This dedication is for everyone. The faithful Christians of modern Britain include many whose ancestors came only fairly recently to these shores. The biggest annual pilgrimages to Walsingham are those of the groups from the Indian subcontinent

and from the Caribbean. The most thriving parishes are those with many Catholics from Kerala, Sri Lanka, Nigeria or the West Indies. “England” is a geographical expression, but not a racially homogenous one. We are a great mixture – and if the attendance at the various cathedrals so far, is anything to go by, the actual English among the Catholic faithful getting involved in this re-dedication are a minority.

 

 

Will it work? Asking people to dedicate themselves to Mary seems out of keeping with modern secular Britain. But is it? Things are bleak. The biggest single cause of death among young men in Britain is suicide. Knife crime dominates the youth sub-culture of London and of several other cities. Large numbers of people are regularly hallucinating through the use of marijuana, the scent of which is often all too evident in many suburban streets across the country. Other drugs are sold by criminal gangs using schoolchildren, a trade involving millions of pounds. “Sexting” – stripping, taking a self-photograph, and then sending this image to friends for group leering - is a standard teenage and pre-teen activity. Pornography is everywhere on the internet and its use is on a massive scale. And we are dying – fewer and fewer children are being born, there is much loneliness as marriages break up or are never formed, the elderly are denied proper bonds with their grandchildren.

 

None of these things are easily tackled by use of law or commerce. Is it so stupid to try prayer?

 

 

The Catholic Church is the biggest Christian denomination in Britain in terms of numbers actually attending church: this is not because we are large but because other groups are even smaller.