During my four-month, 32,000-km traverse of the Americas, the Pangea One World Expedition, Vatican’s weakening grip on its American strongholds was clearly visible. In the US, the population of Catholics has come down, since 1960, from 25% to 20%. In 1970, as much as 96% of Mexico’s population was Catholic. That figure is now down to 82%. It is the same story in Central and South America. Vatican’s loss has been the gain of the Protestants, Baptists, some home-grown sects – and even Islam. While driving through Chiapas, Mexico’s restless southern region, my guide, Gomez, said: “Muslims have been trickling into Chiapas in recent years. Many of them are running away from their homeland. Some natives have come under their influence and converted to Islam. That’s because they do not like the attitude of the Catholic Church and are looking for alternatives.”
Leon, in Nicaragua, has 16 Catholic churches. Three of them have closed down. The population of Catholics has come down from over 90% to 65%.
“The Catholic rules were too strict for the modern world. They don’t allow their priests to marry. The media is full of scandalous reports of homosexuality and child sex abuse amongst the Catholic clergy. People view Catholic priests with suspicion that is not groundless. Moreover, Catholic rules do not allow abortion,” said Claudio, a part-time teacher.