THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Statistics aren’t everything, but …  In our diocese in the years 1992-7 [according to the Yearbook], baptisms went down 16%, confirmations 5%, marriages 31% and Mass attendance 13%.  The number of First Communions actually went up, and there were 24% more lay catechists, which is an encouraging sign.  The Catholic population of our diocese allegedly went up 16% between 1992 and 1994 and then down 15% between 1994 and 1997, which is totally unbelievable.  29% of Catholics went to Mass regularly in 1992 and 24% in 1997, a figure which is probably nearer the mark, though it would now be lower.

One other area of Catholic activity recorded a continuous rate of growth, however.  And that area is …. our schools.  I have just been reading the Schools’ Commission annual report, which is not surprising as I am the Chairman of the Commission (just; the Commission is being disbanded and replaced by other organs) and indeed had to contribute to the report an article which is most erudite and theologically profound etc. etc. and which you must all rush out to buy.

According to the Commission’s statistics, affecting the years 1995-1999, there are now 4½% more pupils overall in our diocesan Catholic schools.  There are 7% more pupils in our primary schools, and 7% more pupils in them who are not Catholics (for our secondary schools the increase is lower).    There are 2¼% more teachers in our schools; this would suggest that our teachers are teaching more pupils, something which will surprise nobody.  In our secondary schools there has been a 2½% increase in Catholic staff and a 5½% increase in ‘non-Catholic’ staff; in our primary schools there has been a 7% fall in Catholic staff and a no less than 34% increase in ‘non-Catholic’ staff.  The statistics referring to Catholic children are headed by the intriguing rubric “including non-baptised children of Catholic parents”.  One would like to know a little more about this.  Has the ‘faith-transfer’ partially fizzled out?

So what do we make of this assembly of figures?  We should be glad that people actually want to go to our schools.  We should be flattered that families who are not Catholic should seek to use our schools when possible.  They would not do so without good reason.  We may be a bit worried about an apparent weakening in vocation such that it is (presumably) not feasible to recruit more Catholic teachers; does the Church need to remind its flock that Catholic teaching is part of the life in Christ?   We still have a great struggle on our hands to achieve that synthesis of church-school-family which is urged upon us.  And we must also be mercenary for a moment; our schools do not run on air, and some of the funding comes from parishes, i.e. the worshipping faithful.  If fewer faithful worship, it does not take long to reach a crisis.  This particular issue is one to which it will be necessary to return in the context of our own parish, especially as our two local schools have been obliged to change their mode of funding, while we are faced with an expensive church project in the not too distant future.