Huge influx of migrants 'could make Catholicism main religion in Britain'
Cardinal Murphy O'Connell
Last updated at 10:49am
on 16th February 2007
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Roman Catholics are on course to overtake Anglicans as the country's most active churchgoers due to a sharp upsurge of immigrants from Eastern Europe.
In a fresh blow to the Church of England, a study suggests that there are higher attendances on Sundays at Catholic services than in Anglican churches.
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The report described the influx of parishioners, many of them from Poland, as either the Catholic Church's 'greatest threat' in England or 'greatest opportunity'.
The revelation comes as the Church of England braces itself for a split between liberals and conservatives over the role of gay clergy.
The prospect of Catholicism becoming the dominant religion in England will embarrass the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Roman Williams, who faces declining congregations and questions about his authority.
The report by the Von Hugel Institute at Cambridge University on the effect immigrants are having on the Catholic Church found priests are under intense pressure.
Many of the new arrivals are turning to the church as a source of advice and welfare, demands it is struggling to meet.
Pictures of Polish worshippers kneeling on the pavement of overflowing churches in London have underscored the phenomenon.
Around 230,000 Poles registered for work in the UK from May 2004 to March 2006, official figures show.
However, the actual number of Poles in the UK is thought to be much higher. Some estimates say the community is 600,000-strong.
Immigrants from the strongly Catholic country, where up to 95 per cent of the population is religiously active, have brought with them their enthusiasm for their faith and their commitment to attending Mass, the study explains.
It confirms that the country's five million Catholics 'constitute the most active worshipping faith community in England and Wales'.
The report warns: 'These changes have been variously described as the Catholic community's "greatest opportunity" and "its greatest threat".
For many immigrants from Africa, the Catholic Church is their first port of call. They are often seeking refuge and protection from terrifying lives, which leave them in 'grave fear', the report says.
The church has responded instinctively and positively in many cases, the study said.
In others, it has been overwhelmed by the scale of the new challenge.
Recent estimates suggest around one million Catholics attends Mass regularly, roughly the same as the number of regular Anglican churchgoers.
But the upsurge in new parishioners in the last year has left church experts certain that the Catholic church now has the biggest share of regular church-goers.
Priests report that the numbers began soaring last year and the influx has yet to be fully reflected in official figures.
The country's five million Catholics are outnumbered by 25 million baptised Anglicans. There are around 2.1 million Muslims.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Archbishop of Southwark, Kevin McDonald, and Bishop of Brentwood, Thomas McMahon, both Roman Catholics, said they would be reflecting on the findings of the report.
They added: 'Amongst other findings, the report shows that Catholic migrants regard the church as a refuge, a harbour of hope and worship where the Eucharistic feast is grounded in lived community.
'Migrants are very much the present reality of the Catholic Church in London and one of several sources of hope for the Catholic Church of the future too.
'In our view they are also a source of hope for the future of the nation.'
A spokesman for Lambeth Palace said: "I don't think you can talk in terms of decline in the Church of England.
"It is fairly clear that with small fluctuations the worshipping population of the CoE is 1.7 million a month. That is a stable figure."
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