More evidence that the Catholic Church is falling apart\u2014UPDATED<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm being ironic. The fact is: there are abundant signs of life and hope that some people may be missing (or, perhaps, choosing to ignore.) Case in point:\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/09\/more-evidence-that-the-catholic-church-is-falling-apart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More evidence that the Catholic Church is falling apart\u2014UPDATED\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I'm being ironic. The fact is: there are abundant signs of life and hope that some people may be missing (or, perhaps, choosing to ignore.) 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{"id":25815,"date":"2013-09-02T09:51:14","date_gmt":"2013-09-02T13:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=25815"},"modified":"2016-09-30T16:02:58","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T20:02:58","slug":"more-evidence-that-the-catholic-church-is-falling-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/09\/more-evidence-that-the-catholic-church-is-falling-apart\/","title":{"rendered":"More evidence that the Catholic Church is falling apart\u2014UPDATED"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m being ironic.<\/p>\n

The fact is: there are abundant signs of life and hope that some people may be missing (or, perhaps, choosing to ignore.) Case in point: the reconciliation business is booming in England and Wales, with more people returning to the faith through the Sacrament of Reconciliation\/Confession. \u00a0(I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to discover similar results in this country, but the evidence so far is purely anecdotal.)<\/p>\n

Here are some of the results of a phone survey conducted last month:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) Telephone Survey Results<\/strong><\/p>\n
Home Mission Desk, CCN, Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of England and Wales<\/em><\/p>\n
22 Catholic cathedrals in England and Wales were telephoned and emailed on Wednesday 21 August.<\/p>\n
The respondents were either Cathedral Deans, Priests-in-Residence, or designated staff members.There was a 91% response rate.<\/p>\n
\n
65% overall report an increase in the number of confessions heard because of a \u2018Papal effect\u2019. The reason given was either because of the impact of the Papal Visit, the inauguration of Pope Francis or both.<\/li>\n
35% reported no increase but said there was no decline using the words \u2018steady\u2019 or \u2018normal\u2019.<\/li>\n
15% attributed increases specifically in response to the Papal Visit in September 2010.<\/li>\n
10% attributed increases specifically in response to the election of Pope Francis.<\/li>\n
30% attributed the increases to both Popes \u2013 in response to the visit of Pope Benedict and the election of Pope Francis.<\/li>\n
10% weren\u2019t sure why there had been an increase or just didn\u2019t comment on the reason for the increase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Observations made in relation to the increase in confessions being heard<\/strong><\/p>\n
The quotes inserted under each bullet point below are taken from survey respondents.<\/p>\n
\n
Extra demand for confessions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
One respondent shared: \u201cThis summer there has been a marked difference in demand compared to last summer. There has been an increase. We don\u2019t usually offer confessions in August but have done this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Increased interest in the Church<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cI\u2019m observing more interest in the Catholic Church. There has been more interest in people wanting to become Catholics being brought by existing Catholics.\u201d And another: \u201cAfter the Easter Sunday Mass one woman said, \u2018I feel proud to be a Catholic again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Increase of people attending Church<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201c\u2026especially during Holy Week this year there was increased demand. We had a very good Reconciliation Service in Holy Week where we did observe an extra 25% that came along and a lot of people who came were lapsed. They hadn\u2019t been to confession for a number of years and suddenly they felt the urge to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Non-churchgoing Catholics (lapsed) returning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cThere is definitely an increase in lapsed seeking confession since the election of Pope Francis.\u201d Another said: \u201cI think very often those who have been away from the sacrament for a long time are very often surprised and delighted to find it such a positive and affirming experience. People just recently, who were expecting to struggle, or be met by an indifferent response from the priest, were struck how their experience was completely different. It is one of the many positive signs concerning the sacrament.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Popular with young people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cThere are people coming back who have not received the sacrament for years. People have been away from confession for a considerable period and we had a lot of younger adults coming.