Ireland : Sunday Observance among Catholics in Dublin has dropped to 18%

In an interview granted to the American Catholic Press Agency CNS, Bishop Diarmuid Martin declared that Sunday observance among the Catholics of Dublin has dropped to 18%.  Despite the hundreds of older cases of sexual abuse recently brought to light and the revelation of the deviating conduct of the priests who committed these crimes, the Archbishop of Dublin believes that the problem that the Church must face is “much more profound than these abuses”.  The Catholic Church of Ireland has the charge of nearly 90% of primary schools in Ireland, and Bishop Diarmuid Martin asks himself “what is the worth of the commitment of Catholic teachers (…) if the youth are prepared for the sacraments by persons who do not frequent the sacraments – herein lies a general problem (…) The Irish youth are living amongst the most catechized, and the least evangelized!”  Bishop Martin emphasizes that if no one does anything to resolve this crisis, “we will not have a new generation of young Catholics.”  (Sources : apic/cns- DICI #235 of 28/05/11)

You can also read :
Germany: Very Great Increase in Departures from the Church in 2010
Germany: Saddening Yet Accountable Departures from the Church
Austria: The Catholic Church has lost more than 210,000 faithful in ten years