How many (Roman) Catholics are there in the world?

Since the announcement of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church is again on the limelight exposing both its negative (and often unpleasant) history from erring priests who were accused of having molested children across the world and its great contribution in the history of human race.  However, still media cannot ignore the FACT that this same Church has been there for more than 2,000 years and had survived many schisms, revolt, betrayal, wars etc.  The reason: because THIS IS THE CHURCH Jesus Christ built which he promised the "gate of hell shall not prevail." (Mt. 16).

Here is a very informative article from BBC NEWS.

There are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world, according to Vatican figures. More than 40% of the world's Catholics live in Latin America - but Africa has seen the biggest growth in Catholic congregations in recent years.

Latin America accounts for 483 million Catholics, or 41.3% of the total Catholic population. Of the 10 countries in the world with the most Catholics, four are in Latin America. Brazil has the highest Catholic population of any country at more than 150 million. Italy has the most Catholics in Europe, with 57 million, while DR Congo has the biggest Catholic population in Africa, ranking ninth in the world with almost 36 million.

Global shift

Since 1970, Catholicism has seen a global shift southwards - the proportion of Catholics living in Europe has declined, while Africa has seen a growth in the number of Catholics - from 45 million in 1970 to 176 million in 2012. Asia has also seen a growth in Catholicism and now represents almost 12% of the total Catholic population in the world, or 137 million people.

Anonymous Message to the Iglesia ni Cristo

ANONYMOUS MESSAGE TO IGLESIA NI CRISTO

Where are they?

Where are other PROTESTANT churches?  Where are those churches claiming to be "Christians"? Where are the Iglesia ni Cristo founded by Felix Manalo?  Are they not for PEACE and DIALOGUE?

The Protestant Inquisition: "Reformation" Intolerance and Persecution by Dave Amstrong

Source: BIBLICAL EVIDENCE OF CATHOLICISM
Disclaimer and statement of intent: Unfortunately, the religious "scandal score" needs to be evened up now and then, and the lesser-known "skeletons in the closet" need to be rescued from obscurity, surveyed, and exposed. I take no pleasure in "dredging up" these unsavory occurrences, but it is necessary for honest, fair historical appraisal. This does not mean that I have forsaken ecumenism, or that I wish to bash Protestants, or that I deny corresponding Catholic shortcomings.

Historical facts are what they are, and most Protestants (and Catholics) are unaware of the following historical events and beliefs (while, on the other hand, one always hears about the embarrassing and scandalous Catholic stuff -- and not often very accurately or fairly at that). If (as I suspect might often be the case) readers are shocked or surprised by the very title of this paper, this would be a case in point, and justification enough for my purposes of education. With that end and stated outlook in mind, I offer this copiously-researched treatise, with all due respect to my Protestant brethren, yet not without some remaining trepidation.C O N T E N T S

I. PROTESTANT INTOLERANCE: AN INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

II. PROTESTANT DIVISIONS AND MUTUAL ANIMOSITIES

III. PLUNDER AS AN AGENT OF RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION

IV. SYSTEMATIC SUPPRESSION OF CATHOLICISM

V. VIOLENT RADICALISM AND THE PROTESTANT REVOLUTION

VI. DEATH AND TORTURE FOR CATHOLICS, PROTESTANT DISSIDENTS, AND JEWS

VII. PROTESTANT CENSORSHIP

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[Citations will refer to authors in the Bibliography; any additional information will appear right after the citation]
[P = Protestant scholar / S = secular scholar]

I. PROTESTANT INTOLERANCE: AN INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1. Views of Catholic and Protestant Historians
A. Johann von Dollinger

Historically nothing is more incorrect than the assertion that the Reformation was a movement in favour of intellectual freedom. The exact contary is the truth. For themselves, it is true, Lutherans and Calvinists claimed liberty of conscience . . . but to grant it to others never occurred to them so long as they were the stronger side. The complete extirpation of the Catholic Church, and in fact of everything that stood in their way, was regarded by the reformers as something entirely natural.(Grisar, VI, 268-269; Dollinger: Kirche und Kirchen, 1861, 68)

