SIR,-The question raised in the " Heritage" correspondence, about the types of Catholics to be found in Britain today, suggests work for the Newman Demographic Survey.
Does this survey possess any statistics concerning the social and racial origin of Catholics ii Britain today? We know our main strength is from sturdy Ireland, hut what inroads have been made into the English middle and professional classes?
I come from this section of the population, and it may interest readers to learn that of a group of 16 men and women, all comfortably off but socially unpretentious, all English, who were my friends 15 years ago, not one was a Catholic then, nor within a hundred miles of considering Catholicism as a way of life.
We were mainly humanists, of the Margaret Knight pattern (we find her now very old-fashioned), although we did number a lapsed Quaker and a devout Anglican among Our number.
Of these 16 people. who have all followed their own paths since the war and rarely meet nowadays, four are now Catholics, the devout Anglican is now an Anglican vicar, five of the others arc Anglicans. the lapsed Quaker remains thus, two were killed in the war, and only three remain humanists. The four Catholics have between them 16 Catholic children; the five Anglicans have 13 children between them.
Thus from a beginning 15 years ago. out of 16 people, there was one practising Christian. There are now. counting children. grown out of that group. 39 practising Christians, all of English blood.
John Bate Pitkerro House, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.