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When discussing the future of the Catholic Church in Britain the dominant narratives are either of decline, with a focus on shrinking and increasingly elderly congregations, or of a Church being propped up by immigrant groups (particularly Poles). Far less attention has been paid to the vibrant Catholic charitable sector.
Catholic Social Thought has also been an area of developing interest for commentators in a number of areas – notably as an answer to creating a better economy in the wake of the financial crisis. Again though while attention has been paid to those principles in a number of areas one thing that has been often overlooked is what Catholics are doing in their local communities through their involvement in charities.
In our latest report Catholic Social Thought and Catholic Charities in Britain Today: Need and Opportunity Theos has sought to address those two oversights. Working with six charities (The Apostleship of the Sea, Caritas Archdiocese of Birmingham, Father Hudson's Care, Retrouvaille, the SVP and World Wide Marriage Encounter) it analyses how these charities are (or occasionally are not) living the principles of Catholic Social Thought and what are the challenges that prevent them from doing more.
Some of the findings will come as little surprise. For example, the cuts to local government funding had certainly had a serious impact on some charities. Even those charities who did not themselves receive such funding were dealing with a knock-on effect – as more and more bodies were forced to apply to increasingly limited non-government sources of funding (notably the Church).
The report suggests a number of specific recommendations for the future of the Catholic charity sector:
First, the place of Catholic charities and their ethos and identity is one of growing importance. For the Church Catholic charities are increasingly serving as the primary locus of Christian involvement in public life. Given the declining sizes of congregations (at least outside London), the shortage of priests and the struggles of the religious orders and pressures on faith schools, Catholic charities are more and more becoming the public representatives of the Church. This heightens the need for further clarification on the issue of what it means to have a Catholic ethos and how the Church resources and supports its charities.
Second, this will take on a particular relevance on those potential clash issues, particularly on issues of sexuality, conceptions of marriage, contraception and working with organisations of other faiths and of no faith. Finding a balance that allows charities to retain their Catholicity and still be able to operate with others who do not share (or are even actively opposed to) those commitments should be a key priority of the Church, charities and secular bodies.
Third, Catholic charities serve as crucibles of evangelisation – providing a space in which Catholic spirituality is grown and expressed. Charities do not necessarily do much to evangelise non-Catholics, but certainly have a profound impact on growing the faith within Catholic staff and volunteers. Given this, there is scope for an increasing appreciation of what the Church already has in its charities. In the cause of deepening Catholic spirituality and engaging younger Catholics the role of charities deserves greater consideration.
Fourth, the evidence on how charities embody CST should give cause for optimism, and offer space for significantly more interaction. Certainly there is evidence of Catholic charities genuinely embodying the principles of the option for the poor, solidarity, subsidiarity, personalism, family and evangelisation in innovative and powerful ways. There is also, however, a gap between some of the depth of content behind those ideas in CST and how they are actually understood in practice which could usefully be bridged by the Church, perhaps in the production of a new resource or pamphlet that looks at what CST means in the specific context of the Catholic charitable sector.
Finally, There is a visibility and resource issue for Catholic charities. The evidence suggests significantly more work is needed in raising the profile of Catholic charities beyond only a Catholic audience. This is particularly urgent when parish decline in some areas is likely to have a serious impact on the volunteer and funding base available to Catholic charities.
The overall picture is one of great potential. The Catholic charity sector is not without its challenges – but it is providing a remarkable public presence of the Church in Britain's communities and responding to an extraordinary range of needs, from material poverty to marriage support and from supporting small local projects to nation-wide programmes. Given the issues of parish decline charities are increasingly becoming the primary point of contact between the Church and people.
Ben Ryan is the author of the new Theos report Catholic Social Thought and Catholic Charities in Britain Today: Need and Opportunity which is available here.
Image by Gaertringen from pixabay.com available in the public domain, colour filter added.
