In France, only 17.4% of children are catechized...
Alice Papin
In a way this is good because now they are at least not being raised in the New Religion of Vatican II
The
average rate of children catechized in France between CE2 and CM2, is
17.4%, according to a survey published Wednesday, September 28 by the
National Service of Catechesis and the Catechumenate, an entity of the
Bishops Conference France (CEF), which is based on figures from 34
dioceses.
The latest study on the subject with similar criteria, established in 1993, 42.1% children were catechized in France.
The latest study on the subject with similar criteria, established in 1993, 42.1% children were catechized in France.
"This is for us a first estimate based on a third of the dioceses that we seem representative," says Pauline Dawance, director of the service of the Bishops' Conference of France.
Great disparity between the dioceses of 9 to 60%
These partial results show a wide disparity between the dioceses, from 9% to 60%. For example, if one child in three is catechized in Vendée (Diocese of Luzon), only one in ten is in Essonne (diocese of Evry) or the Drôme (diocese of Valencia).Variations which are partly attributable to the reform of school timetables, implementation in September 2014 and its biggest impact on the catechism in rural areas than in cities. "In the countryside, parishes have difficulties group children away geographically. The latter being educated in different municipalities, organization of school time is not similar, "Pauline Dawance analysis.
The presence of Catholic institutions or not these territories also has a strong influence. "School is a place of call for catechesis. In Britain, where the number of children enrolled in Catholic schools is between 25 and 49%, the number of catechized children exceeds 50%. "
To explain this rate "average" of 17.4%, the National Service of Catechesis and the Catechumenate also advance as a result the presence of many children belonging to other religions, particularly in the Southeast, and the phenomenon of secularisation. " it is no longer obvious to parents now send their children to cate, "says Pauline Dawance.
No investigation since 1993
The Bishops' Conference of France did not realize investigation on catechesis for 23 years, most recently in 1993. The reasons? "This is a huge job," Pauline Dawance tip. Moreover, "some bishops do not wish to publish figures because they believe that these data are not sufficient to measure the dynamics of evangelization in France, she noted. Moreover, it is relatively easy to count the number of children catechized in the parish, this is not the case in schools where transmission of the faith takes different forms: catechesis, the initiation sacraments, pastoral activities, religious culture, etc. "Thus, in 2016, only the dioceses which could establish accurate figures on the School catechesis retained by the survey. These had to demonstrate that in these schools, "Catechesis is an explicit instead of proclaiming the Gospel, where the Word of God is present, adherence to Christ possible, and where catechists are witnesses of Church ".
Some dioceses, rare as that of Paris, continued to publish regular data.
In a survey conducted in January 2015 which was based on 108 places catechesis in parishes and chapels of Paris and testimonies of Catholic school principals, the diocese noted that the number of children catechized had come down between 1990 and 2015 , 18 138-13 314. Moreover, in August 2015, the bishops of Île-de-France, on the basis that "70% of school children in France are not catechized" had launched a communication campaign the subject.
In the future, the National Catechesis and the Catechumenate Service would like to enrich this first estimate with the results from other dioceses.