Catholicism in the northernmost part of the country is on the decline, a bishop said today. Bishop Camilo Gregorio of Batanes says the number of Catholics in his jurisdiction has been decreasing due to migration to cities but did not elaborate on the rate of the decline. Batanes province, located between the islands of Luzon and Taiwan, has a population of 15,974, based on the 2009 national census. In the 2004 census, the province had a population of 16,476, with 15,505 baptized Catholics. “People like progress and they are attracted to a different kind of life in the city,” Bishop Gregorio said.