U.S. Catholic population dropped in 2005

WASHINGTON — While the number of Roman Catholics worldwide has increased in recent years, the U.S. Catholic population dropped in 2005, according to researchers at Georgetown University in Washington.

The U.S. Catholic population was about 67 million in 2005, a decline of more than 300,000, according to figures released Aug. 11 by The Official Catholic Directory and Georgetown’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

Reported figures from U.S. dioceses and overseas territories show a drop of 800,000 — though that number is skewed by the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ inability to provide data because of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans reported nearly 500,000 members in 2004.