Year of Faith - Did it help increase numbers in your parish?

[Keraulophon]

It may be prudent not to deduce too much from the statistics printed in diocesan Yearbooks. I was told by a previous pp that he reported the attendance figure at below (I think) 500 to avoid being asked for higher contributions to various diocesan funds. Whether true or not, priests may well fear that the Finance Office will decide to use such a criterion to determine some amounts demanded - and/or to question the parish's per capita rate of contributing to collections.

[JW]

It may be prudent not to deduce too much from the statistics printed in diocesan Yearbooks. I was told by a previous pp that he reported the attendance figure at below (I think) 500 to avoid being asked for higher contributions to various diocesan funds. Whether true or not, priests may well fear that the Finance Office will decide to use such a criterion to determine some amounts demanded - and/or to question the parish's per capita rate of contributing to collections.

I couldn't agree more. I understand that the opposite also happens: that figures can be over-estimated, for example, so that a parish can keep it's curate, or just to show that the parish priest is successful. Where a number varies from one year to the next one has to look for the reason rather than take it at face value. I suppose it's even possible for parishes with similar names to get entered incorrectly. The organisation "British Religion in Numbers (BRIN)" has some interesting things to say on the quality of Catholic statistics, see for example this article: http://www.brin.ac.uk/news/2014/roman-catholic-and-other-statistics/