\u201d Another said: \u201cA lot of them are in their twenties and thirties and that was the most noticeable thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Mass attendance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cNumbers are increasing for Mass, particularly, mid-week Masses are going up as well as Sunday Masses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Papal Effect<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cThere was a surge after Pope Benedict\u2019s visit and an increase since Pope Francis\u2019 election which has maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Westminster Cathedral is an exceptional case<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201c\u2026due to its position in Central London and it serves a large number of workers and tourists for whom the Cathedral is not their parish. There is always a queue. In a normal week there is always a priest hearing confessions Monday-Friday 11.30-6pm, Saturday 10.30-6.30pm, and Sunday 11-1pm and 4.30-7pm, meaning they offer 45 hours per week. Popular devotions, such as the first Friday, and holy days of obligation see an increase in demand. In Holy Week this year we advertised 45 hours of confessions\u2026 which represented 103 priest-hours. This was nowhere near enough to cope with demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reasons given for the increase in confessions<\/strong><\/p>\n
Some of the bullet points are quotes from respondents.<\/p>\n
\n
The positive impact of Pope Benedict\u2019s Visit to the UK in 2010<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
Positive impact of Pope Francis\u2019 election<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cCertainly since Pope Francis, people seem more sympathetic (people outside) to the Catholic Faith. Pope Francis seems to be talking their language and there is a good connection there.\u201d Another said: \u201cPositive media reporting about Pope Francis.\u201d A different respondent said: \u201cA lot of people are coming back to his Church because they feel Pope Francis is a hands on kind of man, approachable.\u201d Another: \u201cThe Pope preached on it (confession) and inspired people making it more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Positive impact of both Popes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cThere has been a Papal bounce!\u201d Another said: \u201cThe election of Pope Francis has brought a great sense of hope and enthusiasm. I also think that it has brought great confidence as the Pope engages so easily with people and has made such a huge impact in so short a time. It also reflects on the humility and faith of Pope Emeritus Benedict whose visit to Britain had such a profound effect and was a great success.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read more.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
UPDATE:<\/strong> As if the news above weren\u2019t bad enough, my blog neighbor Max Lindenman shares the distressing news that a woman in Turkey now wants to become Catholic, and it\u2019s all Patheos\u2019 fault:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
A friend of mine, having reached me on Skype, aimed her webcam at her own morning\u2019s plunder, which included a Miraculous Medal, a Rosary, and a wooden, dashboard-sized statue of Mary as Queen of Heaven. In terms of quality, it was average, the kind of stuff you settle for when your cat or your kids give you reason to fear you\u2019ll soon have to replace it. But several facts gave it an special dignity and significance:<\/p>\n
1) My friend isn\u2019t Catholic<\/p>\n
2) She now wants to become Catholic<\/p>\n
3) She lives in Istanbul<\/p>\n
4) She learned the practicalities of Church life largely through reading Patheos<\/p>\n
My friend, whom I shall call Pertev, is 34, divorced, and employed as a translator. Along with her native Turkish, she\u2019s fluent in English, German, and Spanish. The fact that we know each other at all is one of those miracles of the new media. Last summer, Pertev began surfing Patheos. She was in a spiritual-seeking mood. Over the past ten years, since renouncing Islam, she\u2019d explored several varieties of neo-paganism, but had found none satisfying. She\u2019d also studied both Old and New Testaments. After friending me on Facebook, she\u2019d quizzed me from time to time on various features of Catholicism. I answered with all the detail and objectivity I could muster, but felt shy about evangelizing outright \u2014 going for the hard close would have taken me back to my days in mortgages.<\/p>\n
Turns out I needn\u2019t have bothered. One day, Pertev said, some impulse impelled her to attend a Catholic Mass, and to enter the parish\u2019s pre-cat program.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/strong> \u00a0Clearly, with things like this happening, the Church is doomed.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m being ironic. The fact is: there are abundant signs of life and hope that some people may be missing (or, perhaps, choosing to ignore.) Case in point: the reconciliation business is booming in England and Wales, with more people returning to the faith through the Sacrament of Reconciliation\/Confession. \u00a0(I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to discover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-people-in-the-pews"],"yoast_head":"\nMore evidence that the Catholic Church is falling apart\u2014UPDATED<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm being ironic. The fact is: there are abundant signs of life and hope that some people may be missing (or, perhaps, choosing to ignore.) 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