THE reasons why Catholics stop going to Mass are many and varied.
Once they stop attending church they often quickly become disconnected from their faith and reaching out to them becomes increasingly difficult.
It’s a problem which has grown dramatically in recent years, and yet the available research on the Australian situation is still largely incomplete.
So news that a research project, sanctioned by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, is being undertaken into the syndrome of disconnected Catholics should be widely welcomed.
The future growth of the Catholic Church in Australia depends on the valuable data this project will yield.
It should also help to direct the Church’s mission of evangelisation.
