The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published a brief overview of the global numbers March 3.
Vatican statistics show decline in clergy, religious women, worldwide
Number of priests declined for first time in decade, Vatican says
The percentage of Catholics in the world has remained steady, while the number of priests has decreased for the first time in almost a decade, according to Vatican statistics.
Diocesan Planning Council continues to gather input toward 2019 pastoral plan
Continuing toward their goal of unrolling a plan for parishes in the diocese in 2019 to prepare for the expected decline in the number of priests, members of the Diocesan Planning Council held meetings in each of the seven deaneries of the St. Cloud Diocese in November and early December.
DMD workshop seeks input for future of parishes, priests
A series of three meetings for priests across the diocese was held this summer to discuss the future of the 131 parishes within the boundaries of the St. Cloud Diocese. And now the bishop is looking for input from the laity.