The Church's Suffering and Hope in France
France is no longer experiencing a mere decline in religious practice, but a veritable collapse of Catholicism, the tipping point of which occurred in the mid-1960s. This shift affects not only individual belief: it strikes at the very cultural and anthropological foundations of French society. France retains the outward forms of a Christian civilisation (churches, festivals, architectural landmarks), but has gradually been stripped of its spiritual core – its faith. However Catholics retain hope, sustained by faith, hope and charity, and enriched by the immense heritage of Christendom. Although they are in the minority, their religion keeps them standing firm in a society that is crumbling, and this is enough to enable them to retain confidence in the future.