Glasgow plans for fewer priests

The Archdiocese of Glasgow is ­undertaking a consultation to plan for its future after releasing figures showing a decline in Mass attendance, marriages and priest numbers. 

Since 1977, the number of priests in the archdiocese has fallen from 285 to 85 in 2013, with a projected halving of that figure before 2025. Of particular concern is a decline in the number of Catholic marriages in Glasgow, representing a drop of nearly 80 per cent over the same period.

A report published on the archdiocese’s website shows that Mass attendance has declined by 51 per cent and Catholic funerals by 21 per cent.

In part, these figures are explained by a change in Glasgow’s population, which dropped from 825,000 to 650,000 during the 1970s. There has also been a movement of the population away from traditional Catholic strongholds and out into developing suburbs and new towns that fall under neighbouring dioceses.

A spokesman for the archdiocese said: “The decrease in the number of marriages has to be seen in context. The population of Glasgow has halved in the post [Second World]-war years, and the former Catholic heartlands of the east end of the city have been badly affected by housing decay and depopulation … And of course there is huge economic pressure on couples, who sometimes have to choose between a wedding and a deposit for a house.” The archdiocese has also rolled out a new intensive marriage preparation programme. 

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, has warned that a “tendency to delay baptism of children for a very long period or even to forget to baptise children” has reached “worrying levels”.

In a homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday 12 January, the Archbishop said: “I confess that one of the things that worries me somewhat about the present situation in the Church is the tendency of some parents to delay baptising their new-born children.”