B. Preserved Smith (S)

If any one still harbors the traditional prejudice that the early Protestants were more liberal, he must be undeceived. Save for a few splendid sayings of Luther, confined to the early years when he was powerless, there is hardly anything to be found among the leading reformers in favor of freedom of conscience. As soon as they had the power to persecute they did.(Smith, 177)

C. Hartmann Grisar

At Zurich, Zwingli's State-Church grew up much as Luther's did . . . Oecolampadius at Basle and Zwingli's successor, Bullinger, were strong compulsionists. Calvin's name is even more closely bound up with the idea of religious absolutism, while the task of handing down to posterity his harsh doctrine of religious compulsion was undertaken by Beza in his notorious work, On the Duty of Civil Magistrates to Punish Heretics. The annals of the Established Church of England were likewise at the outset written in blood.(Grisar, VI, 278)

D. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (P)

The Reformers themselves . . . e.g., Luther, Beza, and especially Calvin, were as intolerant to dissentients as the Roman Catholic Church.(Cross, 1383)

2. The Double Standard of Protestant "Inquisition Polemics" (John Stoddard)

Religious persecution usually continues till one of two causes rises to repress it. One is the sceptical notion that all religions are equally good or equally worthless; the other is an enlightened spirit of tolerance, exercised towards all varieties of sincere opinion . . . inspired by the conviction that it is useless to endeavor to compel belief in any form of religion whatsoever. Unhappily this enlightened, tolerant spirit is of slow growth, and never has been conspicuous in history, but if it be asserted that very few Catholics in the past have been inspired by it, the same thing can be said of

Bolt from Heaven: Hours aftert BXVI announced his resignation

Photo Source: Mirror.co

Pope Benedict XVI Resignation: World Religious and Political Leaders React

Sources: Telegraph.co; BBC News

Pope Benedict XVI (Photo Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

Georg Ratzinger, Pope’s older brother::

His age is weighing on him.

Chancellor Angela Merkel:

If the Pope himself has now, after thorough consideration, come to the conclusion that he no longer has sufficient strength to exercise his office, that earns my very highest respect. He is and remains one of the most significant religious thinkers of our time.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor:

Who'd want to be Pope? It's not an easy task and it demands a great sacrifice. There's always been a bit of him that wanted to lead a quiet life of study and contemplation.

David Cameron:

He has worked tirelessly to strengthen Britain's relations with the Holy See and his visit to Britain in 2010 is remembered with great affection. Pope Benedict's message on that visit of working for the common good spoke to our whole country.

The Archbishop of Canterbury:

He has laid before us something of the meaning of the Petrine ministry of building up the people of God to full maturity. In his teaching and writing he has brought a remarkable theological mind to bear on the issues of the day.

Silvio Berlusconi:

I have admiration for this greatly responsible gesture, that demonstrates a noble and high purpose and regards the government of the Universal Church. Benedict XVI had said that if a Pope found that he was no longer adequate spiritually, intellectually and physically, he should have the right and the duty to resign. The Pope, who no longer feels capable physically, has resigned to ensure that the Church has a strong and sound government.

President Barack Obama:

The Church plays a critical role in the United States and the world, and I wish the best to those who will soon gather to choose His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's successor. I have appreciated our work together over these last four years.

"On behalf of Americans everywhere, Michelle and I wish to extend our appreciation and prayers to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

"Michelle and I warmly remember our meeting with the Holy Father in 2009, and I have appreciated our work together over these last four years.

"The Church plays a critical role in the United States and the world, and I wish the best to those who will soon gather to choose His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's successor."

Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan:

Popes come and Popes go. It doesn't mean when a Pope comes the Church completely changes. It isn't like a politician who wins an election and begins to implement manifestos. It is a different ball game all together, and I hope people out there realise that.

