Catholic population surges across the Global South
Alessandro Speciale | May 13, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Gains in Asia and Africa are making up for losses in Europe among the worlds 1.2 billion Catholics, according to Vatican statistics released Monday (May 13), signaling a shift of the churchs center of gravity toward the Global South that was heralded by the election of the first Latin American pope.
Data published in the 2013 Statistical Yearbook of the Church also show that while the number of priests in the Americas and in Europe is declining compared to the overall Catholic population, those losses were offset by increasing ranks of permanent deacons.
There are now about 41,000 permanent deacons worldwide, a 40 percent increase over the past decade. The vast majority of them 97.4 percent live in the Americas or in Europe.
According to Maureen Tilley of Fordham University, the diaconate is becoming increasingly appealing to older second-career men, as younger men remain reluctant to take the vow of celibacy required by the priesthood.
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/05/13/catholic-population-surges-across-the-global-south/