Just when you thought you may have figured out Catholics in Rome, there are the whole gaggle of non-Roman and un-popely Catholics, such as the Eastern Orthodox Catholics, the Polish, the Lebanese, the Greeks, the Russians, those in the Orient - yada yada. And, then there are the Anglicans, who are Catholic, not protestant (and, of course the Orthodox Anglicans, known as the Anglican-Catholics)*

*Note the Anglicans, though born out of protest-like the Protestants, are not Protestant at all. They are actually Catholics in drag - I mean disguise, (sans the Pope and Rome) thought they still tend to protest against the power of Rome, much like the Protestants.

Pope Leo XIII's in 1896,said the Anglicans weren't at all Catholics, because their succession was invalid (as it was a broken in apostolic succession by the use of the Ordination Rite of King Edward VI, which deleted all reference to the central priestly function and was deliberately designed to contain no indication of the "fullness of the ministry", specific tasks of the Catholic bishop or the "high priesthood", which the Holy See saw as essential. The RC's see that their point of view, based on Late Medieval sacramental theory, is valid for all periods of Catholic church history).

However, the Anglicans, who see themselves inside "as Catholic as the Pope", protested that (among allot of other issues, no such priestly functions or sacramental theology were also evident in the Roman Catholic Papal ordination rites of the 9th and 10th centuries - this would make the Roman Catholic ordinations invalid as well, using the same criteria the RC Pope used against the Anglicans) they are as Catholic as the any other Catholic.


To confuse things, the Anglicans have kinda patched up historic differences with the protesting Protestant German Lutherans (former catholic, Martin Luther), and they now share some facilities and can attend each other's services. Recently, the last Pope tried to move closer with the Anglicans, saying they were maybe Catholic after all the disputes. Now I am not sure where other original Protesting protestants lie, those founded under the French under John Calvin and the Swiss under Ulrich Zwingli.Let's not forget that John Wesley largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, founded the Methodist movement and was an Anglican cleric (aka Catholic) that felt he was helping evolve Anglican Catholicism but was more influential in promoting an evolved Protestantism, especially in the USA.

I could go on and on-but, I am getting tired:)


But, before I leave, I will confuse yo a bit more with some religious statistics by country:World religions