ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 6, 1991                   TAG: 9104060284
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: VATICAN CITY                                LENGTH: Short

CATHOLICS ABANDONING CHURCH, CARDINALS SAY

Hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholics are abandoning their church for sects or non-Catholic churches, with more than 150 people a day making the switch in the United States alone, cardinals reported Friday.

The church leaders spoke at a special meeting of cardinals from around the world called by Pope John Paul II to discuss the rise of sects or evangelical groups.

In the United States, 60,000 Hispanic Catholics a year have been leaving their church for evangelical Protestant groups, sects or other groups, Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo of Nicaragua said.

- Associated Press 


 by CNB