Description
Mitres & Missions raises the question of how well 150 years of development prepared clergy and people to meet the uncertainties facing the Church in a post-modern and post-Christian society.
The new diocese of Liverpool initially stretched from the Mersey to the mountains, taking in the great port of Liverpool, the industrial towns of south-west Lancashire and rural Coniston in the north. It had more Catholics and priests than any other dioceses as well as a richer recusant heritage. In this ground-breaking study Peter Doyle examines the difficulties of uniting these very different areas into some sort of unity, difficulties that increased with massive Irish immigration - could the strong English recusant tradition receive these newcomers without losing its own identity?
The author also explores the relationship between Catholics and their Protestant neighbours, ranging from occasional street violence and pulpit invective to mixed marriages. Among other issues, he looks at education, the establishment of a cradle-to-grave system of social care, Catholic Action, the boom times of the 1950s, the impact of the Second Vatican Council and the more recent years of decline in traditional commitment and practice. There were rows with Westminster and Rome as the bishops established their independence and local political squabbles as they sought equal rights for their people. There is much to celebrate in this 150-year history but also much to ponder on and question - not all paths taken led to brighter pastures.
Although it had its own dynamic and peculiar complexities, what happened in the diocese of Liverpool after 1850 may to some extent be taken as a case study of how the whole English Church developed between 1850 and 2000.