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BRITAIN-FAMILIES Jul-20-2005 (800 words) xxxi
Report: British Catholics turn away from church as stress mounts
By Simon Caldwell
Catholic News Service
LONDON (CNS) -- Catholic families in Britain are turning their backs on going to church because of the strains of modern life, according to a new report.
Drawing on the experiences of 15,000 Catholic families who responded to a "Listening 2004" consultation, the report says materialism, financial hardship and modern working practices are placing Catholic families under pressure to stay away from Mass on Sundays.
The 90-page report, titled "Not Easy But Full of Meaning," said many Catholic couples were simply too tired to attend Mass on Sundays after a week spent juggling the demands of their jobs and domestic duties.
Families also felt overwhelmed by a "tide of materialism" and wanted to see more support from the church in countering it, said the report, written by Auxiliary Bishop John Hine of Southwark and Elizabeth Davies, marriage and family life project officer for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
"All that we have heard suggests that life ... is often messy, rushed, stressful and draining," said their report.
"It seems that church involvement is either becoming one choice among many or simply less of a viable option. We heard in some dioceses that Mass times have changed and the number of Masses (have been) reduced. This makes it more difficult for some families to continue to attend regularly. Families who do go to Mass regularly are making tremendous sacrifices to do so," the report said.
A report published in December revealed that Mass attendance, baptisms and marriage rates had plummeted among English and Welsh Catholics in the space of 45 years.
Using data collected by parishes between 1958 and 2002, the report by the Pastoral Research Center showed that the proportion of Catholics attending Mass fell from 1.8 million to fewer than a million, even though the Catholic population increased from 3.5 million to 4.1 million in the same period.
Baptisms fell by nearly 50 percent, according to the report, "Pastoral and Population Statistics of the Catholic Community of England and Wales," and the number of marriages dropped by 78 percent -- from about 69,000 in 1958 to 15,000 in 2002.
"Not Easy But Full of Meaning" observed that "financial concerns can cripple family life," suggesting that the family was "not necessarily that calm center of peace that one would hope for."
One family from Nottingham, England, attempted to sum up challenges to families as: "Pressure on appearance, consumerism, selfishness, nonpermanent relationships, competition and godlessness."
The report was published July 18 by the English and Welsh bishops' Committee for Marriage and Family Life to help the bishops understand the problems facing modern British Catholic families and how to respond to them.
The report represents the first part of a three-year plan to make parishes more welcoming and supportive of the family. The project was launched in 2004 during the 10th anniversary celebrations of the U.N. Year of the Family.
About 1 million leaflets were printed, and churchgoers were asked to set out their joys and sorrows either in writing or in confidential groups.
"If this initiative raises marriage and family life higher on our pastoral agenda at the local level, it will have been successful," Bishop Hine, committee chairman, said in the report's foreword.
Besides economic pressures, the report also highlighted the discomfort many Catholics feel at living in an increasingly secular society.
"Practicing the faith makes you distinctly odd," one parishioner said.
Other Catholics complained about a perceived hostility from the church toward single parents, cohabiting couples, divorcees and homosexuals.
A single mother in the Clifton Diocese said she felt her priest was always "too busy" to speak to her and that she felt she was "treated as a leper."
The report also describes the experience of a man referred to as "Mr. D" who discovered that his son was gay. He said he met with "extremely hostile, disparaging" remarks when he tried to raise the issue with a parishioner and his priest.
"Mr. D feels angry, frustrated and totally rejected by the church," the report said. "There seems nowhere to turn. In his mind there is little hope for the future."
The report also focused on the "heartache" of faithful Catholics who see their adult children cohabiting and their grandchildren born out of wedlock, then not baptized or raised in the faith.
It also discusses attitudes toward contraception, finding that it remained a controversial issue among older generations but less so among younger Catholics. The report recommended improved natural family planning services.
"Despite all the contrasting responses, it did become apparent that the church, while promoting natural family planning, has yet to offer a coherent national information service for those interested in pursuing this means of controlling fertility," the report said.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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