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."
Ditto. Over and out.
Ain't it cool?
LOL. I think what we have here is a swing and a miss.
That's awesome.
>They do have a problem with egalitarianism though, woman ministers being one example.,
Evangelical churches do not have women pastors.They are peculiar the liberal mainline churches.
Throw in the normal slack morals of the Protestant Churches and the sin that they excuse and encourage, ...
Like homosexuality and pedophilia ?
LOL. I like that. And it's about time!
Check out EWTN. There may indeed be many priests who have strayed from what the Church teaches and lead their flocks astray, but here, if you dare, you will find many who are fully in line. Fr. Andrew Apostoli. Fr. Benedict Groeschel. Fr. Levis. Fr. John Corapi. Fr. Mitch Pacwa. Fr. Frank Pavone. Just to name a few.
Are you kidding? IF that were so, then only men masquerading as priests would be molesters. What about other clergy, and don't pretend for a second there aren't molestors among other Christian denominations, including the recent case in the south. Sadly, it's true. What about Scout leaders and teachers and youth leaders and coaches and school janitors and bus drivers and day care workers who molest? Many of these are married men. And women. The BTK suspect is married with 2 children. John Wayne Gacy was a clown for childrens parties, not married, but not a priest either. Pretending that priests are molesters because they are 'forced' to be celibate is not only hugely inaccurate, but ignores a huge portion of the group who molests to the detriment of society, of us all.
Furthermore, because priests have no other human being to answer to for their personal conduct due to celibacy, a stark contrast to having a wife that would monitor them closely.
Wow. Look how well 'monitoring closely' has worked for Hillary. And thousands others. Look how well it's working for married people, with a 50% divorce rate and rampant infidelity. I guess those wives just aren't monitoring them closely enough. Priests have spiritual advisors (to whom they are expected to be honest) and superiors. There is accountability.
As states in the Nicene Creed.
Welcome home to the Catholic Church!
**Yes celibacy is the root of the molestation scandal,**
Not true.
Homosexuality is at the root of the molestation scandal. It happens in all kinds of churches, schools, etc.
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Thanks, I think the story here isn't some cold war of religion but simply the good news that the Catholics are going to go out themselves and try to welcome new converts.
I agree. Homosexuality is at the root of the scandal. And it's a relatively new phenomenon in the Church's history, at least to that degree and length of time. It's beginnings can be traced to the Post Vat II (misinterpreted) era where old pre-testing of priest candidates was dropped, and other standards were lowered as well. Prayer, vespers, vows - many became optional and many quickly opted out. And it's not limited to the church and priests, as horrendous as that is that it occurs there at all. But some like to pretend that it is a 'priest' issue, which ignores the larger issue of molesters in all parts of society. Priests, who shouldn't be in that category at all, comprise a relatively small percentage of the total number of molesters.
???"Scat"????
Way to evangelize, there, Brother.
A quick, by no means complete, summary of the Holy Rosary.
Start by making the sign of the Cross:
Then recite the Creed, where we express as a Church what we believe about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Then say 1 "Our Father", 3 "Hail Mary's" for the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity; and then 1 "Glory Be":
The Our Father,Luke 11:2-4, the only prayer actually given to us by Jesus.
OUR FATHER, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
HAIL MARY, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
The first part of the Hail Mary is from Luke 1:41-45. We honor Mary as St. Elizabeth did when she recognized that she was chosen to be the mother of the Savior.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.
The second part of the Hail Marys is from John 19:25-27. Here, just as Jesus instructed St. John to take Mary as his mother and gave His mother to us all, we gather as they did that day and pray for all sinners and pray for those who are at the hour of death as Jesus was that day.
GLORY BE to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
We give glory to God and thank him for His Son and his gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Rosary is divided into four parts, each having five mysteries. While meditating on the Mysteries, recite: 1 "Our Father" 10 "Hail Mary's" and 1 "Glory Be" for each Mystery. All together this makes up one decade.
We meditate on the mysteries of Jesus life.
Catholics honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus and us all. We follow her humility and faith as the first Christian, the first to recognize Jesus' special ministry. As in the Wedding at Cana, John 2:1-10, when Mary told the servants, "Do as He tells you", we, too, do as she asks, which is what HE asks, and follow Jesus' teachings. Mary points us always to Jesus.
I am a religious ed teacher for 2nd graders. Our focus is 'Jesus, my friend'. We learn about Jesus life and teachings. We learn He is our Savior and our friend, that He wants us to love Him and keep Him in our hearts. There is no confusion. We honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus, the first Christian, the first to recognize His ministry, the mother and teacher in His early life. She leads us to him. He gave her to us. When we pray the Hail Mary, we acknowledge how Jesus, both God and man, came to us through a fellow human. A human who is a fine example to us humans on how to follow Jesus, with prayer and humility.
That only indirectly points to Jesus, there is no reference to anything like the rosary in the New Testament, it was invented later...
Bishop Sheen described the Holy Rosary as a chain, a lifeline to always draw us back to Jesus should we stray. St. Dominic brought us the rosary, based in scripture, to help us meditate on the life of Jesus and grasp in yet another way aspects of His life and sacrifice and miracles and teachings.
THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation 2. The Visitation 3. The Nativity 4. The Presentation 5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garden 2. The Scourging at the Pillar 3. The Crowning with Thorns 4. The Carrying of the Cross 5. The Crucifixion
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection 2. The Ascension 3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit 4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Baptism in the Jordan 2. The Wedding at Cana 3. Proclamation of the Kingdom 4. The Transfiguration 5. Institution of the Eucharist
This Catholic can tell you that the Holy Rosary has drawn me more closely to Jesus than I could have imagined when I first started praying it regularly long ago, and helped sustain me in difficult times.
......and the ignorant will praise the appointment.
What a sorry state of affairs we have today. God forgive us.
A lie told often enough becomes truth. -- Nikolai Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
""If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."" -- Joseph Goebbels
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Thank you for a wonderful post. I hope it helps to explain Catholicism to some on this thread. It appears to me that there is much confusion regarding the beliefs of our Church.
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