Announced via the Associated Press today was a statement by Monsignor Vittorio Formenti from the Vatican. “For the first time in history,” Monsignor Formenti begins, “we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us”. Monsignor Formenti is talking about the global religion percentages. Catholicism has been the front-runner in religious denominations for years. Its current percentage, 17.4 % (approximately) has been surpassed by the new global percentage of Muslims. Even though the entire population of all Christian denominations still surpasses Muslims. According to Monsignor Formenti, the reason for this increase in the Muslim population is because “Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer.”

Hearing this from a Monsignor makes me laugh. For years, Catholics were known as the prolific reproducers and I think they are just trying to push this label onto another religion. What the Monsignor seems to be ignoring is the fact that Islam has a very high conversion rate both oversees and abroad. Many have attributed this increase in conversion to the curiosity 9/11 brought to Islam. Whatever the case, I believe the Monsignor should do a tad more research before making an announcement such as this. It is inevitable that his words will be applied to many that follow his religion all because he spoke too quickly and judged another. Remember Monsignor, “I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world” (John 12:47).