Ed Miliband:

His decision is brave and we know he will not have reached it lightly. The choice of a successor is clearly important for the Church. Our thoughts are with those who must make such a critical decision on behalf of millions around the world.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols:

I am sure that many will recognise it to be a decision of great courage and characteristic clarity of mind and action. I salute his courage and his decision

Britain's Chief rabbi, Lord Sacks:

I saw him to be a man of gentleness, of quiet and of calm, a deeply thoughtful and compassionate individual who carried with him an aura of grace and wisdom. I wish him good health, blessings and best wishes for the future.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny

It reflects his profound sense of duty to the Church, and also his deep appreciation of the unique pressures of spiritual leadership in the modern world.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York:

He unified Catholics and reached out to schismatic groups in hopes of drawing them back to the Church. More unites us than divides us, he said by word and deed. That message is for eternity.

President François Hollande:

I have no particular comment on this decision, which is eminently respectable and which will lead to a new Pope being chosen. The French Republic salutes the Pope who took this decision.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard:

On his election, Joseph Ratzinger said he wished to be 'a simple humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord' and in his resignation that humility has been amply demonstrated.

The Archbishop of York:

The Christian world will miss a great theologian with great spiritual depth. He was unafraid to proclaim the Gospel and challenge a culture that is so self-referential, managing to lift our eyes to God's glory.

Philippines presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda

"Pope Benedict's decision, historic as it is, is in keeping with humility and pastoral approach he has placed at the core of his service as Pope.

"May he find respite from his physical challenges, and peace and contentment in the seclusion of retirement."

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols

"Pope Benedict's announcement today has shocked and surprised everyone.

"Yet, on reflection, I am sure that many will recognise it to be a decision of great courage and characteristic clarity of mind and action.

"I salute his courage and his decision."

Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan (President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

"The Holy Father brought the tender heart of a pastor, the incisive mind of a scholar and the confidence of a soul united with His God in all he did.

"His resignation is but another sign of his great care for the Church. We are sad that he will be resigning but grateful for his eight years of selfless leadership as successor of St Peter."

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana (being named as a possible successor)

"People are free to speculate and people are free to make their own judgements, and I suppose if it comes to looking for leadership then I think the thing we should be doing is rather pray to God, the leader and owner of this Church, to give a leader who is fit to lead this group at this point in time and in history. So for me I think this is time for a lot more prayer than speculation."

Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien

"Like many people throughout the world, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign.

"I know that his decision will have been considered most carefully and that it has come after much prayer and reflection."

Archbishop of Pretoria William Slattery (Spokesman of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference)

"This decision evokes in us a certain amount of sadness, but we accept that this decision, not taken lightly, is best for both Pope Benedict and the Church.

"We wish to express our deep admiration for both his ministry and for his courage in facing the limitations of his age.

"We wish to assure Pope Benedict of our prayers and will commit our prayers for the Church as we discern the will of the Holy Spirit for the continuity of leadership of the Church."

Austin Ivereigh from Catholic Voices media organisation

"He's set a precedent by what he's done today. I think it'll be very hard for future Popes ever to say, as John Paul II did: "I must remain until the very end."

"I think he's seen that modern medicine enables long papacies and I think he thinks it's in the interests of the Church that a Pope should not serve, should not be in office, when he is very frail. I think in itself that's quite a remarkable thing."

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

"It was with a heavy heart but complete understanding that we learned this morning of Pope Benedict's declaration of his decision to lay down the burden of ministry as Bishop of Rome, an office which he has held with great dignity, insight and courage.

"In his visit to the UK, Pope Benedict showed us all something of what the vocation of the See of Rome can mean in practice - a witness to the universal scope of the gospel and a messenger of hope at a time when Christian faith is being called into question.

Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger's spokesman

"I think he deserves a lot of credit for advancing inter-religious links the world over between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

"During his period there were the best relations ever between the Church and the chief rabbinate and we hope that this trend will continue."

Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Dimitriy Sizonenko

"There are no grounds to expect that there will be any drastic changes in the Vatican's policies.

"In its relations with Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church has always ensured continuity between popes."

Minister-President of Bavaria Horst Seehofer

"With his charisma and his tireless work for the good of the Church, the Pope from Bavaria has inspired people all over the world."

Christine Boutin of France's Christian Democratic Party

"This is shocking, very shocking, unheard of for the Catholics and certainly for the entire world."

