A substantial drop in the number of apostasies and a growth of faithful who return to the Catholic Church: that is the most significant finding of the document “Fundamental data of ecclesial life in German dioceses for 2004”, published on 21 October. 9,004 faithful rejoined the Catholic Church during the year, almost double the figure for 1992. In the same year there were some 101,000 apostasies, 30,000 less than the previous year. The document points to a slight downturn in the numbers of Catholics attending Sunday mass, baptisms and First Communions, as well as a drop in the number of funerals according to the Catholic rite. The figures, however, need to be correlated with the lower birth-rate and declining demographic growth. Another interesting finding is the growth in the number of active laity in pastoral service.
