JUST 61 per cent of Catholic teenagers questioned attend Mass weekly, according to a new survey. Thirty six per cent say they do so because of parental pressure, writes Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent.
The survey, "Reality Check", in the current issue of the Redemptorist publication, Reality, was conducted among 228 teenagers at 12 schools throughout the State. It also found that 19 per cent attend Mass occasionally, eight per cent do so every couple of weeks, three per cent attend once a month, nine per cent never attend and none attends daily Mass.
Forty six per cent felt that most young people do not have a proper understanding of the Mass, while 81 per cent believe there are other ways of expressing one's Catholicism. Seventy per cent agreed that more young people would go to Mass "if the liturgies were celebrated more creatively."
Teenagers asked what they disliked about Mass said they found it boring. They found homilies long, tedious and irrelevant. They did not like the formality, or the "old and unusual language".
Most enjoyed the community feel to Mass, and the relaxed, peaceful atmosphere, which allowed "time to collect your thoughts away from the ordinary world", as one 17 year old girl put it.
Generally weekly Mass attendance has dropped from 80 per cent in 1990 to about 65 per cent today. In some urban areas weekly attendance has dropped to 10 per cent.