More Catholics, fewer receiving sacraments

Cathy Lynn Grossman, RNS

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

(RNS1-JUNE 18) A number of women married to or wanting to be married to Catholic priests are petitioning Pope Francis to reconsider the church's stance on celibacy. For use with RNS-PRIESTS-WIVES, transmitted June 18, 2014. Photo courtesy Gregory Dean via Shutterstock

The overall rate per 1,000 Catholics receiving the sacraments “is in uninterrupted decline world wide. It’s not keeping up with population growth,” said Mark Gray, senior research associate for CARA and a co-author of a recent report on trends within Catholicism.

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