
Aren't we all God's creatures and deserve his love?

Thirdly contraception.
This is just ridiculous. We've grown up with AIDS and we know that it's not nice and something to avoid. Studies have shown condoms are the most effective way of preventing STI's of HIV/AIDs is the most dangerous. We can all see the spread of HIV/AIDs in Africa because of the lack of sexual education and don't want that to become a reality in our world too.

Fourth, sex before marriage.
Personally im of the try before you buy camp. And while i can respect people who want to save themselves for their hubsband/wife i think it's unrealistic to think the majority of people will do the same.
Even in the 50's and 60's it was realistic and times have changed a lot since then.
You can see in the United States with the practice of promise rings that it can sometimes do more harm than good with rates of STIs very high within this group because they don't have any education about safe sex. Unwanted pregancies also result.

I just don't see how the Catholic Church, or any major religion for that matter can hope to stay relevant when they are so out of touch with the people they are ministering.
It doesn't make sense.

The law adapts and changes in response to changes in science and technology, why can't religion?
I don't mean the Pope taking to twitter or facebook in order to reach a wider audience, I mean changing the big things that are turing the youth away.

It's well publicised that Gen Y don't listen to their parents so why would we listen to an old German virgin preaching at us from Rome.

DOn't get me wrong, the Vatican is a lovely and extremly revrent place but what's coming from it isn't relevant to us, the people who will carry the church when the current lot are gone.