Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - The new «Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae» Church’s Book of Statistics (31 December 2004 - prepared by the Church’s central statistics office and printed by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana has been presented. The Book illustrates the picture of the principal aspects which characterise the activity of the Catholic Church in the different countries and continents, with tables and charts. The information provided on this occasion presents structural changes in the pastoral activity of the Catholic Church making comparisons between the years 1978 and 2004.
Between 1978 and 2004 the number of Catholics in the world grew rapidly with an increase of over 45%; from 757 million to 1,098 billion with an absolute increase of about 342 million Catholics. However the world population in the same period grew from 4.2 to 6.4 billion with a consequent slight drop in the incidence of Catholics at the planetary level of almost 18% to just over 17%. This percentage includes very different situations. Europe registered no change, whereas in Africa Catholics almost tripled in numbers (from 55 million in 1978 to almost 149 million in 2004). Intermediate situations are registered in America and Asia, where vigorous growth in Catholics (respectively + 49.7% and + 79.6%), is explained by population growth in the same period. Stable the incidence of baptised Catholics in every 100 people in Oceania, although the numbers are inferior.
The number of Bishops in the world increased between 1978 and 2004 by over 28%, from 3,714 to 4,784 units with a marked increases in Africa (+45.8%), in Oceania (+34%) and in Asia (+31.4%), but numbers below average in America (+27.2%) and Europe (+23.3%). The distribution of Bishops by continent has remained stable. One aspect worth noting is that Bishops are older: the average age in the same period increased by 5 years, passing from 62.0 to 67.4.
In the period 1978-2004 priests in the world decreased by 3.5% (from about 421,000 to less than 406,000). While the presence of priests in Africa and in Asia is comforting (+85% and +74%, respectively), the situation in America is stationary around an average of about 120,000 units, and lastly Europe and Oceania in 2004 show a decrease respectively of over 20% and almost 14%. Tendencies differ for diocesan and religious priests: the former in the world after reaching a minimum of 257,000 units in 1988 compared to 262,000 in 1978, showed in 2004 a small but significant growth to more than 268,000 units; the latter showed a constant decrease all through the period observed. Religious priests decreased on all continents (-23.9% in Oceania, -20% circa in Europe, -19% in America and -4.5% in Africa) except Asia, where they increased from 14,000 to over 19,000 units.
Other pastoral workers - permanent deacons, Brothers and Sisters represent realities numerically different. In 2004 there were 32,000 permanent deacons, 55,000 Brothers and a much larger number of women religious, over 767,000. Permanent deacons, diocesan and religious, have grown all over the world from about 5,500 in 1978 to over 32,000 twenty six years later with a variation superior to 480%. Europe and America register the greatest numbers and more lively trends. The number of Catholic Religious Brothers dropped by over 27% between 1978 and 2004. from 75,000 to less than 65,000 in 1988 and less than 55,000 in 2004. The tendency is the same in Europe, America and Oceania, while in Africa and Asia variations are + 48% and about +39%, respectively. Women religious have decreased in numbers from 990,000 units in 1978 to less than 770,000 twenty six years later. The decline, also in this case was seen in three continents (Europe, America and Oceania), with marked negative variations (-41% in Oceania, -39% in Europe and -27% in America). In Africa and in Asia, instead, a marked increase was registered of over 60% on both continents.
The evolution of the annual numbers of candidates to the priesthood, diocesan and religious, reveals an overall increasing growth for the whole period. Candidates in the world increased from quasi 64,000 units in 1978 to over 113,000 in 2004, an increase of about 77%. Evolution differed by continent, dynamic and lively in Africa, America and Asia but a decline in Europe of about 2%. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 2/5/2006; righe 61, parole 877)
