Moral defamation against a billion-plus people. You usually manifest a more exacting judgment and a greater regard for truth that that, metmom.
Not so.
First off, there's no way to verify that number as I am sure that once one is a baptized Catholic, they count you in that figure whether you like it or not, even when you have left the church, which people are doing in droves.
Then you have to consider that the vast number of professing Catholics are liberal, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, democrat voting Catholics in good standing.
Then there's the sordid history of your church. There's this.
St. Peter Damian's Book of Gomorrah: Homosexual Situation Graver than Damian's Time
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/929551/posts
Then there's this list of bad popes, which don't even agree for the top 10.
Top 10 Most Wicked Popes
http://listverse.com/2007/08/17/top-10-most-wicked-popes/
1. Liberius, reigned 352-66 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
2. Honorius I, reigned 625-638 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
3. Stephen VI, reigned 896-89 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
4. John XII, reigned 955-964 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
5. Benedict IX, reigned 1032-1048 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
6. Boniface VIII, reigned 1294-1303 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
7. Urban VI, reigned 1378-1389 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
8. Alexander VI, reigned 1492-1503 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
9. Leo X, reigned 1513-1521 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
10. Clement VII, reigned 1523-1524 [Catholic Encyclopaedia]
Top 10 Worst Popes in History
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-worst-popes-in-history.php
1. Pope Alexander VI (1431 1503)
2. Pope John XII (c. 937 964)
3. Pope Benedict IX (c. 1012 1065/85)
4. Pope Sergius III (? 911)
5. Pope Stephen VI (? 897)
6. Pope Julius III (1487 1555)
7. Pope Urban II (ca. 1035 1099)
8. Pope Clement VI (1291 1352)
9. Pope Leo X (1475 1521)
10. Pope Boniface VIII (c. 1235 1303)
There's the Inquisition besmirching Catholic history.
There's this....
YOUR pope kissing the koran. Fits right in with YOUR Catechism of the Catholic church.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM
841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."330
And last but not least, this current crisis.
I can count on one hand LITERALLY, the number of conservative Catholics I have met in my entire life.
You are going to have an awfully hard time convincing anyone of the moral integrity of that alleged 1 billion plus Catholics.
Likely less than half the number Rome claims.
As examples...
Italy...
is a "Roman Catholic country", but only 1/3 go to church. They are frequently baptized and married in churches, but never go.Belgium ...Population 59,000,000 * 1/3 = Actual practicing Romans 19,000,000
Over 75% of Belgians are Roman Catholic. However, as elsewhere in Northwest Europe, secularisation has hit hard in Belgium; Sunday church attendance has dropped well below 10% as per latest research such as from the "Centrum voor politicologie" of the Catholic University Leuven. Although sources are quoting different figures between 4 and 9%, a church attendance of 6% in 2009 seems to be the most likely figure. (Wiki collected)11,000,000 population * .75 = 8,000,000 likely counted by Rome.
6% of Catholics go to a church service in a year, according to the quote above (Wiki).
This means 495,000 are practicing catholics.
That is just two countries.
The numbers are inflated and bandied about as puffery.
The number of practicing catholics is likely somewhere between 500 million and 750 million... and that is a generous number.
Well....what has Roman Catholicism done to stop this??
Nothing.
They've moved priests around...which incidentally would be a violation of some of the earliest "traditons" Rome claims to hold to so dearly.
They've denied it. They've tried to downplay it.
We even see some Roman Catholics on these threads who've tried to minimize this sin!
However, I will commend you in that you've at least written to your leadership on this issue.