Religion: Kirche and Chiesa: What European Catholics Think

The cliches are worn but enduring: Italian Catholics seldom go to church but worship the Pope. German Catholics are fond enough of church, but mostly in terms of the family and the home: the good German hausfrau is supposed to dedicate herself with equal concern to Kinder, Kuche and Kirche—children, kitchen and church. Now two new polls—a major study of Catholics in Rome and a massive poll of West German Catholics—challenge the validity of the old clichés. Germans show a deeper spiritual sensitivity and more concern for their fellow man than they are generally given credit for. The Romans among Roman...