YOUNG IRISH DON'T SEE MASS AS VERY IMPORTANT

DUBLIN, Dec. 27, 00 (CWNews.com) - Only 14 percent of young people in Ireland consider weekly Mass attendance as very important, according to a new survey.

The poll was conducted among a sample of 1,000 electors at 100 sampling points throughout the Republic of Ireland. Overall, only four out of 10 people thought weekly Mass attendance was very important, according to the poll. Thirteen percent said it was not at all important to attend weekly Mass.

Nominally, 95 percent of the population of the Irish Republic is Catholic, but a series of clerical scandals in recent years has led to a steep drop in Mass attendance.

The Irish Times poll also showed that the Catholic Primate, Archbishop Sean Brady, was less recognized by Catholics than his Church of Ireland counterpart, Archbishop Robin Eames. Only one in six of those questioned could name Archbishop Brady, while more than one in four identified Eames.

The importance of Sunday Mass varies substantially according to the age of those questioned. Seventy-four percent of those aged over 65 thought it very important, but this figure falls steadily to just 14 percent in the 18-24 age group.

More women (47 percent) than men (34 percent) see weekly Mass attendance as very important. Almost a quarter (23 percent) of people in the capital, Dublin, see it as not important at all.

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