Only 50 per cent of these “Catholics” admit to ever going to church other than for events such as a funeral or wedding. There is also a crisis in vocations, with the average age of priests put at 67.

In a tour of Spain we found the Cathedral church services in the major cities poorly attended by mostly older parishioners. We did enjoy our visit to Avila especially the convent of St. Teresa and the convent in El Toboso where we spent the night.

If they think that’s oppressive, they could always go back to someone like Franco.

Given the catastrophic fall in its birthrate, maybe the sun is setting on Spain as well. More abortion will just speed that up.
La Re-reconquista? Tal vez.

Hmmm.  Spain has some issues.  But I would take a deep breath before writing off the Roman Church there.  The RCC has major problems all over Europe.  It will likely take decades to repair the damage inflicted on it in the years following Vatican II by the liberal wackos who tried co-opt the council and sell it as carte blanche for every nutty idea or heresy ever floated.

+Benedict XVI has made a good start though.  He specifically warned that it is likely his church will need to grow smaller for a while as part of the process of recovery.

As an side I would also note that the Tablet is the British version of the National Catholic Reporter.  Which is to say it is a very lefty publication with a long history of dissent from official church teachings and discipline.  Among British Catholics (the real ones) it has acquired the sobriquet “The Bitter Pill.”  While I don’t automatically dismiss whatever is written in its pages, I do tend to take their writings with a large grain of salt.

In ICXC
John

#2
I would have been perfectly happy in Franco’s Spain.  If, on the other hand, I were of a liberal bent, I’m sure I would think it an absolute Hell.

Re # 5,
Living in a dictatorship is always easy, as long as you never presume to express an opinion not approved by the state.

Thanks, Ad Orientem (#4), for reminding us about the nature of this liberal RC rag.  Point well taken.

As for me, when I think of Spainish Catholicism, I too tend to think of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and of course Ignatius of Loyola.  Not of Opus Dei and least of all, the Spanish Inquisition.

But as a Cursillista, I will always be grateful for the great gift that the Spanish Catholic Church has given the world in the Cursillo movement.  Its evangelistic fervor and method sounds more needed than ever.

I was particularly sad to read, however, that the average priest is now age 67.  That’s very discouraging.

I couldn’t help comparing this story with the one above about the WSJ story on the vibrancy and growth of Christianity in South Korea.  Another striking example of the tragic withering and decline of Christianity in one of its European heartlands and the contrasting explosive growth of the Faith in the Global South.

David Handy+