From USA Today:<\/p>\n
Are there really more than 64 million U.S. Roman Catholics?<\/p>\n
That’s what the 2007 Official Catholic Directory, due out this week, will say. But what about the dead, the double-counted and the disgruntled ex-Catholics \u201d\u201d all of whose names may still plump up parish rolls?<\/p>\n
Yes, there are probably “ghosts” in the lists, says demographer Mary Gautier, senior researcher for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, in Washington, D.C. The center analyzes data for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.<\/p>\n
CARA’s analysis counts 64.4 million Catholics in 2006, up from 63.9 million in 2005. (The directory’s overall totals are higher because they include Puerto Rico, Guam and American protectorates.)<\/p>\n
Totals are up, with minor fluctuations \u201d\u201d 1% a year for the past 25 years, Gautier says. “But counting Catholics is more art than science.”<\/p>\n