Woe are Us! We Are All Out of Priests!
Turns out...we're not. The 2013 Pontifical Yearbook and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (annual statistics of the church) was presented to Pope Francis recently and some of the information is surprising (the data is based on 2011 numbers).
Take priests. Ten years ago, there were 405.067 Catholic priests. Well, what do you know? There are now 413,418 of them. I credit the Clericus Cup! There are 39% more from Africa and 32% more Asian priests.
But the pool is drying up, right? Wrong. Ten years ago there were 112,244 men in formation. Today there are 120,616 (+7.5%).
Deacons. We need deacons. Well....ten years ago there were 29,000 permanent deacons. There are now 41,100. 97% of them are in the United Sates or Europe.
Take priests. Ten years ago, there were 405.067 Catholic priests. Well, what do you know? There are now 413,418 of them. I credit the Clericus Cup! There are 39% more from Africa and 32% more Asian priests.
But the pool is drying up, right? Wrong. Ten years ago there were 112,244 men in formation. Today there are 120,616 (+7.5%).
Deacons. We need deacons. Well....ten years ago there were 29,000 permanent deacons. There are now 41,100. 97% of them are in the United Sates or Europe.
posted by jope @ May 28, 2013
<< Home