More People Look To Mecca Than The Vatican

by Nicole

According to new statistics released by The Vatican, there are now more Muslims in the world than Catholics. "For the first time in history we are no longer at the top: the Muslims have overtaken us," said Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the figures for the church's 2008 yearbook.

The Vatican estimates there are around 1.13 billion Catholics worldwide, while United Nations figures put the number of Muslims at around 1.3 billion. However if all denominations of Christianity are clumped together, Jesus still tops the charts, with an estimated 2.1 billion followers in total.

Formenti noted that while the number of Catholics in proportion to the world's population remains stable, Islam's popularity was increasing due to higher birth rates. In an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Formenti said, "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."

Despite The Vatican's no waste policy when it comes to sperm, it seems that Catholics have some serious shagging to do if they're to regain the top spot. Certainly it seems Gabriel Archangel, the patron Saint of Conception, needs to pull more weight. In light of his obvious slacking on the job, perhaps The Vatican might think about relaxing its attitude to IVF?

| 03/31/08 | Religion