Ezio Mauro, editor-in-chief of Italian newspaper La Repubblica

"It is unprecedented in the modern era for a Pope to resign because of physical frailty, and for a new Pope to be chosen and take office while his predecessor remains alive."

Pope's Unprecidented Resignationa Shocked a 2,000 year old Church

Pope Benedict XVI in the consistory at the Vatican (Source: Reuters)

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church including his closest advisers on Monday when he announced he would stand down in the first papal abdication in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to run the Church through a period of major crisis.

Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution but the decision could lead to one of the most uncertain and unstable periods in centuries for a Church besieged by scandal and defections.

Several popes in the past, including Benedict's predecessor John Paul, refrained from stepping down even when severely ill, precisely because of the confusion and division that could be caused by having an "ex-pope" and a reigning pope living at the same time.

BREAKING NEWS: Pope Benedict XVI to Resign on Feb. 28

VATICAN CITY, Rome News.va - Pope Benedict XVI on Monday said he plans on resigning the papal office on February 28th. Below please find his announcement.

Full text of Pope's declaration

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

What’s so great about the Catholic religion?

Photo Source: Times of Israel

Q: What’s so great about the Catholic religion?

Source: Douglawrence Wordpress

A: The Catholic Church is the only church that was ever personally founded by Jesus Christ … while he still walked the earth. (Jesus is God, incarnate.)

The Catholic Church has Jesus Christ as its eternal head, and the Holy Spirit as its perpetual guide and advocate.

The only church that was ever authentically established and empowered in this way … the Catholic Church remains the living eye-witness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the world today, just as it has been since the very beginning.

Despite the internal and external human corruption with which the Catholic Church has always contended, the truth of the church’s essential doctrines, dogmas, liturgies and devotions has miraculously, never been compromised.

The church remains the only infallible guide to a proper moral existence, although few within the church have actually managed to live up to that ideal. Those who are known to have have successfully done so are called “Saints”.

In addition to being The Universal Christian Church on Earth … the Catholic Church is also a sovereign nation-state, known as the Vatican. The Vatican constitutes the world’s oldest, continuously operating government (of any kind).

The Pope is the chief pastor and the leader of the Church, on earth. The holy office of the papacy was also established personally by Jesus Christ. St. Peter was the first pope … the “Rock” on which Jesus Christ would build his church. And lest anyone doubt this is indeed the case … the bones of St. Peter rest today, in an ancient cemetery, almost directly beneath the main altar of St. Peter’s basilica, in the Vatican. See also the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, verses 18 &19.

Endowed with the “Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” … and the virtually unrestricted power of “Binding and Loosing” … on earth and in heaven … the Pope wields truly awesome power and authority.

After the fall of Rome, the Catholic Church took it upon itself to rebuild western civilization in the image of heaven. And in many ways, it succeeded!

The Holy Bible remains a thoroughly Catholic book … preserved, compiled, translated, certified and infallibly endorsed as the totally inerrant, divinely inspired, written Word of God, by the Catholic Church alone … more than a thousand years before any other Christian church even existed.

There are more than 1.1 billion Catholics in the world, today.

Since its original institution in the early first century, the Catholic Church has consistently fulfilled its prophetic mission of saving souls and offering acceptable worship to God … something it never fails to do … every hour of every day … every day of every year … in every nation on earth.

Four “marks” serve to identify the authentic Catholic Church, from age to age:

1) One. The Catholic Church is unique: Jesus Christ founded only one church … the Catholic Church.

2) Holy. The Catholic Church is holy. With Jesus as its founder, the Holy Spirit as its perpetual advocate, and God the Father as its eternal patron, the Catholic Church belongs solely to God. Pure and spotless. Set apart for God’s purposes alone, the church can never be corrupted by sin, or by any other human fault.

3) Apostolic. The Catholic Church is apostolic. The divine power and authority given to the Catholic Church by Jesus Christ is passed down through the generations from the original apostles, to their duly ordained successors, the bishops. And so on.

4) Universal. The word “Catholic” means “universal”. Jesus Christ founded one church to be the universal sacrament of salvation for all.

There’s much, much more … but I think you probably get the idea.