“The Economist”, an internationally influential British publication, uses the work of the Daughters of Charity in the shadow of Westminster Cathedral, to highlight the two faces of Catholic Britain. First there is the squat red brick of Westminster cathedral, home of England’s Catholic hierarchy; its Byzantine mosaics, glinting in candlelight, are a splendid setting for one of the country’s finest choirs. Round the corner things are more down-to-earth at a hostel and day-centre for the homeless (the largest in London, it is claimed) set up by a religious order, the Daughters of Charity.

…

“Most of the migrants who throng London’s churches are doing better than the occupants of The Passage, but sometimes not much. “The Ground of Justice”, a church-backed survey of migrant worshippers published in 2007, found that in some London parishes three-quarters of the congregation had no legal right to be in Britain (and were thus vulnerable to illegally low pay and blackmail). For many, hearing mass in Portuguese or Tagalog was a moment of calm in a grinding existence. In a few cases, new worshippers were instructed to “integrate” with a local flock that was weak and collapsing.”

Read the full story in “The Economist”

See also

• International site of the Daughters of Charity (almost 20,000 members)

• International Project  Services of the Daughters of Charity