Exodus from Church is opportunity for Catholicism

In 2010 a record number of Catholics officially left the Church in Austria. The liberal-conservative daily Die Presse points out that the number of people who attend mass is falling even quicker than the number of Church members: "The demand for its religious services is dropping even faster than membership in the 'association', from which even in the utterly disastrous year of 2010 only 1.6 percent of the paying members took their leave. … Because young people have fewer inhibitions the decision to leave the Church will be made more often in future even in the absence of abuse scandals. This will not only paint a more realistic picture of the still illusory strength of Catholicism in Austria. The greater inner freedom which is becoming apparent here could also have the paradoxical effect of giving people a clearer view of what the Church has to offer spiritually. These are exciting times, and nothing is as straightforward as it seems."

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