The number of English adults who become Catholics has increased for the second year running. The phenomenon had already been registered last year in the London dioceses of Westminster and Southwark. This year the trend has been confirmed and has spread to other dioceses. At Southwark 468 people became Catholics, 65 more than last year. A hundred or so were received into the Catholic Church in the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in northern England, while 150 (compared with 130 last year) were received into the Church at Arundel and Brighton, a diocese in the South of the country. Growing numbers of converts were also reported at Salford, Shrewsbury, Hallam, Leeds and Glasgow. According to Father Stephen Coonan of Shrewsbury Cathedral, in northern England, the growth in the numbers of those joining the Catholic Church is due to the interest generated by the death of John Paul II and by the election of the new Pope. According to Brian Doolan of Birmingham Cathedral, the English are becoming ever more conscious of the impact of religion on world events and there’s a revival of spirituality among the young. Immigration too is helping to swell the numbers of faithful in church.
