O Father where art thou?

Ariadne Massa tries to find out why only half the Maltese go to Mass on Sundays

Standing outside Nazzarenu church in Sliema on a Sunday night, as more than 800 people attempt to squeeze into a place that can seat 500, it's hard to believe Mass attendances are down.

People of all ages and from different strata of society start milling about early for the 7 p.m. Mass celebrated most Sundays by Dominican sociologist Fr Charles Tabone.

While his Mass is packed, many of the pews in other parishes remain empty. So what is the secret behind this priest's success in luring back to the fold those who have not set foot into a church for ages, especially the young?

Fr Tabone, visibly uncomfortable talking about his experience, shrugs off any suggestion that he has some kind of magic solution but insists that people, today more than ever, just want to belong - if the Word of God were presented in a way that touched their lives the pews would be full.

"It is our Mass and not simply my experience. It is the religious experience of all the Christian community gathered for Sunday Mass at Nazzarenu that succeeded in growing and maturing spiritually."

Delving into the Sunday Mass Attendance Census, Fr Tabone said the Church should have done something about the dwindling numbers a long time ago, especially when considering the consistent and steady drop of about 10 per cent every 10 years since 1967.

What was surprising, he said, was that once the attendances started to go downhill the figures declined at an accelerating rate, as one would normally expect.

The phenomenon being a complex one, Fr Tabone believes it requires further study to find out what is keeping people away and to point towards a solution.

Though concerned, he is not alarmed by the situation. He genuinely believes that the heart of the Maltese is a Christian one and if the Church could tap into this then it would succeed in reversing the trend.

He insists, however, that Mass cannot be celebrated in a vacuum, detached from what was happening all around. People need to connect the Word of God with their daily lives - and it is the priest's role to help them do this.

He also expressed frustration at the fact that experiences of celebrating Mass and which had proved successful were not being replicated in other areas, something he had suggested following the census of 1995.

Fr Tabone's experience has taken 15 years to develop and throughout the journey he has been openly criticised about the way he celebrates Mass, even though the Church authorities have always supported and defended him.

"I understand, for example, that if young people find some time alone together they will not be getting out the rosary beads to pray. However, rather than condemn them, the priest has to empathise, be compassionate and teach them the Word of God in a way they can relate to. In due course they succeed in inching their reality closer to the ideal of the Gospel."

Many argue that the Church's rules are clear and one either joins the club and abides by them or stays out. But what about the young people struggling to reconcile values which conflict with the Church's teachings such as sex before marriage, contraception, the fact that the Church does not baptise children out of wedlock, and homosexuality? How can the Church reach out to these people?

"If people look at it as a club then our concept of the Church is completely mistaken. In the words of Pope John XXIII, the Church is mater et magistra (mother and teacher). No mother and teacher will tell her child that these are the rules, and you either abide by them or get out," he said.

So should the Church be flexible so as not to alienate people?

"Flexibility does not mean that the Church has to change its principles. I cannot agree with situation ethics to accommodate people. The teachings of Christ do not change," he said.

"However, we do have to show understanding and concern, without condemning people who are genuinely struggling to reconcile their life with the values of Christ."

Fr Tabone agreed that the Church does make changes to adapt itself to places and times and this needs to continue - the Church should never be static but dynamic.

In the meantime, he feels the clergy should be tuned in to what is happening in this day and age to be able to preach and be prophetic.

"We have to spend time with young people in particular, to understand their culture and communicate the message using the language of the day. Mass is not just about the homily, it's creating a spiritual environment and a deep feeling of the Christian community where one can feel God's presence and love," he said.

Does he think the downward trend will be reversed?

"As a sociologist and as a priest I am optimistic about the future of the religion and religiosity of the Maltese and that of the Maltese Church. I believe that if you have a charismatic leader who is able to read the signs of the time and address the personal needs of people through the Word of God then several Maltese will return to the flock."

"We need to build real and genuine Christian communities through the celebration of the Mass. People need to feel a sense of belonging, because otherwise our churches will be merely service stations, and this is no longer attractive."

Young searching for meaning

Young people want Mass to be more relevant to their lives, and not merely a repetitive, boring ritual that is out of touch with the real world, according to Fr Savio Vella, the Archbishop's delegate for adolescents and youth.

Fr Vella, who runs the Diocesan Youth Commission (KDZ), questioned how an issue of national or international importance could be unfolding, becoming the topic of conversation, and the priest celebrating Mass makes no mention of it.

"The Boxing Day tsunami that hit South East Asia comes to mind. Just imagine the personal tsunamis many individuals are facing in their lives and the Mass provides them with absolutely no consolation," he said.

Fr Vella stressed the need to deliver a dynamic image of happiness because "we are coming across as a tired Church, sending them out of Mass deluded".

The census showed that the age groups with the lowest attendance rates were for those between 15 to 24 years (37.3 per cent) and 25 to 49 (4.3 per cent).

Mass was the only contact most people had with the Church so it was important to really present it in a relevant way that touched their life, Fr Vella said.

