Cube vs. Cathedral: The Lost Match of the Church of France at www.chiesa

Secular culture is largely winning, and sociologist Danièle Hervieu-Léger announces the end of French Catholicism. But the Church bears part of the blame. Gianni Ambrosio explains why

In Monday's column, Sandro Magister presents the work of Hervieu-Léger, which can be summed up by the following:

The most important recent essay by Danièle Hervieu-Léger, a renowned sociologist of religion, is dedicated to an assessment of the condition of the Church in France. The verdict is clear from the title itself: "Catholicisme, la fin d'un monde [Catholicism, the end of a world]."

The review of the essay by Gianni Ambrosio is included by Magister. Ambrosio takes a long look at the various stages of the secularization of France and the marginalization of the Catholic Church in France that is leading to its death. As the opening states, Ambrosio points out that the Church is partly at fault for this decline due to its abandoning of the 'rural' and 'family' indentities that allowed it to teach the Church's teachings and role in society to the general population.

Ambrosio's point will need to be studied and a solution properly formulated for the Church to reemerge from its deathknell in France.