Witness : The future Catholic Church in Australia by Philippa Martyr
Paperback, 368 pages
ISBN 9781923224582
Published in March 2025
“Dorothy Day famously remarked that ‘although the Church may sometimes play the harlot, she will always be my mother’. Similarly, Philippa Martyr has painted an unvarnished ‘warts and all’ picture of the Church in Australia as it is in our time and her projections for the year 2050. Like the observations of Dorothy Day, the work is written from the perspective of a faithful Catholic who loves the Body of Christ but knows that she (the Church is always feminine) can do better. Her judgments are backed up by empirical evidence and her insights are both acute and relatable.”
- Professor Tracey Rowland, University of Notre Dame (Australia)
"Philippa Martyr gives us a hard-hitting analysis of plummeting mass attendance figures, especially among the younger generation. If her discussion of the causes and her suggestions on what to do are not taken seriously, there won't be a future Catholic Church in Australia.”
- Professor James Franklin, Editor, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society
In ‘Witness’, Philippa Martyr asks - and answers - a lot of painful questions about the Catholic Church’s future in Australia.
The Church in Australia is a mighty spiritual force that flows like a river, transforming lives and saving souls. But it’s also in real crisis.
Barely 400,000 people in Australia now go to Sunday Mass – less than the population of Tasmania. At the same time, billions of dollars pour annually through Catholic schools, hospitals, and charities.
Many young Australian Catholics now feel like unwanted strangers in their own Church. And yet soon, they will inherit what’s left of it.
Enriched by data sets, interviews, and commentary from across the Church, ‘Witness’ is both a sharp analysis of the real problems and a blueprint for younger Catholics to rebuild a future Church in Australia.
Dr Philippa Martyr is an adjunct Research Fellow, School of Philosophy and Theology, University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA), and an External Affiliate, Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society, UNDA/St Mary’s University Twickenham, UK.
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