As Pope, Benedict was a man of many parts: Head of State of the Vatican CityState, Bishop of the Diocese of Rome, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of Romana, Primate of Italy, Patriarch of the LatinRiteChurch throughout the world – and Supreme Pontiff of the several rites of the Universal Catholic Church, Oriental as well as Latin. Perhaps he had too many parts to cope with. I wonder if he was aware that in 2008 baptisms in his own diocese were 5.67 per thousand Catholic population. In the same year the rate was 17.68 per thousand in the Archdiocese of Southwark (South London and Kent).
In the Latin Rite he had two roles, like his predecessors. He was the expressive leader who protected its identity and its solidarity, and he was the party political leader who governed it.
Read more: Benedict's resignation/abdication. The underlying problem.
11 December 2012
2012 Census of Catholic schools. Improved response, but major gaps remain
The Digest of the 2012 census of Catholic schools and colleges, published late in
November by the Catholic Education Service for England & Wales, shows that in
January there were 795,955 pupils in Catholic Maintained schools and colleges, an
increase of 0.48% on 2011, after addition of 21,452 (for 2.7% non-response).
Responding Independent schools (apparently including the nine non-Maintained
Special schools) had 42,901 pupils, an increase of 4,893, or 12.9%, in one year. But
these figures have not been corrected for non-response.
Non-response has been a problem with these census Digests. Those for 2007
and 2008 referred to non-response of Catholic schools in England & Wales of 3% and
16% respectively, but did not make it clear whether these covered Independent and
Special schools, and Sixth Form Colleges. Additional figures provided for 2009-12
allow us to calculate it for Maintained schools and colleges: 5.9% in 2009, 11.4% in
2010, 4.4% in 2011, and now 2.7% in 2012. Non-response of the Independent schools
can be calculated only for 2010, when it was 20.8%. So non-response of all Catholic
schools in that year was 11.9%,
The subject matter of the figures that are published continues to exhibit bizarre
contrasts. Politically correct subjects are given meticulous attention. So we can
calculate that in January, 2012, the Diocese of Plymouth had nine Traveller children
in its Maintained schools, while the Diocese of Wrexham had c.36 ‘looked after’
children. But we are not told how many girls there were, or allowed to calculate the
figures. We are given a great deal of information about the teachers in the Maintained
schools of each diocese, but not their gender – though this is given for heads.
However, the most regrettable gap in the data set out in these census Digests is
the age structure of the pupils. In the latest and the 2011 Digest we are given
(separately for England and Wales) the proportion of Catholics in each year group.
This cannot be converted into raw numbers, so –even at national level – it remains
impossible to compare by age (or year group) the numbers of Catholic pupils in
Catholic schools with the corresponding numbers of baptised Catholics.
The Pastoral Research Centre will shortly be publishing estimates of the latter,
by gender, for each year of age. It has already prepared five diocesan reports
comparing numbers of young Catholics with numbers enrolled in Catholic schools.
But the work is laborious and slow, and another seventeen diocesan reports remain to
be done. So, earlier this year the PRC asked the CESEW for the 2012 school census
by age (or year group). Like every other request to the CESEW since 2004 it was
refused.
The CESEW has come a long way since it abandoned the long ‘statistical
blackout’ of 1992-2006. (That problem was discussed in the PRC report Secrecy in
the Catholic Church). Having insisted for years that the Data Protection Act made the
publication of Catholic school census statistics impossible it was able in a matter of
months to publish the 2007 Digest. Another four different excuses have been made for
going no further. How we have the sixth excuse: diocesan copyright in the figures.
Why are those who administer the Catholic school system so determined to treat as
secret so much of the most important statistical data about it?
Anthony Spencer
Downloading of reports &
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The suppression of a research report - click here
Secrecy in the Catholic Church - click here
Pastoral & population statistics 1958-2002 - click here
The Future of the Episcopal & Papal Roles - click here
In 1960 the Newman Demographic Survey prepared a report, commissioned by the International Catholic Migration Commission for its Ottawa Congress, on Arrangements for the integration of Irish immigrants in England & Wales. The Catholic Social Welfare Bureau, Dublin, was extremely critical of it, requested many amendments and the complete re-writing of large parts. The author, Anthony Spencer, Director of the NDS, was delated twice in two days to Cardinal Godfrey. Spencer and Mgr Derek Worlock, the Cardinal's Private Secretary, had many meetings trying to formulate acceptable amendments. But this could not be done in time to be delivered at the Congress in August. The unfinished draft had eventually to be sent to the ICMC in Geneva, to be locked in its safe, never to be published or publicised.
Read more: 52 years late, report on Irish immigration, suppressed in 1960, now published
The surviving archives, databank and library of the Newman Demographic Survey, have been cared for by Anthony Spencer (who founded the NDS in 1953, and directed its work until it was shut down early in 1964). He continued much of its work using the style of the Pastoral Research Centre, adding during five decades much new archive material and collections of data, and greatly extended its library. Now called the Newman Collection, arrangements have been made to transfer the bulk of it to Durham University on his death, or earlier incapacity. Durham seemed an excellent destination as it has had a long relationship with Ushaw College and has recently established a flourishing Centre for Catholic Studies. This arrangement, following negotiations led by one of the Trustees, Dr Clive Field, will ensure that the Collection is preserved and made available for research in the future.