A Magnitude VIII Earthquake Hit Britain
500 years in the making
I'm certain a certain long-dead monarch is rolling over in his grave. Could this interesting little article from The Times (of London) be the reason why? (Emphasis mine)
A Catholic tremor through Westminster
William Rees-Mogg on our archaic rules of royal succession The announcement of Tony Blair’s conversion is an important personal event for Blair and his family, but it is also an important historic event. When he last saw the Pope, Blair presented him with an autographed photograph of Cardinal Newman, the most significant Catholic convert of the 19th century. Blair has himself become the most significant British convert since Newman.
Religion is not a matter of mere statistics, nor are these statistics simple. Yet the fact that Catholic weekly church attendances in England have overtaken Anglican by 862,000 to 853,000 is significant. One should nevertheless qualify it. The Catholic figures have been raised by Polish immigration. The Poles bring Polish Catholicism with them; they are a devout nation. Without a doubt, the Catholic Re-Awakening in Britain has a distinctive Polish flavor to it. That is unless the Brits can find a letter-day Cardinal Newman amongst themselves.
500 years in the making
I'm certain a certain long-dead monarch is rolling over in his grave. Could this interesting little article from The Times (of London) be the reason why? (Emphasis mine)
William Rees-Mogg on our archaic rules of royal succession
Religion is not a matter of mere statistics, nor are these statistics simple. Yet the fact that Catholic weekly church attendances in England have overtaken Anglican by 862,000 to 853,000 is significant. One should nevertheless qualify it. The Catholic figures have been raised by Polish immigration. The Poles bring Polish Catholicism with them; they are a devout nation.
posted by Kevin Whiteman at
12:34 PM
5 Comments:
What would the stats look like without the Poles? Not so hot I suspect. These numbers are not reason to feel comfort. 40 years of banal liturgy and non-catechesis have severely eroded Catholic identity and church attendance in Britain. The Catholic hierarchy in England needs to focus on evangelization, not retrenchment.
Let's just hope the Poles change England, more than England changes teh Poles! Of course if the problems England is having assimiliating Muslim immigrants is any indication as to how little new commers want to adopt British culture (whatever that is these days) atleast that is a good sign for the immigrant Poles clinging to their identity as well.
Leo,
I agree with your critique, but will you agree that this is at least a step in the right direction?
Caveman, you are right. It is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. Despite negative sentiments in the blogosphere, I also believe that Tony Blair's conversion may be a work of the Holy Spirit. And a very merry Christmas to you and yours.
Like I said in the last line; "unless the Brits can find a latter-day Newman amongst themselves".
The Catholic Re-Awakening is just beginning, my friend. Faith & Works, Leo... Faith & Works.
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