Spotlight on BBC series about Catholics

What’s it like being a Catholic in today’s British society? Finding the answer to that question is the main aim of a new TV series by the BBC that seeks to portray the complex reality of being Catholic and how this identity shapes peoples’ lives. Starting on Thursday February the 23rd, the 3-part series is called “Catholics” and is produced and directed by prize-winning documentary film-maker Richard Alwyn. He spoke to Susy Hodges about the project and the message he is seeking to get across in this ground-breaking series.

Asked how he would describe the identity of Catholics in Britain today, Alwyn said "it's a very tenacious identity ....people cling onto it and value it" and he mentioned one women who told him "it gave her a moral compass in the chaos of life."

Speaking about how Catholics in Britain feel about their faith in the wake of extensive media coverage of the clerical sex abuse crisis and other controversial issues in recent years, Alwyn said he believed that Catholics in Britain "feel slightly under siege, wary of the media which is understandable."

Listen to the full interview by Susy Hodges with Richard Alwyn: