ROMAN CATHOLICS IN ROME

“The paradox, and from the Catholic point of view the tragedy, is that Rome, the center of Catholicism, is a very ungodly city. When you remember that there are in Rome, no less than 1200 churches, or watch in its streets swarms of priests, monks, friars, and nuns, you may think that this is impossible. But if you look at the situation a little more closely, as I have been doing, you get a completely different picture. The swarms of priests, monks, and nuns are there because of the Vatican, and they have very little or nothing to do with the population of Rome. The 1200 churches are almost empty as a rule. Only a very few of them, which for some reason or other have become ‘fashionable,’ are packed chock-full for the midday Mass on Sundays, but it is more a social than a religious function. The boys go there to meet the girls, the women to show off their new clothes or to exchange gossip, the men just to accompany their wives or out of habit. The atmosphere is far from religious. Very few people take real notice of what is going on at the altar. The rest talk in whispers, but the number of people doing so is so great that the priest can hardly be heard above the buzz. They barge in after Mass has already well started, they push and shove to get out before it is finished — usually young girls and old women — step out of the crowd to receive the host. But, apart from this rather peculiar and localized outburst of Sunday-morning religiosity, church attendance in Rome is one of the lowest in Italy and in the world.

The Communist Party is very strong in this city, and it is steadily growing. Also strong are the left-wing Socialists led by Pietro Nenni, and the two parties together command over 40 per cent of the votes in the municipal elections. The chances of the Eternal City’s being ruled by a Red municipal administration are quite real, and the Vatican is very alarmed by the prospect.”

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