A Good Barometer of the Faith? Catholic Church Attendance in Italy


In all the seriousness of debate inside Catholic clergy about whether a new pope should be from the liberal or conservative wing, a constant is the folks in the pews. If they are leaving a new pope replacing Pope Francis will have little influence over the course of the denomination. It seems unlikely either a conservative or liberal Pope to follow Francis will change the direction of church attendance and revenue. 

I'd enjoy going to Italy and talking to people in cafes and on street corners to hear what they think of the Catholic Church. The Vatican, of course, is surrounded by Italy. If any country in the world had a chance to gage the importance of the Catholic Church, or of Christianity in total, it would be the home base. There, the daily comings and goings, meetings, pronouncements and daily business would be on the nightly news.  

It turns out attendance in Italy at Catholic mass has fallen more or less at the same rate as church attendance around the western world. This has happened over a period with both liberal and conservative popes. It stabilized for a brief period under a conservative pope Benedict but soon continued downward. If the past is a predictor of the future, it will not matter whether the next pope is liberal or conservative. 

Abortions are legal in Italy though it has experienced the same complicated politics as the U.S. In term of numbers of abortions, Italy is quite a bit lower than Northern European countries. The distances are short in Europe so it is easy to suspect many Italian women go north for abortions. It has become easier in Italy to obtain pills for medical abortions for which there are no records.

Many Catholics claim their denomination is doing well. They point to growth in Africa and China. It seems to me if the denomination is on a healthy path for the future it would be exceptionally strong in its "home town." There is evidence the rate of growth on those continents is slowing, especially among the young.

I think it could do better in both Italy and the rest of the world if it could only change course on abortion and gay marriage. Its positions on these issues flies in the face of an increasingly enlightened world population.

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