Disraeli is supposed to have coined the phrase "lies, damned lies and statistics", which would, according to a recent report, be an apt comment on the accuracy of Catholic Mass attendance figures in England and Wales. Research by the Catholic sociologist, Dr Tony Spencer, indicates the true drop in figures over the last 10 years is more than half a million, compared with a mere 72,000 in official figures based on annual returns from parishes. The results suggest a hidden but deep crisis in the native-born Catholic Church in these two countries, to which Dr Spencer applies the word "alienation". Nor do figures on infant baptisms, church weddings or indeed clerical vocations paint a rosier picture.

The report by the Pastoral Research Centre also drew attention to the long-term rise in the average age of child baptism. Dr Spencer attributed this to the desire of many parents to make sure their children qualified for entry to a Catholic school. This suggestion was seized on as strengthening the case against faith schools in general, although it could just as well be argued the other way round. In fact the survey itself did not provide evidence one way or the other. It was not a survey of attitudes and motivations. But it points to the urgent need for such an inquiry - to find out what really is going on and why.

Church authorities should not be shy of such research as long as it is even handed. Thus the various hypotheses needing to be tested by an in-depth attitude survey would include the possibility that people gave up attending Mass because of the dropping of Latin or the prevalence of folk Masses, or even a perceived laxness in the moral teaching they heard in sermons. But it should also include the contrasting view - that people have been repelled by the official Catholic opposition to birth control, divorce, homosexuality, women priests and so on. However, both these theories fail to address the deeper influence of secularisation, and the possibility ...

Profound questions are raised by the way Cardinal Franc Rodé, head of the Vatican department that deals with religious orders, admonished the Society of Jesus for failing to "think with the Church". In a sermon at the start of their 35th General Congregation in Rome, Cardinal Rodé told the assembled Jesuits of his "sadness and anxiety" at the Society's recent record, urging greater ...

The relationship between Poland and Great Britain has historically been a warm one. This tone has continued following the arrival of a large number of Polish immigrants since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004. Community tensions have been minimal, and the British have put on a good display of hospitality to strangers. But to maintain that goodwill, it will be necessary to handle with great diplomatic skill ...

Christmas' growing commercialisation could be likened to the demolition of Westminster Abbey to be replaced by a car park. No doubt that prime piece of land could make someone a fortune. But no one would seriously suggest that it should be done. The abandonment of the spiritual dimension of Christmas, leaving only pleasure and profit as the point of the midwinter festivities, would leave an even greater hole in ...