Christians have left Lebanon in massive numbers, says Jesuit, contradicting Vatican statistics
September 18, 2009
A Jesuit based in Beirut has told Vatican Radio that one third of the nation’s Christian population has emigrated since the 1975-76 civil war. Father Samir Khalil, SJ, said that Christians used to make up 50% of the nation’s population but now make up only 34%. His analysis conflicts with official Vatican statistics, which state that 48% of the nation’s 3.8 million residents are Catholic. Standard secular reference books place the percentage of Christians-- Catholic, Orthodox, Assyrian, and Protestant-- at 39%.
Father Khalil added that the number of Iraqi Christians has declined from 1 million prior to the US invasion to 300,000 today.
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