22 The Fortress Church Under Reconstruction? Sociological Factors Inhibiting Receptive Catholic Learning in the Church in England and Wales

Abstract

Abstract This chapter seeks to identify the sociological factors that impede receptive ecumenical learning by examining the complex relationship between two sets of processes. The first traces broader changes in British society; the second refers to the Roman Catholic community itself, and outlines the social structures and expectations that have historically emerged within it. It argues that interaction today between these sociological processes has forced the Roman Catholic community into a situation of profound structural crisis.