Vicky Camilleri, 20, a psychology student at the university, agrees, saying that certain priests excel in making sermons that make people sleep.

"Nobody enjoys mediocrity and young people especially are searching for something meaningful. I can understand why people don't go to Mass and I feel more effort should be made to present the liturgy in a way that we can relate to," she said.

When Ms Camilleri was a teenager she had stopped going to Sunday Mass but she reached a point in her life when she felt so lonely that she found herself in the school chapel. She would just spend 15 to 20 minutes there and after a year she returned.

Though her lifestyle takes her from one parish to the next on Sundays, she does try to watch out for priests who are well prepared.

Jean Paul Magrin, 22, a psychology officer with Appogg, suggests that the number of Masses celebrated on Sunday could be reduced to allow priests to allocate more time and effort to the actual celebration.

Young people's thoughts had to be challenged and unless priests shaped their sermon according to their audience it was going to be hard to reverse the trend of dwindling Mass attendances.

Like many, Mr Magrin has had to battle with doubts and questions that challenged his faith, but he was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who helped him find the answers.

Jean Paul Galea, 22, has also been lucky enough to find solace in Christian groups such as Youth Fellowship and KDZ. He is eager to see the Church change the way it presents itself and finds it frustrating that as an institution it has lost its relevance among so many young people.

"I hope that things don't stop here and something is done to challenge the status quo and make Mass more relevant," he said.

In the meantime, KDZ is taking a proactive approach and is updating a list of parishes where Mass is animated by young people. Those interested can check the commission's website: www.kdz.org.mt

Most blame indifference - poll

An attitude of indifference is the reason for the drop in Sunday Mass attendances, according to 53.3 per cent of those who took part in a timesofmalta.com poll.

Another 35.3 per cent blamed the clergy, while 11.3 believe that radical influences are behind the decline of almost 11 per cent between 1995 and 2005.

The comments below are a representative sample of those received:

¤ While society in general is losing the awe of the miracle of life and all its dynamics, for whatever cause and reason, the real problem in Malta is a cluster of compromises originating directly from the clergy or traditions.

¤ Sermons should be holy, instructive and interesting. For those who know the gospels, a more intelligent approach is needed rather than a repetition of what has just been read.

¤ I would genuinely love to go to Mass on a weekly basis. Like many, I have become one of those who go to Church only for weddings and funerals. I find it hard to connect with what is said in Mass. I feel I am being spoken at and not to. I think it is time for a more contemporary approach, different music, joyful singing, discussions on contemporary local issues... I was raised as a Roman Catholic in Canada and my memories of the church as a child were joyful ones. I don't understand why it is still rigid in Malta.

¤ I wish I could say that it is because people realise religions have been the cause of most human deaths in the history of man and they have brought nothing but fear, hate, war and close-mindedness... but it's probably because they are too lazy to wake up on a Sunday morning and they find the homily too boring.

¤ Indifference among young people is the direct result of the overt indifference and deep cynicism exhibited by the clergy themselves.

¤ If being separated and living with another partner means you are living in sin, why bother to attend Mass, when the Church is so unforgiving. Get real.

¤ The Archbishop should step down. The person who replaces him should be much younger and have charisma.

¤ Materialism, hedonism and an ultra-hedonistic attitude could be the cause behind such indifference to Sunday Mass. Besides, the Church may not be putting forward its stand on divorce and other illnesses affecting our society in a proper manner.

Catholic populations

¤ While the Western world is experiencing a decline in Mass attendances, the reality is that worldwide, these are boom times for Catholicism. According to the National Catholic Reporter, in 1900 there were 459 million Catholics in the world, of whom 392 million were found in Europe and North America and just 67 million scattered across the rest of the planet, principally in Latin America. In 2000, there were 1.1 billion Catholics in the world, with 380 million in Europe and North America and almost 800 million in the global South. Roughly half of the Catholics in the world today live in Latin America alone.

¤ English Cardinal John Heenan warned in 1972 that, "One does not need to be a prophet to realise that without a dramatic reversal of the present trend there will be no future for the Church in English-speaking countries". The trend to which he referred has not been reversed but has accelerated with each succeeding year. Cardinal Godfried Daneels of Brussels said in an interview with the Catholic Times in May 2000 that the vocations crisis has become so severe that the Church in Europe could disappear.

¤ The ageing population of priests has not helped matters. Of the 318 diocesan priests in the archdiocese of Malta, only six are under 30. The largest number of priests - 76 - are aged between 70 and 80. There are 40 in the age bracket of 80 to 90 years, 50 between 60 and 70, 64 between 50 and 60 years.

¤ The average number of diocesan priests ordained every year in Malta has gone down to four over the last two decades. An average of six diocesan priests were ordained per year between 1960 and 1969; 7.8 between 1970 and 1979; 4.1 between 1980 and 1989; four between 1990 and 1999 and 4.4 between 2000 and 2005. So far this year four diocesan priests have been ordained.

¤ There are 42 seminarians. Their average age is 23, with the youngest being 19 and the oldest 45.