Catholicism attracted famous converts in the 19th and early 20th centuries, mainly intellectuals who found themselves kneeling alongside the Irish servant class in the pews of the Church. Today, converts still find their fascinating way to Holy Mother Church, often through the Latin Masses that were permitted by special indult from Pope Paul VI in 1971. This was in response to a letter penned by Evelyn Waugh and signed by a host of English luminaries, including the redoubtable Anglican Dame Agatha Christie. (Legend has it that Paul VI was a fan of detective fiction; hence the indult.)
Today, the pews are also filled with Catholic immigrants, from Eastern Europe – Poles are the largest group –and the Middle East, Southeast Asia and indeed everywhere. These people are in England to work, and they have brought their Faith with them. Most are oblivious of the historic persecution and oppression that existed in England.
Catholics tell me that a slice of English society is still vocally anti-Catholic, though not in the same ways as years ago. Whereas before the Church was Public Enemy Number One for the No-Popery crowd, nowadays they have been replaced by the equally-intolerant Fashionable Atheistic crowd, according to James Bogle, a London barrister and head of the Catholic Union, a lay organization dating back to the 19th century. Both were/are fringe elements in society.
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