The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, insists this is "an exhilarating time to be a Christian" despite a warning from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor that Christianity is close to being "vanquished" in Britain.
In a startling assessment of the influence of the modern Church, the Cardinal, who is Archbishop of Westminster and leader of 4.1 million Catholics in England and Wales, said: "Christianity as a background to peoples' lives and moral decisions and to the government and social life of Britain has been almost vanquished."
During an unscripted part of his address to a gathering of 100 priests in Leeds, the cardinal continued: "We live in a totally new time for all Christians, especially for we Catholics, and the anguish of the Western world is there for all to see."
Dr Carey said there was "nothing to frighten" Christians, but he agreed that the cardinal's words demanded serious study and echoed his own concerns, reflected in a speech last year, when he declared that Britain was a country where "a tacit atheism prevails".
Dr Carey then told a congregation in the Isle of Man that British society concentrated on "the here and now", so rendering "a thought of eternity irrelevant".
Against a backdrop of declining Mass attendance and a shortage of priests, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said child sex abuse scandals had brought "shame" on the Church. People were turning to consumerism and New Age practices, or the "transient" pleasures of alcohol, drugs and recreational sex rather than to God.
"Most people in our country turn to the freedom of the market place and the consumer society . . . and it is clear that sole reliance on the market place does in the end prevent people from taking their destiny in their own hands," he said.
The cardinal continued: "There is indifference to Christian values and to the Church among many young people. We see quite a demoralised society, where the only good is what I want, the only rights are my own, and the only life with any meaning or value is the life I want for myself."
Young people interviewed outside Westminster Cathedral yesterday appeared to confirm that many are looking away from the Church, as the cardinal's office insisted that his was not a gloomy prediction on the future of the Church but an overview which would ignite debate about the Church and its role.
While not having had opportunity to read the comments in detail, Dr Carey said: "He's a personal friend of mine and anything the cardinal says is worthy of serious study."
PA reports:
The Archbishop of Canterbury has an "overflowing" workload and should be relieved of some of his day-to-day duties in the running of the Church of England, a report recommended today.
A review of the archbishop's responsibilities by Lord Hurd, the former British foreign secretary, concludes that he should conduct a "strategic distancing" from the detailed administrative affairs of the Church.
His international role should be beefed up, while many of his domestic duties should be delegated to the Archbishop of York and other senior clergymen.
Lord Hurd was appointed last year by Dr Carey to chair a team to review the role of his office.
Dr Carey called the report "a substantial and thought-provoking piece of work".