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."
"Time to nourish the soul with real meat and real bread. The watery vegetarian broth just isn't enough to power the work needed."
Perhaps the 'menu' needs more of this:
48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
John 6:48-58 KJV
=^D
Such beautifully crafted strawmen! And you destroy them with such graceful aplomb!
2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
There's a couple of other things to keep in mind:
1. The Church recognizes the final decision of imposing the penalty is the responsibility of the civil authority.
2. Urging really, really, really strongly that we don't impose the penalty is not the same thing as saying the penalty is wrong.
haha good point. we all do. as Christians we try not to judge, but that's impossible, even if its only subconsciously. Anyway, I sincererly hope that you dont have a poor opinion of Catholics.
Evangelicals teach doctrine contrary to the Church, both cannot be true. As long as they teach doctrine contrary to the doctrine taught by the authority on earth established by Christ, His Church, they are leading souls astray. Truth and error are not compatible, light and darkness cannot coexist. Therefor I do not believe it charitable to confirm anyone in error either by silence or verbal affirmation.
Real story:
PAcific News plots to drive wedge between Catholic and Protestant elements of "religious right."
You should inform everyone on this thread that this is an extreme left wing news services from the San Francisco/Berkeley orbit. I think this article is explained by that fact. This is a web site for people who think NPR is way too conservative and who think of Christians as, "bad guys."
Make that Father Fessio.
There is ONE interpretation of Scripture, the one intended by the Holy Spirit, and to be considered "noble" by God, you should study the Scriptures yourself under His guidance to find out what His interpretation is.....
Briefly, there are two reasons the account of the Bereans can't be used to support a notion of sola scriptura.
1. The term "scriptures" as used in the verse above clearly doesn't refer to anything but "Old Testament" Scriptures, since the NT hadn't been cannonized yet.
2. Even if we are to accept the notion that the scriptures talked about in Acts 17:11 are NT scriptures, then the sola scriptura adherent is still left with a problem, if they praise the Bereans and chide the Thesselonicans. This is because, if anyone (in Acts 17:1-12) is a true sola scriptura adherent, it's not the Bereans, it's the Thesselonicans, for they reaonsed with Paul for 3 days using the scriptures, but still didn't believe. (Verses 2-4) So clearly, the message in the passage from 1 to 12 is that one must recieve the message of scripture with an open mind, a message delivered by a messenger of Christ, here in this example, Paul. The Thesselonicans did not do this, they only read scripture with Paul, but did not "recieve the word with all readiness of mind". IOW, they relied on Scripture alone, and their own interpretation thereof (the Jewish interpretation), to form an opinion about Paul and his message.
So on abortion, gay marriage, the divinity and humanity of Jesus -- you wouldn't say that your view is right and another is wrong?
There are so many disagreements. Somebody's gotta be right, somebody's gotta be wrong.
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