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Like just about every other Western Christian body, as well as the United States, the SBC is left to squabble over shrinking slices of a dwindling pie.The New York Times put out a lengthy preview of the Southern Baptist Convention’s top controversies heading into their annual meeting this week in Nashville, Tenn. Members of the nation’s largest evangelical denomination are weighing the future of their religious body amid numerous theological controversies.The way the SBC goes will significantly influence Christianity in the United States, which has since the nation’s inception been Protestant-dominated. As the Times notes, “About a third of the...

Signed by Pope Francis June 29, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the instruction promotes greater cooperation among different parish communities, emphasizing the need for the parish to be inclusive, evangelizing, and attentive to the poor. The Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy published instructions Monday on reforming parishes and restructuring dioceses to better serve their “singular mission of evangelization.” The 24-page document is called “The pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church” and seeks to “foster a greater co-responsibility and collaboration among all the baptised,” according to Mgr. Andrea Ripa, the...

A California bishop challenged Catholics online to “cut it out” and better represent their Christian faith through their social media engagement. On Tuesday, Bishop Robert Barron, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, issued a “pastoral cry of the heart” to encourage Catholics to stop tearing each other apart online and instead provide well structured and charitable arguments. “I understand that people are passionate, especially about religious matters, but when it comes to this commentary we always must keep truth and love in the forefront,” he said. Speaking of social media, Bishop Barron said that “I must admit the vitriol, negativity,...

Posts Posted on May 20, 2020 On the Role of Curiosity in Evangelization In yesterday’s post we discussed how the word curiosity can have a good and a bad meaning. In that post we focused on sinful curiosity after distinguishing from good and helpful forms of it.In today’s post we look at a more positive and intriguing understanding of curiosity and apply it to evangelization.In the world of evangelization, the concept of curiosity is almost never discussed. If anything, evangelizers are encouraged to quickly satisfy any curiosity by supplying all sorts of answers to questions that arise about the...

Pope Francis’ version of evangelization without ‘convictions’ makes no sense November 25, 2019 (The Catholic Thing) — "In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15) This clearly means that one way in which we honor Christ as Lord is by persuasively defending the truth of the faith, by giving reasons supporting faith's rationality and truthfulness. This defense is crucial because the response to the Gospel should...

Posted on September 2, 2019September 3, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Being More Faithfully Catholic Is the Only Valid Response to Shrinking Numbers Numerous surveys have documented the steady decline of religious belief in the U.S. and the rest of the Western world. The category of people known as “nones” consists of atheists, agnostics, and those who state that they are not affiliated with any particular religious denomination. There is little that unites them other than this lack of belief. In trying to bring others to the Catholic faith, we are not facing people with a single mindset but...

Posted on July 6, 2019July 6, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Practical Principles for Proclaiming the Kingdom In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus gives a number of practical principles for those who would proclaim the Kingdom. Let’s look at each of them in turn.I. Serious – The text says, At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for...

Paradoxes of Evangelization Msgr. Charles Pope • September 6, 2018 • There are certain paradoxes and mysteries that underlie the growth of the Kingdom. While we should strive to implement “best practices” (e.g., good liturgy, dynamic preaching, Eucharistic adoration, a welcoming parish atmosphere), even when many of these things are in place, growth may still not occur; in fact, sometimes number may decline. Conversely, in some parishes where the liturgy is perfunctory, preaching is weak, and devotions are hurried, there may be significant growth. I know parishes that should be growing but are not; I also know ones that...

Five Fundamental Freedoms for the Christian Evangelizer Msgr. Charles Pope • July 14, 2018 • One of the biggest reasons why most Christians have difficulty evangelizing effectively is that most lack the requisite freedom and simplicity of life to carry forth the task consistently and coherently. In Sunday’s Gospel, the Lord offers some counsel on what is required for effective evangelization.As we read a Gospel like this, it is tempting to think that it speaks only of specialists such as missionaries, religious, priests, or deacons, but doing so ignores the fact that everyone is called to evangelize: clergy to...

That at Least Peter’s Shadow Might Fall on Them: A Challenge to the Church in the Acts of the Apostles Msgr. Charles Pope • May 16, 2018 • Peter Healing the Sick with his Shadow, Masaccio (1426-27)As this Easter Season is nearing a close, we do well to ponder the picture of the early Church described in the Acts of the Apostles. The kind of persecution and suffering they endured in those days should serve to remind us of the sacrifices we are often unwilling to make.Yet these early descriptions are also an affirmation of what we in effect...

