Posted on 06/01/2005 6:29:39 AM PDT by murphE
Editor's Note: Statements by Pope Benedict XVI and the appointment of San Francisco Archbishop William Levada signal a Holy See ready to counteract the expansion of evangelical groups worldwide.
SAN FRANCISCO--On the day before the conclave to choose a new pope began, future pontiff Joseph Ratzinger led a liturgy that reassured the church's believers that the Holy See was not giving up on them and was prepared to fight for the salvation of their souls. He surely meant to allude to the fight against moral relativism, but he also had his sights set on evangelicalism.
Indeed, during the first mass held by Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, he strongly implied that the Catholic church is the rightful House of Christ, and said that his first commitment was toward "the full and visible unity of Christ's followers."
Today, to regain ground in the first world and continue to expand in the Third World, the Roman Catholic Church, more than fighting secularism, must counteract the expansion of evangelical groups. It is a silent clash that could be compared to the protracted, mostly slow-burning feud between capitalism and communism during the Cold War.
According to some researchers, evangelical Christianity is expanding three times faster than the world population and is the only existing religious group showing a significant growth through conversion. By contrast, the Roman Catholic Church is expanding at a slower pace than the population, which will mean an overall decrease in the number of Catholics worldwide.
In addition, the dissolution of the Berlin Wall not only reinvigorated the Orthodox church, but also saw huge numbers of believers from the former Socialist bloc -- where the church had been persecuted -- move into evangelical groups.
There are currently more evangelicals in Asia than in North America. Singapore's churches are among the most active in the world, sending one missionary abroad per every 1,000 members. Seven of the world's 10 largest evangelical churches can be found in Seoul alone, a city in which 110 years ago there was none.
In Latin America, a mostly Catholic region for the past 500 years, the number of evangelicals has grown from under 250,000 in 1900 to over 60 million in 2000. Critics of the Vatican say the vacuum left by Pope John Paul II's disavowal of the "basic Christian communities" movement has been filled by the evangelicals.
In 1960, the number of evangelicals living in the developing countries were one-half of those in the West; in the year 2000 they were four times more and in 2010 they will be seven times as numerous.
In America, where even Protestant groups have lost 5.4 million members over the last decade, evangelicals have enjoyed a growth rate of 40 percent. They have become the largest religious force in the United States, with 26 percent of all believers -- and they wield undeniable political clout.
"The current pope is a renovator. But there cannot be renovation without tradition," says Father Joseph Fazio, founder of St. Ignatius Press and Chancellor of Ave Maria University in Florida. "I don't have any doubt that he'll realize the full spirit of Vatican II, of unifying all of Christ's believers under the benevolent care of the Holy See.
"He has already laid the doctrinal ground for the renaissance of the church -- he did it when he was at the helm of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Under Benedict XVI the world will know that the Roman Catholic Church has Christ's message at its core and follows his teachings closely," adds Fr. Fazio.
The battle for the soul of believers in developed countries, particularly the United States, is also critical -- most of the funds used by alternative evangelical churches to send missionaries and proselytize in the poorer countries come from there.
The appointment of San Francisco Archbishop William Levada to the previous position held by Pope Benedict XVI himself can be better appreciated in this light.
Levada's appointment sends the message that the church entrusts its doctrines to a prelate who had led a diocese in America's most secular humanist and morally relativistic city. Levada has dealt firsthand with the legacies of free love, feminism, the gay movement and the evangelical juggernaut.
"Benedict XVI has chosen Levada specifically because he knows how to face these challenges," says Father Labib Kobti, pastor at St. Thomas More in San Francisco and U.S. Representative for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
"When Levada expressed his surprise at his appointment, the Pope responded that he was in fact the right man for the task because he came from a world where evangelical groups were a challenge, where the message of Christ was being distorted, and that he had provided a compassionate but firm rebuttal to the many assaults that the church of San Francisco had faced during his years as head of the diocese."
Under Levada's almost decade-long tenure, San Francisco's Catholic church regained a religious presence that had been faltered under the more politically adaptable administration of Archbishop John Quinn.
Father Kobti, however, dismisses suggestions that the Vatican is more than alarmed at the growing influence of evangelicalism. "In the past the church has been given for dead more than once," he says. "Take for example the rise of the Baptists and of the Lutherans."
And lots of Protestant and evangelical votes as well.
But you're just interested in attacking Catholicism to feed your hate.
I didn't know that, but it explains quite a lot. Thanks.
God is right. We believe that our understanding of his revelation to us is right, but we do not put ourselves in His place of being infallible or divine. If we are shown evidence that our understanding on an issue is wrong, it is our duty to accept what is right. This is what the Jews of Jesus' day refused to do. He contradicted EVERYTHING they had been taught about God all of their lives. Most refused to accept that their traditional beliefs about God were wrong.
I hope you don't recognize any books by St. Paul. If you do, better get rid of them soon.
So you currently have some opinions about what may or may not be God's truth. Well, from my perspective, I guess that's good, because I believe y'all are wrong about some things, and I'm glad you're open to changing your minds, but I have to say most evengelicals I know and know of are convinced that their interpretation is right and refuse to even consider other options. As for Catholics, we believe the Truth is the Truth, we got the Holy Spirit, Bible, the Church and tradition, and we're rock solid on what we believe.
Right?!?!
Find me two Bishops or Priests that can agree on what Catholicism believes. I could find you 1000 posts of staunch Catholics here on FR denying that what some Pope, Cardinal, Bishop or Priest is teaching is really Catholic teaching.
Sure, there is a "single" version of the Truth of Catholicism. It's just that EVERY single Catholic (including the Pope) has his own version of what it is.....
How about taking a class in logic and amending your statement? Religions that teach things contradictory to each other cannot be both correct. It's against logic and Christ.
Thanks for that clarification.
Admittedly, changing one's beliefs based of what one reads in Bible is much more difficult than reinforcing one's beliefs.....
That's a good one. The Rosary is important and always points us to Jesus. I find it of immense value and it certainly has redirected my focus to Jesus on more than one occasion.
Excellent! I'm saving this one!
Now, now, stop it with all that common sense stuff.
Wasn't always the case...
"Crucifixion was "good enough" for Jesus, I think not. Christ was innocent, and was killed unjustly."
You proved my point, Jesus was innocent and the tried and convicted are guilty...the Bible in many places calls for them to be put to death .
"Scum? people are scum? " what else are John Wayne Gacyee and Jeffrey Dahamer, or the two snipers who terroirsed Washing DC by taking random fatal shots from the trunk of a car.. or ted bundy, the BKT, the Green River,,, etc etc arent scum, then what the hell are they ??? Childs of God?
The rosary is mostly Hail Mary's. That only indirectly points to Jesus, there is no reference to anything like the rosary in the New Testament, it was invented later...
The rosary is mostly Hail Mary's. That only indirectly points to Jesus, there is no reference to anything like the rosary in the New Testament, it was invented later...
Roman Catholicism has one great twofold selling point. Ritual and gaudy pomp and circumstance. If they would add Truth and Bible teaching they could grow just like the evangelicals. Some decent hymms would help too. Only Jews rival RCs in the absolute destitution of their group singing.
Right now they are failing miserably with their 1000 year outdated (and made up out of whole cloth) methods . They should try what Peter and Paul did. It works.
And how many Catholics adhere to the ban on the birth control pill and condoms which is a Catholic doctrine? Only non-married clergy could come up with such a nonsensical doctrine, if they were married and had 8-10 kids running around such foolishness would not be part of the rules...LOL
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