Researcher paints bleak picture of Catholic practice in Italy
November 27, 2024
» Continue to this story on L'Osservatore Romano (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, Giulio De Rita, a staff member of the Italian research institute Censis, painted a bleak picture of the Church in Italy—one in which 70% of Italians describe themselves as Catholic, but few practice their faith.
Catholics in Italy “don’t go to church much, they aren’t active in the parish, they don’t agree with various teachings, and they don’t respect the ethical and moral principles indicated by the Church,” he said.
“Roughly 70% of Italians still say they are believers, 50% pray, have a spiritual life, believe in life after death,” he continued. 40% of Italians are self-identified, non-practicing Catholics, he added; they have a lifestyle that is “absolutely identical” to nonbelievers—and he estimates that their number will shrink by half in the younger generations.
“All attention must be directed to the 18-34 age group,” he said. “It is there that the future profile of Catholicism in Italy is decided ... But our priests are not prepared for this, they have not been trained for this. They do a great job inside the churches. But the future today is being played out outside the churches.”
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Today 3:34 PM ET USA
"But our priests are not prepared for this." Probably true in the Novus Ordo. But the FSSP for certain offers much to youth and young adults, such as summer camps in the wilderness and in the mountains, sports, hiking, trips out of the country, encouragement for young adult functions. Thus, whereas the Novus Ordo seminaries may not be producing priests that are prepared for the next generation of adult Catholics, the pre-Vatican II orders are delivering great evangelization to them.
