Catholic Bible 101
21st Century Catholic Apologetics for Mary's Spiritual Warriors
The following Church statistics are from Georgetown University. As you will soon tell, some of these stats are very hopeful, while others paint a very gloomy picture of the state of the Catholic Church. As you can imagine, gathering accurate stats on the state of Catholics worldwide can be as hard as herding cats in a pasture, so the absolute accuracy of them is not a guarantee, but rather, an approximate snapshot of current reality. So what to do with these statistics once you know them? It's so easy to say, "Well, it's the fault of the Bishops and the priests for not having better liturgies and sermons"... BUT - That is a copout. It's the job of the laity as much as our religious leaders to bring back the lost sheep to the flock. SO - Talk these stats up at your next gathering, and encourage others you know to get back to the sacraments! Otherwise, the devil will have his way with us, and that leads straight to hell.
WORLDWIDE CATHOLIC POPULATION
2010: 1.2 Billion Souls (17% of World Population)
1970: 654 Million Souls (18% of World Population)
TOTAL PRIESTS
2010: 412, 236 Souls
1970: 419, 728 Souls
TOTAL NUNS
2010: 721,935 Souls
1970: 1, 004, 304 Souls
TOTAL PARISHES
2010: 221, 055
1970: 191, 398
% OF ALL ADULT CATHOLICS WHO ATTEND MASS
32% attend once a week or more
21% attend once a month, but less than weekly
24% attend a few times a year
23% never attend Mass
REASONS GIVEN FOR NOT ATTENDING HOLY MASS FOR THOSE ATTENDING A FEW TIMES A YEAR (Percentages add up to more than 100% due to multiple responses).
64% - “I don’t believe that missing Holy Mass is a sin.”
50% - “I’m not very religious.”
41% - “My schedule is too busy.”
31% - “I have family responsibilities.”
21% - “I have health and disability problems.”
16% - “I have a work conflict.”
FREQUENCY OF THE RECEPTION OF THE EUCHARIST (FOR WEEKLY MASS ATTENDEES)
79% always receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ
16% frequently receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ
3% seldom receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ
2% never receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ
CONFESSION
For weekly Mass-goers, only 61% go to confession at least ONCE A YEAR or more
For monthly Mass-goers, only 37% go to confession at least ONCE A YEAR or more
FREQUENCY OF ATTENDANCE OF HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION THAT DO NOT FALL ON A SUNDAY (FOR WEEKLY MASS ATTENDEES)
41% always attend
43% frequently attend
15% seldom attend
1% never attend
AVAILABILITY OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
47% of Catholics say that there is Eucharistic Adoration at their parish
6% of Catholics say that there is no Eucharistic Adoration at their parish
43% of Catholics say that they do not know
PARTICIPATION IN EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR PARISHES WHICH DO HAVE IT
29% of Catholics worship Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration
71% of Catholics do not worship Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration
BELIEF IN THE REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST
91% of weekly Mass attendees believe that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ
65% of monthly Mass attendees believe that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ
40% of yearly Mass attendees believe that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ
UNITED STATES CATHOLICS
31% of US Citizens were raised Catholic
10% of US citizens who were raised Catholic renounce their faith later on in life
2.6% of US Citizens are Catholic converts
25% of all US Citizens are Catholic (immigrant Catholics to the US add 1.4 % to the total number)
