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Muslims Outnumber World's Catholics

By ALESSANDRA RIZZO,
AP
Posted: 2008-03-31 07:28:38
Filed Under: World News
VATICAN CITY (March 30) - Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday.

"For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2 percent.

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-30 16:13:58
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Recent Comments

1 - 10 of 6593
6593 comments

amndamay 10:18:49 AM Apr 07 2008

relevance?

dad1651765 04:03:46 PM Apr 06 2008

Just need to kill all of the peace loving murdering bastards

vmatt500c 11:05:53 PM Apr 05 2008

SO WHAT.
AOL, how about more Advertisements.
I see a small blank spot on my screen.

friskycake 10:05:08 PM Apr 05 2008

"Remember the story says that the statistics for Muslims came from the Muslims - who may be exaggerating the number of their members ... they lie about everything else."

Izy's : maybe they are counting the 72 Virgins for each of the "children and women that they blow up just for the hell of it?" that's ok I have seen our own Government LIE about Why we had to attack Iraq and what the private contractors were doing for thier 40% of the Defense budget--- i.e. Haliburton's water purification teams are giving AMERICAN TROOPS water borne illnesses AGAIN.

friskycake 09:59:35 PM Apr 05 2008

Granted there was the hamas Micky Mouse deal in PALISTINE but had Fox News not played it ad nauseum I wouldn't have been exposed to it. And I happen to have Al Jazeera English on my bookmark list.... It doens't push Islam rhetoric but reports news from their side of the camera. And to be quite honest it's not that different from the BBC (Brittish news sources) in their coverage.

friskycake 09:56:55 PM Apr 05 2008

"Some of the same goes with the Muslim faith only I think they try to push their faith on other Americans to hard. It's not right. Just like we respect them in their faith. They should respect us in ours as Christians. Baptist churches are like that also."

Really? The Muslims are pushing their faith upon us? I personally know several Muslims and apart from WHEN I ASK QUESTIONS and they answer them, I have never had a Muslim "push" anything on me. Even then I ask and they answer without tellling me that I am a polythiest as I believe in the Trinity.
I have NEVER felt pushed into a conversation about converting to Islam. I have NEVER had a Muslim ring my doorbell to pass out pamphlets about Islam and to try and pull me from my own church into their mosque. I have never seen a Islam 700 Club where they were explaining how we need to get Muslims elected to keep the country from going to the Gays and Abortionists. Granted there was the hamas Micky Mouse deal in PALISTINE but had

izsygrandpa 09:48:16 PM Apr 05 2008

Remember the story says that the statistics for Muslims came from the Muslims - who may be exaggerating the number of their members ... they lie about everything else.

friskycake 09:39:38 PM Apr 05 2008

Chocolate:

you have obviously not attended a Mass (Catholic services)
But the Catholic Bible has 7 (seven) more books in the Old Testement than the KJV

friskycake 09:34:49 PM Apr 05 2008

Chocolate:

you have obviously not attended a Mass (Catholic services)
"There would be more Catholics if they study more from the bible in the churches. Get rid of pedifiles. Let the priests and nuns get married, have a family yet still be loyal to God and Jesus. Stop worshiping idols."
#1 there is no idol worship, when Catholics kneel and cross before they sit it is ONLY when the Host (the BODY of Christ) is in the tabernacle which is indicated if the red candle is lit- although lifelong Catholics are so used to it that some genuflect at theaters. and there are 3 bible readings in each Mass- if you went to daily mass and sunday mass for three years straight without missing a day you would read 98% of the bible. And from where do you think the Bible was comprised? 400 AD the Catholics came to a final version, although in Luther's time he removed (initially) 9 books from the Bible - including Gosp of John and Revelations which he later put back due to popular request. But the C

friskycake 09:28:26 PM Apr 05 2008

And besides does that mean that the Jews worship Saturn? Seeing how their Sabbath day is on Saturday? (sabado)

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