NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN CITY (CWNews.com) - The Vatican's Central Statistics Office said this week that it estimates there are now more than 1 billion Catholics in the world.

      The figure is part of the annual report on the Catholic Church and was calculated based on reports from bishops' conferences in most countries, and by estimating the number of the faithful in countries where the Church is suppressed including China and North Korea. Enrico Nenna of the Central Statistics Office said the figure was arrived at by adding nearly 5 million Catholics in China and North Korea to 995.128 million elsewhere in the world in 1996.

      In 1995, the Vatican estimated there were 989 million Catholics worldwide, excluding China and North Korea.