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.
This is alarming, but I am left with unanswered questions for instance, How many left solely and as a direct result of the scandals? How many were leaving anyway regardless of the scandals? How many had thought of leaving on and off but were 'pushed' by the scandal? I doubt we'll ever know the whole picture, but loss is loss, and it's a sad day for the German Church.
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