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Interesting Catholic Statistics
2003 sources say, there are 45,713 priests, 4,719 seminarians, 13,764 deacons, 75,500 religious sisters, and 5,690 religious brothers.
There are 3.3 million students in Catholic schools and colleges, and 82 million patients in Catholic hospitals.

Rome's New Rabbi
Rabbi Riccardo DiSegni was elected the head of Rome’s Jewish community. He and the Pope prayed together for Peace and committed themselves to peacemaking efforts.

Cardinal Lustiger of Paris
Cardinal Lustiger of Paris told a New York audience that Jews and Christians must work together in confronting challenges both Faiths face today, rather than focus on the issues that divide them. Cardinal Lustiger comes from a Jewish ancestry.

Migration
The percentage of Catholics living in the South of U.S.A. more than doubled from 1966 to 2002, from 9% to 20%. The percentage of Jews living in that region rose in that same time period.

Many Jews and Catholics seem to have migrated from the East to the South and West. In 1966, 84% of U.S. Jews lived in the East, but that figure dropped to 50% in 2002.

Unsung Hero and Righteous Gentile
Harry (Hiram) Bingham IV of the U.S. Diplomatic Service was given a posthumous award by the Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Bingham, vice-consul in Marseille, France in 1939 issued 2,500 U.S. visas to Jewish and other refugees, including Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, and Thomas Mann. Bingham did this action despite the annoyance of Marshall Petain in France and President Roosevelt’s policy.

Intolerance in Russia
Hate crimes increased significantly in most Russian regions. In contrast to previous years, anti-Semitism in Russia was more violent, in some cases mimicking the methods used by terrorist organizations.

Because many incidents go unreported because of fear from the Russian authorities, the Jewish organizations are reluctant to publish the real number of hate crimes in Russia.

Conference
A recent poll taken at a Catholic priest’s conference said, the option of a married clergy would completely reorganize the total structure of the Church, bringing about smaller Church communities in place of mega parishes. This would mean the people would be better served.

Holocaust Survivor
Imre Kertesz, a Hungarian Jewish survivor won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He said, “..being a Jew today in Europe, and specifically Hungary does not mean the same thing it did in the 1930’s, but still it is threatening. To be a Jew today means to carry a certain culture and set of values we cannot forget and cannot escape from.” He also said, “I’m the type of Jew who understood his Jewishness only after Auschwitz…who lacks Jewish culture and the Hebrew language. I’m afraid this type may disappear.”

Roman Remembrance
Rome recalled the deportation of over 1,000 Jews to Auschwitz 59 years ago. Only 15 returned. Participants remembering that time, was Chief Rabbi Riccardo DiSegni, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Walter Vertroni, the Mayor of Rome.

Austria's Memorial Service
The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service was again done in the museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The mission of this service program is to ensure that the crimes committed during the Holocaust will be remembered and never happen again.

The Swiss Guard's New Leader
Elmar Theodor Mader, 39, was made commander of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican. New recruits will be encouraged to stay one year beyond their normal two year term. Mader is already planning festivities for 2006, when the Swiss Guard, founded by Pope Julius II, will celebrate their 500th anniversary.