More Catholics

U.S. Roman Catholics now form 24% of the population, compared to 19% a decade ago. According to the Official Catholic Directory for 1961, published last week, baptized Catholics number 42,104,899--13,470,021 more than in 1951.

Although the increase makes Catholicism the fastest-growing religion in the land, with a growth rate of 47% over the decade,* the directory reflects some trends that worry the church. Among them:

P: More and more mixed marriages, reflected by a drop of 511 weddings in the church compared to the year before.

P: A decrease of 14,571 in the number of conversions, to 136,953.

P: A drop of 30,923 infant baptisms, to 1,313,653.

* According to their own estimates, increases for the two most numerous Protestant denominations between the years 1951 and 1959 are: Baptists, from 17,155,905 to 20,879,220, for an increase of 18%; Methodists, from 11,471,057 to 12,358,861, for an increase of 8%. Jews rose from 5,000,000 to 5,500,000--a 10% increase.

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