Roman Catholics Leaving in Droves
A report in the German magazine Christ & Welt (a supplement in the weekly Die Zeit) says that Roman Catholics have been deserting their Church in droves. A survey conducted by the magazine shows that 180 000 people left the Church in 2010 – a rise of 40% on the previous year. In Austria, reports The Scotsman, “more Roman Catholics left the Church . . . last year than at any time since 1945. Figures published by the Austrian Bishop’s Conference said 87 000 Austrian Catholics left in 2010 – a 64% increase over 2009”.
The departures in Austria were linked by Church officials “to disgust over recent cases of sexual abuse of minors by the clergy”. In Germany “membership decline was concentrated in the first half of the year, when public anger over child abuse scandals was at its peak,” says Christ & Welt, and the vicar-general of Cologne stated that many left as a “personal form of protest and expression of disgust”.
It would be a great blessing indeed if many of those who came out in protest from such gross darkness were led to the light and truth of the Word of God. May God fulfil His promise, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Is 9:2). NMR