Strategies for Returning to the ChurchJames Day Our world is a fallen world. The effects of sin seem to be suffocating us. The diabolical is running rampant, unleashed, playing with immortal souls as if puppets on a string. Pride continues to dominate; repentance for anything is deemed archaic, of little use to today’s enlightened thinking.Certainly this is not the positive language one wants to hear at the outset of a new year, when expectations and resolutions are running high. But all is not really so dire: the diabolical and pervasive sin has not crushed the divine light. “My Immaculate Heart...

During the press conference on the airplane returning from Bangladesh on December 2, the French journalist Etienne Loraillère posed this question to Bergoglio:“Which is your priority: to evangelize or to dialogue for peace?”The response of Bergoglio – after a series of incredible absurd statements – ended with these unheard of terms: “And your question: what is the priority, peace or conversion? But when you live with testimony and respect, you make peace. Peace starts to break down in this field when proselytism begins, and there are so many ways of proselytism, but this is not evangelical.” In practice, Bergoglio is...

On Saturday, Francis made the return flight from Bangladesh to Rome, and as is his custom, he answered questions from a number of journalists while en route. As Bergoglian in-flight press conferences go, this one isn’t especially noteworthy overall, but it does contain at least one exchange that merits our attention.A reporter named Etienne from France, asked:What is the priority: to evangelize or to dialogue for peace? Because to evangelize means to arouse conversions, that provokes tensions and at times conflicts among believers. So, what is your priority: to evangelize or to dialogue?Here we have the quintessential pitch tossed directly over...

Training for Testimony is Missing in Many Parishes Msgr. Charles Pope • August 2, 2017 • 2 Comments credit – Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic StandardCatholicism has glorious liturgical and intellectual traditions, but because we have not excelled in training Catholics to give joyful witness to wonder of the Lord and our faith, they are among the best kept secrets around.In certain denominations, giving witness is a major focus, and congregants are well-trained for it both through personal testimony (witness talks are common in Protestant liturgies) and in their musical tradition. Pastoring in African-American parishes for most of my priesthood has...

Don’t Forget the Old Evangelization Msgr. Charles Pope • July 10, 2017 • The term “New Evangelization” was originally used by Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to refer to the unique situation of the West, wherein we were not preaching the Gospel to a people who had not heard it, but were instead “re-presenting” the Gospel to a culture that had once embraced the Gospel and later rejected it. In essence, the term means “re-evangelization.”In his “Latin Letters,” C.S. Lewis quipped that while the ancient Europe encountered by the Apostles and the early Church was...

The Stages of Evangelization, According to Pope St. Gregory the Great Msgr. Charles Pope • July 4, 2017 • Doubting Thomas, by Duccio di Buoninsegna, SienaIn evangelizing souls (including our own), there are usually stages that precede conversion. In the past I have written on these stages and referred to them as “Mad … Sad … Glad.” 1. Mad – In this stage, one may present as angry, resistant, or averse to the message of the Gospel or to some aspect of the Christian moral vision.2. Sad – In this stage, one comes to realize that worldly notions and...

The Paradoxes of Evangelization: Why Simply Imitating the Worldly Marketing Schemes May Not Be the Answer Msgr. Charles Pope • June 26, 2017 • J.F. Millet, The SowerIn the Church throughout the world today, we are more focused on evangelization — and rightly so. A huge conference is planned next week in Orlando on the topic. Yes, it is “job one,” and Jesus could not have been clearer: Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything...

Napa, Calif., Jun 1, 2017 / 04:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- What’s a good way to reach a lot of young people all at once?Plant yourself at an entrance of a popular music festival with a sign, some free stuff, and a smile.That’s what Catholic priest Fr. David Jenuwine did last weekend, at BottleRock Napa, a three-day music festival with roughly 30,000 in attendance.His sign read simply: Catholic priest. Blessings, Prayers, Confessions, Answers.Fr. Jenuwine, parochial vicar at St. Apollinaris Parish in Napa, California, told CNA that he had been trying to brainstorm creative ways to reach out to young adults...

More Parish Closings Nationwide - What Are We to Learn and Do? Msgr. Charles Pope • May 8, 2017 • It was recently announced that a substantial number of Catholic parishes will be closing in Connecticut. This is just the latest in a national trend that is likely to affect the diocese where you live, especially in the north. I’d like to offer some rather quick thoughts and then ponder what I think is the root cause for our decline. Bishops don’t close parishes, people do. While it may be juridically true that bishops formally certify or give recognition...

Four Qualities of Bold and Believable Witnesses to Jesus Msgr. Charles Pope • April 23, 2017 • It is worthwhile to look back at a text that was read on Saturday (Saturday of the Octave of Easter). It is from Acts and sets forth a picture of courage and holy boldness that is too little evident in many Catholics. Let’s look at the passage and then reflect on four qualities that the Apostles Peter and John manifest.Now when [the Sanhedrin] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And...