Sunday, December 23, 2007

Catholics Now Dominant Faith In Great Britian

Whispers in the Loggia has a very interesting post called Reformation, Undone . Roman Catholics have overtaken Anglicans as the country's dominant religious group. Well besides Tony Blair it appears people are Poping quite a bit.

and in an op-ed piece for the paper, the editor of The Tablet Catherine Pepinster writes on the new reality:
Speak to people who have been received into the Catholic Church and the comment they make is nearly always the same: "I feel as if I have come home".


It also appears that another person in the line for throne is having to be "ejected" out of the line of succession. We learn from Whispers:

The great irony in all this, of course, is that Catholics -- and Catholics alone, and anyone married to one -- remain barred from ascent to the British throne.While the UK monarch serves by law as supreme governor of the church of England, the 1701 Act of Settlement specifically prohibits the crown to be claimed by "papists" or the spouses thereof. No other religious group is similarly prohibited, and in keeping with the provision, several senior royals who have married Catholics have been forced to relinquish their places in the line of succession.The latest -- and, to date, highest-ranking -- disqualification will likely take place in May, as Queen Elizabeth's eldest grandchild marries a Canadian Catholic.Eleventh in line to the throne, Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly will wed in a royal -- read: Anglican -- ceremony at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel.

The firstborn of the monarch's only daughter, Princess Anne, Phillips' engagement to Kelly, a Montreal-born management consultant, has re-ignited the push to scrap the 18th century law crafted to protect the state-church (and, by extension, the kingdom itself) from the specter of Roman control.

I must say this. I hope if Anglicans are not using some of those magnificent Churches they just let us take care of them. No need to build any "modern" no doubt post Vatican II Churches for the new Catholics. Also I would love if they would throw in some of the those wonderful all boy Choirs that are so awesome

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Dominant" seems a little optimistic. What the survey suggested was that 1.74% of the English attend mass, as opposed to 1.71% attending Anglican services. Even if right, this is some way from dominance - a better analogy would be of two bald men fighting over a comb. Note also that the survey's author suggested that the Catholic advantage was purely temporary, being largely due to an influx of guest workers from Poland.

James H said...

I think you are correct on that. Even though I think there is a good trend ofr UK Catholicsm if the Bishops become more Orthodox.

I think the article hints at really a sad picture. That is the secualization of the UK to a large decree. I suspect the majority of people fropping out of the Church of England are not dropping in elsewhere.

I do have to admit and this is just looking from afar. I do sense a vibratn Catholicism devloping in the UK or at least I get a ssense of that through the blogs from over there.