The bishop in charge of evangelisation in England and Wales
launched a drive to bring millions of lapsed Catholics back to church.The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Kieran Conry, said that the project - entitled "Crossing the Threshold" and timed to coincide with Home Mission Sunday on 15 September - would establish a national core group for ministry and outreach to non-churchgoing Catholics and would offer resources for parishes, including short films in which lapsed Catholics described their journey back to faith.
He said that of the five million Catholics in England and Wales, just one million were regular churchgoers.
He said: "People said that they stopped going and no one noticed. It's about the parish experience ... if you don't fit in, or you feel excluded... and if you don't go [for a long time] you don't know what to do. We are reaching out: you are welcome back."
Bishop Conry also revealed that the number of Catholics going to confession has risen, and that 65 per cent of those cathedrals that reported an increase said it was due to the impact of Benedict XVI's 2010 visit and Francis' papacies.
He also announced a diocesan-level initiative to be piloted in Nottingham which would involve recruiting and training an evangelistic team to talk to non-churchgoing Catholics about issues they faced with their faith.