The number of Catholics in the world and the number of deacons, priests and
bishops all increased in 2010, while the number of women in religious orders
continued to decline, according to Vatican statistics.
At the end of
2010, the worldwide Catholic population reached 1.196 billion, an increase of 15
million or 1.3 percent, slightly outpacing the global population growth rate,
which was estimated at 1.1 percent, said a statement published March 10 by the
Vatican press office.
Catholics as a percentage of the global population
"remained stable at around 17.5 percent," it said.
The statement reported
a handful of the statistics contained in the 2012 "Annuario Pontificio," a
yearbook containing information about every Vatican office, as well as every
diocese and religious order in the world.
Officials of the Vatican
Secretariat of State and its Central Office of Church Statistics presented the
first copy of the 2012 yearbook to Pope Benedict XVI during an audience March
10.
Detailed statistics in the yearbook are based on reports from
dioceses and religious orders as of Dec. 31, 2010.
The percentage of
Catholics declined slightly in South America from 28.54 percent to 28.34 percent
of the regional population, and dropped considerably in Europe from 24.05
percent to 23.83 percent. The percentage of Catholics increased in 2010 by just
under half a percentage point in Southeast Asia and Africa.
The Vatican
said the number of bishops in the world increased from 5,065 to 5,104; the
number of priests went from 410,593 to 412,236, increasing everywhere except
Europe.
The number of permanent deacons reported -- 39,564 -- was an
increase of more than 1,400 over the previous year. 97.5 percent of the world's
permanent deacons live in the Americas or in Europe.
The number of men
joining a religious order showed "a setback," the Vatican said, with an increase
of only 436 male religious worldwide in 2010.
The number of women in
religious orders fell by more than 7,000 in 2010, despite showing a 2 percent
increase in both Asia and Africa. At the end of the year, Catholic women's
orders had 721,935 members.
The number of seminarians around the world
showed continued growth, from 117,978 at the end of 2009 to 118,990 at the end
of 2010.
In the last five years, it said, the number of seminarians rose
more than 14 percent in Africa, 13 percent in Asia and 12.3 percent in Oceania.
Numbers decreased in other regions of the world, particularly Europe, which saw
a 10.4 percent drop in the number of seminarians between 2005 and 2010.
TSA Now Departing
One of America’s busiest airports, Orlando Sanford International, has announced it will opt out of using TSA workers to screen passengers, a move which threatens the highly unpopular federal agency’s role in other airports across the nation.
With Sanford International having originally been prevented by the TSA from opting out back in November 2010 when the federal agency froze the ability for airports to use their own private screeners, a law passed by the Senate last month forces the TSA to reconsider applications.
Full Story
With Sanford International having originally been prevented by the TSA from opting out back in November 2010 when the federal agency froze the ability for airports to use their own private screeners, a law passed by the Senate last month forces the TSA to reconsider applications.
Full Story
Son of Oral Roberts Arrested on DUI Charge
Richard Roberts, the son of the late evangelist Oral Roberts, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper stopped the 63-year-old just past midnight driving 93 miles per hour in his Mercedes-Benz.
According to the arrest report, Roberts failed a breathalyzer and field sobriety test.
The officer "detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about Roberts' breath and person," the report said.
Roberts served as president of Oral Roberts University for 15 years before stepping down in 2007.
He currently hosts a nightly television show called, "The Place for Miracles: Your Hour of Healing."
Sounds like he should be hosting "Happy Hour with Dicky Roberts"
Evangelical leader urges Gingrich to explain 'turbulent marital history'
A leading religious conservative warned Newt Gingrich Wednesday that he risks losing the support of evangelical women voters if the Republican presidential hopeful refuses to publicly address his "turbulent martial history."
"Mr. Speaker, if you want to get large numbers of evangelicals, particularly women, to vote for you, you must address the issue of your marital past in a way that allays the fears of evangelical women,"
Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said in an open letter to the former House speaker. "You must address this issue of your marital past directly and transparently and ask folks to forgive you and give you their trust and their vote."
I have met and spoke with Mr. Land on a few occasions. I must say I find him a bit off base here. I'm not sure Mr. Gingrich needs to seek forgiveness from anyone but his ex-wives. Trust is indeed an issue but we are not marrying Newt we are voting for him.
Mr. Land urged the new GOP front-runner to take a page out of Arizona Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential playbook.
"Even my own mother, a rock-solid evangelical, was extremely uncomfortable voting for Sen. John McCain until he acknowledged to Rick Warren that the failure of his first marriage was the greatest regret of his life and it was his fault," Mr. Land, referring to the high-profile evangelical pastor who hosted both Mr. McCain and then-candidate Barack Obama in an influential forum during the 2008 race.
Why should any candidate beg forgiveness at the feet of Rick Warren? Mr. Warren himself has done some things that would cost him my vote for president.
There is an evangelical arrogance that appears often in it's leaders and they tend to over estimate their power and influence. How Mr. Land's mother votes does not really matter. She would have had to vote for Obama or not vote. Neither is a good alternative.
Mr. Gingrich's marital troubles, including two divorces have cast a shadow over his political career and presidential campaign, leaving many to wonder whether he can win over social conservatives in the nomination contest, which kicks off in Iowa where evangelicals play a major role.
Two of the Georgia Republicans three marriages are said to have fallen apart thanks to Mr. Gingrich's extramarital activity. Mr. Gingrich has acknowledged cheating on one of them, with his current wife, Callista, while he served as speaker and pushed for the impeachment of President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair in the late 1990s.
In a March interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Mr. Gingrich touched on his marriage problems, saying he had sought "God's forgiveness" for his actions.
