The Times reported on Tuesdaythat “the majority of female Catholics want radical reforms to the Church and think the Vatican should be more tolerant of divorce and diversity, according to a worldwide study of worshippers”.
The Australian-led study, which is due to be presented at the Vatican on Wednesday, was initiated by Catholic Women Speak, an international organisation, in response to the Pope’s invitation for submissions to the Synod of Bishops.
The survey found that 84 per cent of women supported reform in the church and 67 per cent wanted radical reform. Almost 33 per cent said they were prepared to abandon the Church if it did not change. There was deep concern about abuses of power and spiritual harm, particularly by male clerics.
What is most newsworthy is the significant divide between the youngest Catholic women and their grandmothers.
“Younger women were also more conservative than older ones, with the 18 to 25-year-old group least likely to want reform, according to the survey, and the over-70s most likely. The eldest women were also more likely to support same-sex marriage and the homily being preached by women.”
In fact, the proportion of respondents that strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “remarriage after civil divorce should be allowed” was only 43 per cent for women aged 18 to 25, but rose to a whopping 82 per cent for women aged 56 to 70 years, and 89 per cent for those over 70 years.
A similar divide between granddaughters and grandmothers can be seen when asked about the theological impossibility of “the sacrament of marriage [being] extended to same sex couples”.
Only 41 per cent of those ages 18 to 25 years of age agreed, while 37 per cent of 26 to 40-year-olds agreed, and 47 per cent of those aged 41 to 55 years. It was only among women aged 50 or over that a majority agreed with this proposition: 60 percent of 56 to 70 year olds and 65 per cent of over 70 year olds.
It also transpires that younger women – those belonging to the generation which has lived with the destruction of unborn children in the womb – do not want abortion.
The proportion of respondents that strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “Women need to have freedom of conscience with regard to their sexual and reproductive decisions” broken down by age was: 18 to 25 years (50 per cent), 26 to 40 years (55 per cent), 41 to 55 years (68 per cent), 56 to 70 year (80 per cent), over 70 years (87 per cent).
It was also the grandmothers (women over 70 who already dominate the day-to-day running of most parish churches) who wanted to get up on the altar and dabble in a little preaching also.
These figures are fascinating and show that we are living through a counter-revolution.
Although it might surprise some, it does not surprise me that the youngest women, those aged between 18 – 25, are those “least likely to want reform”, or in other words value the Catholic teaching on sexual ethics and the family.
Younger women are more conservative on nearly every question regarding Church teaching. It is the eldest women, the baby boomers, without exception, who are most eager to change the Church for the worse.
But why is it that the granddaughters are more conservative than their grandmothers?
I would suggest that it is because the younger women – those aged 18 to 25 who are sometimes referred to as generation Z, the generation that comes after the “snowflake” millennials – have grown up in the age of social media and have seen the pornification of absolutely everything.
The grandmothers on the other hand – those most eager for change in the Church – had the benefit of a conservative and traditional home life when they were children. Many will have taken it for granted and so not bothered to make the sacrifices involved to give that same secure upbringing to their own children. Others will have rejected it entirely in favour of the “liberty” afforded them by the sexual revolution.
But the youngest Catholic women have experienced first-hand the suffering that a hyper-individualistic and sexualised society can cause, and they have said “thanks, but no thanks”. They would like the teachings of the Catholic Church to stay as they are.
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