The Catholic Church in South Korea had 5.813 million worshippers accounting for 11% of the country’s population as of Dec. 31, 2017, up 1.3% from one year earlier, according to newly released statistics. But the figures released on April 13 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) also represent the slowest rate of growth in the last decade, leaving church authorities concerned about a continued wind-down. Last year, a total of 96,794 young Catholics were baptized in the country but this also represents a slowdown as the figure dropped 12.9% from 2016.