Fewer priests for more laity but Africa is thriving

The number of Catholics worldwide has increased while the number of priests to serve them has fallen, a new study has found.

The research by Georgetown University’s Center for Advanced Research in the Apostolate (Cara) found that between 1980 and 2012 the world’s Catholic population grew by 57 per cent from 783,662,000 to 1,228,612,000.

The continent with the largest growth rate was Africa, where the Catholic population increased 238 per cent, followed by Asia with a 115 per cent growth rate. The number of African Catholics grew from 7 per cent of all Catholics in 1980 to 16 per cent today. Conversely, European Catholics are now only 23 per cent of all Catholics, down from 35 per cent in 1980.

The numbers largely track birthrates, according to the Cara study. The European birthrate is currently below replacement level at only 1.72 average births per woman over her lifetime. In 1980, that number stood at 2.16, only marginally above the replacement level of 2.1. In Africa, the fertility rate has also dropped from its 1980 high of 6.76 but still hovers above replacement rate at 5.15.

The number of priests has not kept up with these population increases; in fact, they have declined. In 2012, there were 20,547 fewer priests than in 1980. Again, the sharpest decline was in Europe, which had 243,319 priests in 1980 and has only 165,229 today.

The total number of priests in Africa has more than doubled, from 17,346 to 40,133. In the Americas, the number of priests is largely unchanged.

The number of parishes opening or closing largely dovetailed with the number of clergy, and the report concludes: “Given the prevailing trends for population, parishes, and priests, the Church is likely to continue to realign in the coming decades.”