Mixed message

Why is the growing ethnic diversity of the Catholic Church in England and Wales not being reflected among those that are training for the priesthood? / By Paul Donovan

Today, Catholics in the dioceses of Westminster, Brentwood and Southwark gather as they do every year in May to celebrate the Migrants Mass. The Church of St Antony of Padua, Forest Gate, where the service is being celebrated this year, will be buzzing with the music and costumes of the many races and cultures that make up the universal Catholic Church.

One of the most striking features of this powerful annual celebration of the diversity and unity of the Catholic Church is the contrast between the rich ethnic mix of the people in the pews and the mostly white faces of the clergy on the altar, who are drawn in the main from the continent of Europe. The Church is not, of course, the only institution in which positions of leadership and authority fail to reflect the diversity of the people in the ranks.