The official organs of the Catholic Church in this country have long been out of step with opinion in the pews, and doubtless in the presbyteries once their doors are closed, about immigration. Of course, it can sometimes be necessary for them to be out of step. But it certainly isn't in this case.
So one hopes that the Polish Mission's recent bewailing of the lapsation rate among Polish immigrants to Britain (only one in ten of whom is a regular Mass-goer, compared to eight out of ten people in Poland) might get the message through: many of the Poles are not coming here in order to "enrich" or "renew" the Church, but precisely in order to get away from Her.
According to the latest (2006) research conducted by the Institute of Statistics of Catholic Church in Warsaw 45,8% Catholics in Poland attend Sunday mass. Considering the fact that not all Poles are Catholics it can be said that around four out of ten people in Poland are regular Mass-goers. Which is twice as less than you have written.
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason for the Catholic Church not to support mass immigration from Poland.
ReplyDelete(only one in ten of whom is a regular Mass-goer, compared to eight out of ten people in Poland)
ReplyDeleteCan you give me a source for this claim?
The Polish Mission (which looks after the Poles in Britain), quoted in the Catholic Herald.
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