We do not want a middle-class Church

Westminster Cathedral, built by and for the Irish poor of London

I have just been at a conference where a distinguished speaker, outlining the state of the Catholic Church in this country today, brought up the phenomenon of embourgeoisement. This term might ring a few bells with some. In the Catholic context it refers to the way so many of our parishes have been taken over by middle class elites, and are no longer places where working class people can feel at home.

Historically speaking, British Catholicism, especially in England, has been made up of a few, a very few, descendants of recusant families, some of whom may be upper class, and a rank and file that is sprung from the working class, chiefly the descendants of Irish immigrants, with the middle class significantly under-represented. This may have been true back in the 1950’s, but nowadays, despite the old fashioned snobbery of the few, Catholics are no longer seen as being of a lower social status than Anglicans. But, as Catholics have become more middle class, have we lost something? And if we have lost something, can we recover it?  (more...)

We do not want a middle-class Church