"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Mr. Gingrich said.
"What I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them," he said. "I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness — not God's understanding, but God's forgiveness."
Mr. Land, though, suggested in his letter Wednesday that Mr. Gingrich still has his work cut off for him, while advising him to give a speech on his martial history in a "pro-family venue."
"You need to make it as clear as you possibly can that you deeply regret your past actions and that you do understand the anguish and suffering they caused others including your former spouses," Mr. Land wrote. "Make it as clear as you can that you have apologized for the hurt your actions caused and that you have learned from your past misdeeds. Express your love for, and loyalty to, your wife and your commitment to your marriage. Promise your fellow Americans that if they are generous enough to trust you with the presidency, you will not let them down and that there will be no moral scandals in a Gingrich White House."
Is there another agenda here? Mr. Gingrich was a Southern Baptist during his two divorces. He has since converted to Catholic. Will that be an issue for Mr. Land? While I don't condone his actions, I hope Newt tells Mr. Land to get the log out his own eye first.
"Mr. Speaker, if you want to get large numbers of evangelicals, particularly women, to vote for you, you must address the issue of your marital past in a way that allays the fears of evangelical women,"
Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said in an open letter to the former House speaker. "You must address this issue of your marital past directly and transparently and ask folks to forgive you and give you their trust and their vote."
I have met and spoke with Mr. Land on a few occasions. I must say I find him a bit off base here. I'm not sure Mr. Gingrich needs to seek forgiveness from anyone but his ex-wives. Trust is indeed an issue but we are not marrying Newt we are voting for him.
Mr. Land urged the new GOP front-runner to take a page out of Arizona Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential playbook.
"Even my own mother, a rock-solid evangelical, was extremely uncomfortable voting for Sen. John McCain until he acknowledged to Rick Warren that the failure of his first marriage was the greatest regret of his life and it was his fault," Mr. Land, referring to the high-profile evangelical pastor who hosted both Mr. McCain and then-candidate Barack Obama in an influential forum during the 2008 race.
Why should any candidate beg forgiveness at the feet of Rick Warren? Mr. Warren himself has done some things that would cost him my vote for president.
There is an evangelical arrogance that appears often in it's leaders and they tend to over estimate their power and influence. How Mr. Land's mother votes does not really matter. She would have had to vote for Obama or not vote. Neither is a good alternative.
Mr. Gingrich's marital troubles, including two divorces have cast a shadow over his political career and presidential campaign, leaving many to wonder whether he can win over social conservatives in the nomination contest, which kicks off in Iowa where evangelicals play a major role.
Two of the Georgia Republicans three marriages are said to have fallen apart thanks to Mr. Gingrich's extramarital activity. Mr. Gingrich has acknowledged cheating on one of them, with his current wife, Callista, while he served as speaker and pushed for the impeachment of President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair in the late 1990s.
In a March interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Mr. Gingrich touched on his marriage problems, saying he had sought "God's forgiveness" for his actions.
"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Mr. Gingrich said.
"What I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them," he said. "I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness — not God's understanding, but God's forgiveness."
Mr. Land, though, suggested in his letter Wednesday that Mr. Gingrich still has his work cut off for him, while advising him to give a speech on his martial history in a "pro-family venue."
"You need to make it as clear as you possibly can that you deeply regret your past actions and that you do understand the anguish and suffering they caused others including your former spouses," Mr. Land wrote. "Make it as clear as you can that you have apologized for the hurt your actions caused and that you have learned from your past misdeeds. Express your love for, and loyalty to, your wife and your commitment to your marriage. Promise your fellow Americans that if they are generous enough to trust you with the presidency, you will not let them down and that there will be no moral scandals in a Gingrich White House."
Is there another agenda here? Mr. Gingrich was a Southern Baptist during his two divorces. He has since converted to Catholic. Will that be an issue for Mr. Land? While I don't condone his actions, I hope Newt tells Mr. Land to get the log out his own eye first.
PETA and the Prez
President Obama earlier this month quietly signed into law a spending bill that restores the American horse-slaughter industry, just a few months after a government investigation said the ban on slaughtering for human consumption was backfiring.
The agriculture spending bill Mr. Obama signed the week before Thanksgiving did not include a ban on the inspection of horse meat — a backdoor prohibition that had, since 2006, effectively halted the U.S. horse-slaughter industry.
In June the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s official investigative branch, released a report saying the ban had shut down U.S. slaughter, but that only depressed prices for horses here while causing many of the animals to be shipped to “foreign slaughtering facilities where U.S. humane slaughtering protections do not apply.”
In unusually blunt language, GAO suggested Congress and Mr. Obama reconsider the ban.
The options facing Congress were to further ban export of horses for slaughter or to lift the domestic slaughter ban. Congress chose the latter.
And the response from PETA..................................... Still waiting.
Washington Times
The agriculture spending bill Mr. Obama signed the week before Thanksgiving did not include a ban on the inspection of horse meat — a backdoor prohibition that had, since 2006, effectively halted the U.S. horse-slaughter industry.
In June the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s official investigative branch, released a report saying the ban had shut down U.S. slaughter, but that only depressed prices for horses here while causing many of the animals to be shipped to “foreign slaughtering facilities where U.S. humane slaughtering protections do not apply.”
In unusually blunt language, GAO suggested Congress and Mr. Obama reconsider the ban.
The options facing Congress were to further ban export of horses for slaughter or to lift the domestic slaughter ban. Congress chose the latter.
And the response from PETA..................................... Still waiting.
Washington Times
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