The Telegraph reports that the number of marriages in Catholic churches in Britain fell to 9,950 last year. This is a 24 per cent fall on the figure for 2000, when there were 13,029 Catholic marriages across England and Wales.
The number of marriages in general fell by about 12 per cent since 2000. Only one in three is now a religious ceremony.
The Diocese of Westminster has seen marriages decline by a half in recent years.
The figures are taken from the new Catholic Directory of England and Wales, which also shows there were 58,991 baptisms of children under seven in 2007, and that 915,556 worshippers attended Mass each week.
The trend would seem to mirror an overall decline in the concept of the Sacramental life, without which I wonder what is left of Catholic culture. Divorce is also an issue, with divorced Catholics marrying in civil ceremonies or in other Christian communities.
Marriage is a vocation. It is, in imitation of Christ’s love for the Church, a total act of self-giving. I didn’t learn that one in RCIA, either. It is more common to see a mass exodus to a celebrity-style wedding in St. Lucia than it is to see two young Catholics pledge their lives to one another in a Catholic church. Catechesis on the Sacrament of marriage should take pride of place in Catholic schools.
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