The perceived downward trend in the number of

people who go to Sunday Mass was confirmed by the statistics published earlier this week by the Curia.

According to the census carried out last November, only 53 per cent of the Maltese population attends Sunday Mass, down from 64 per cent in 1995. The figure stood at 75 per cent in 1982, which practically means that the Church is “losing” one per cent every year.

These results are not surprising, to the extent that Archbishop Mercieca himself said that the fact that more than half the population still maintains the tradition of going to Mass on Sundays was “a positive factor in itself”.

But such statistics should make us think.

For one thing, it does not mean that half the population is “good” and the other half is “bad”. There are people who go to Mass every Sunday and yet outside the church the way they live is far from Christian. On the other hand, it does not necessarily follow that the people who do not go to Mass are not living a better Christian life than those who do.

Going to Mass and living a good Christian life are not linked together, and the Church must acknowledge this. During this week’s press conference, Mgr Mercieca strongly hinted at this when he said that “it does not necessarily follow that those who don’t attend Mass have lost their faith, but it is good to see how we can improve the situation”.

And this is what the Church should be tackling. What is keeping people from going to Mass?

Some will suggest that it is just a matter of not finding the time. With all the hustle and bustle of everyday life today, many people have too many things to do and the first to be struck of the list is Sunday Mass.

But, of course, there is more to it than just finding the time.

There was a time when the Church dominated Maltese culture, both as an institution and “individually” through its ministers, the priests. People used to turn to the Church with every problem they had, and the figure of the priest in a town or village was the centre of that locality’s life.

This is not so any longer. As people became better educated, they started questioning what the Church said and challenged its teachings. They no longer accepted everything and this meant that they no longer identified themselves with the Church, especially if they did not agree with some of its teachings.

The position taken by the Church on certain matters that are part and parcel of what society is today has not helped. The Church has been consistent with its teachings and is perceived as not having moved along with society, and this, while not necessarily putting the Church in the wrong, pushed people away from it.

The Curia will be studying the reasons for such a fall in Sunday Mass attendance, and one particular issue that was mentioned during this week’s press conference was “better animation of the Mass” to make it more attractive.

While this might help, the Church must also look deeper into the problem. For one thing, homilies should not be longer than five to seven minutes and should go straight to the point without pontification. The younger generations of priests have learnt this, but apparently it is not enough.

Again, the root of the problem is not so simple. The Church must understand that it must make itself more appealing to the faithful, not only by producing a more entertaining Mass, but also by showing itself as being closer to the people in matters that are affecting their lives.

It must show more understanding of the difficulties that many families are facing today. It must realise that it is the one that should “make contact” with the people again, and not the other way round.