The Catholic Church in WA is leading the nation in raising the number of people attending Mass on a weekly basis.
New figures released by the Pastoral Research Office (PRO) show that of the 28 dioceses in the country, only four – Perth, Bunbury, Darwin and Geraldton– had a larger number of weekly Mass-goers in 2011 compared to 2006.
While WA is bucking the trend, the overall figures are concerning, with a national drop of 6.5 per cent in Mass attendance between 2006 and 2011, despite a 6.1 per cent rise in the number of Catholics in the same period.
The PRO’s report concludes by stating “we have reached a critical moment with regard to Mass attendance in Australia”.
It says this is demonstrated in the fact that between 2006 and 2011, the number of dioceses with attendance rates below 10 per cent rose from two to 14.
“The parish has been the bedrock of the Catholic Church in Australia, but its survival in many parts of the country is no longer assured,” the report states.
“Urgent action is required if we are to save the treasure that is the Australian Catholic parish.”
The report also confirmed Australia’s Catholic population is ageing, with 40.6 per cent of Mass attenders in 2011 aged over 60.
There has also been an increase in the number of Catholics in Australia who were born overseas.
This has eased the declining Mass attendance rate in the country, as Catholics born overseas are more likely to attend weekend Mass than those born in Australia, according to the report.
Only 9.6 per cent of Catholics born in Australia attend Mass on a weekend, whereas 70 per cent of the nation’s Catholics who were born in India or Sri Lanka fulfill their Sunday obligation.
The report states that the age profile of Mass-goers means the decline in the number of practising Catholics in Australia is far from over.
“Only an unprecedented surge in attendance among people who do not currently attend Mass, or the unanticipated arrival of large numbers of Catholics from non-English speaking countries, could offset the inevitable effects of advancing age,” the report says.