DOCTRINE AND THE COMMON MAN [To the Editor of THE

SPECTATOR] SIR,—In your issue of June 57th I ventured to challenge the statement that " servitude to a meticulous theology " was the cause of empty churches, instancing the Roman Catholic churches which are not empty, and that so far from " institu- tional religion " being a failure experience shows that spiritual pilgrimages seem to be uniformly from the less institutional to the more. And I pointed out, it must be evident to all that for the last century the Roman Church has developed steadily in numbers and influence in this country_

I have watched carefully the growth of the Roman Catholic Church for the last sixty years. I might point to the change in London from the obscure pro-Cathedral at Kensington to dm great Basilica at Westminster, or to the rival Cathedral to the

-Anglican now rising in Liverpool ; these are spectacular. But what do dry figures tell us ? Here are the latest from the Registrar General's marriage statistics :

. This seems to confute " Viator's " assertion that " Roman Catholicism is numerically losing ground in this country."

The Catholic Directory gives the number of public places of worship :

1936 .. .. 2,388

1937 • • .. 2,434 1938 • • .. 2,465

And, indeed, it is rare now to find a part of the country where some Roman Catholic place of worship, however humble, is not within easy distance ; it was very different when I was a boy.

But mere statistics are always debatable ; I appeal again to - your readers' personal knowledge. What are their experiences as to spiritual pilgrimages (i) From Protestant Nonconformity to Anglicanism and vice -versa,

(2) Spiritual pilgrimages from Anglicanism to Romanism and vice versa?

, I still maintain my assertion—" from the less institutional to

1910 ..

.R.C. marriages were 41 per 1,003 1914

• •

51 ' - 51 -

47

- 33

1919

.• /1

,, 52 "

1934 ..

5/

31

66

11