Good news in Oz, bad news in Eire for Young Catholics

Taking the bad first:

Dublin, Apr. 20, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Irish residents showed a remarkable lack of basic knowledge about the Catholic faith in a recent national poll, the Iona Institute reports.

The most striking ignorance was displayed by respondents between the ages of 19 and 24, who consistently scored well below the general population in the survey, conducted by the Lansdowne market research firm.

Respondents over the age of 65 yielded above-average results on the poll, suggesting that the level of religious education in Ireland was significantly better in earlier years.

A minority of respondents between 19 and 24 could name the three Persons of the Trinity. Just 47% of the young people answered that question correctly, while 76% of those over 64% gave the proper answer, and 66% of the overall poll sample.
Similarly, only 38% of the young respondents could provide the number of Gospels in the New Testament, and another 38% could give the number of Catholic sacraments. Among those over 65 years old, 65% answered the former question correctly, and 63% the latter question.

And then the good:

SYDNEY, Australia (Catholic Online) – A revivial of interest in religion is taking place among the young and adults, despite reports that the church is in decline, said an Australian cardinal [Pell].

“A revival of religious interest is occurring among many young Australians who are drawing the unsurprising conclusion that money, materialism and self-seeking do not bring meaning or peace of mind,” he said.

“What is surprising about teenagers today is not the percentage who are hostile to institutions, but the larger percentage who will listen to the Christian message spoken from any agency with conviction and sympathy,” Cardinal Pell added.

...

The cardinal archbishop of Sydney claimed that there is today “an openness to the gospel which was not there even 25 years ago in Australia,” while noting that no one should be under any illusions of the challenges to Christianity and to the faithful.