German Catholic Church haemorrhages members

For the first time since the paedophilia scandal erupted, the number of Catholics leaving the Church is higher that the number of baptisms. 

Last year, for the first time in Germany’s history, the number of Catholics leaving the Church, exceeded the number of baptisms. 

This is according to figures given by the German Episcopal Conference. 

This confirms recent statistics which show that 2010 marked a real exodus of Catholic worshippers, who joined other denominations. 

An exodus that was mainly down to the sex abuse carried out by priests. 

 

Last year, baptisms totalled 170 thousand, against a record of  181.193 people who decided to formally leave the Catholic Church: that is 50 thousand more compared to 2009 (+40% approx). 

In total, the number of Catholics dropped from 24,9 million in 2009 to 24,6 million in 2010.

 

Furthermore, for the first time, the number of those leaving the Catholic Church, exceeded the number of individuals leaving the Protestant Church which is estimated to have just under 150 thousand members.

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