Crumbling French churches spark unholy row:
Half a century ago, one in three French went regularly to mass, today it’s barely one in twelve.
Churches are at risk of everything — rural depopulation, a decline in faith, the number of Christians and priests. Villages are facing a dilemma: spending millions on repairing churches where nobody goes, or building schools and creches for a young population.
The religious lobby claims that the French way of life is under attack, but the French Catholic Church has kept a low profile in the debate.
In Britain, the Church of England has started to sell off churches deemed surplus to requirements. Decommissioned places of worship have been converted into homes, arts centers and even nightclubs.
In France, with municipal elections looming, no such action is politically opportune. The result may be that nothing is done at all.
A spokesperson for the Religious Heritage Observatory argues for “studied neglect” of the churches that must go: “Let them abandon them, I can understand that since no-one wants to look after them. But to destroy them is an act of sacrilege.”
