Slowing down of defections in the Latin American Church

BillyT92679 · #1 Apr 22, '05, 10:37 am

Hi All.
I for one see a major concern for the Church in Latin America. Millions of people have left Catholicism for Pentecostal and other Evangelical Protestant Churches. What actions would you like to see the Holy Father and the Latin American Prelates take to reverse this trend?

I think there needs to be both a combination of sound catechesis that instructs the faithful in the fullness of the faith, as well as an increased effort by the Latin American Church to speak out against corruption and to increase their role in providing basic sustenance to the impoverished peoples in this region of the world.

What do you all think?

Trelow · #2 Apr 22, '05, 10:58 am

Catechesis.
First and foremost.
That would take care of North America and Europe as well.

jlw · #3 Apr 22, '05, 11:13 am

The pews are emptying in LIBERAL Catholic parishs. It has long been my theory that many Catholics left the Church for very practical reasons: We crave orthodoxy, whether we admit it or not. We like a Faith with SPINE. Many Catholics, not terribly formed in Catholic doctrine, easily knew this: The Church was becoming too liberal. Many of the faithful found a "faith with teeth" in Evangelical Churches.

It's my hope and prayer that Benedict will be the Catechesis Pope, and many prodgidal sons and daughers will return.

mpav · #4 Apr 22, '05, 11:37 am

I agree that people want a church with a spine. What's the point of a Fr. Feelgood sending you out in the world with a pat on the back, and no sense of direction, no challenge to follow Christ. It's much better to have the teachings of the Church taught from the pulpit, to have frequent confession urged from the pulpit, and to know that being a Catholic means not being like everyone else all the time. As the saying goes, if I were acused of being Catholic, would there be enough evidence to convict me?
So if Ratzinger demands doctrinal substance and obedience, it may be that the Church will be healed.

Eden · #5 Apr 22, '05, 11:53 am

As a Cardinal, B-16 stated that he would rather have a smaller, purer Church (vs. one diluted by wishy-washy doctrine to retain members). Our Church's greatest strength has always been the unbending doctrine. I just wonder how long these diluted Church's could maintain interest for the defectors. These evangelists (mostly from the U.S. and Canada, aren't they?) think they are coming in to save Latin Americans from "pagan" Catholic beliefs. (I've unfortunately met evangelical groups who were gearing up for this type of evangelization.) The irony is, the ultimate emptiness of the Evangelical message will probably take these defectors from believers in the Evangelical faith to, after the interest wears off, no faith at all. It's unfortunate that the people bringing their Evangelical faith into Latin America are not educated in true beliefs of the Catholic faith.

tkdnick · #6 Apr 22, '05, 11:55 am

I go with a need for catechesis as well.

Also Evangelicals, etc. do a great many missions in South America and Africa, and when these Evangelicals come out to help the people, they listen.

Trelow · #7 Apr 22, '05, 12:28 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkdnick

I go with a need for catechesis as well.

Also Evangelicals, etc. do a great many missions in South America and Africa, and when these Evangelicals come out to help the people, they listen.

I've seen that tract, don't they know their works won't save them!

BillyT92679 · #8 Apr 22, '05, 12:43 pm

Catechesis is central, but I think the Church in Latin America also does need to reach out more to the poor folks who live there. The LA church has been either too much the church of the rich or the church of the liberation theologian. Neither path is going to appeal to people.

I guess we don't see it as much living in el Norte. For many of us, we have food on the table, and steady jobs... and we make more than 2 dollars an hour. Our brothers and sisters in the Third World struggle in a way that we don't realize.

**Ani Ibi** · #9 Apr 22, '05, 12:54 pm

Strengthen the Catholic Charismatic movement in Latin America.

Multiply the venues for catechism and for community economical ventures.

Provide venues for regular International Catholic Conferences on issues timely for the Latin American and for the Universal Church.

Appoint a Cardinal to First Nations Peoples (which include FNP in North America, NZ, Australia and other regions of the world).

Have a few World Youth Days in Latin America.

BillyT92679 · #10 Apr 22, '05, 1:09 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ani Ibi

Strengthen the Catholic Charismatic movement in Latin America.

Multiply the venues for catechism and for community economical ventures.

Provide venues for regular International Catholic Conferences on issues timely for the Latin American and for the Universal Church.

Appoint a Cardinal to First Nations Peoples (which include FNP in North America, NZ, Australia and other regions of the world).

Have a few World Youth Days in Latin America.

Those all sound excellent.

OriginalJS · #11 Apr 22, '05, 4:37 pm

From what I have been reading and hearing, the Church has at long last started to fight fire with fire by having dynamic priests who can equal the protestants being able to enthrall crowds supplemented with strong musical offerings that the people find appealing. This is long overdue, not only in Latin America, but here in the US. Powerful preaching and evangelization do work. The airwaves are flooded with highly skilled protestant preachers using all the tools available; but Catholics preachering seem much fewer, it seems. There is no excuse for this, I know we have all heard priests who can deliver powerful homilies, but all too frequently what we get to hear is less than it should be.

JW10631 · #12 Apr 22, '05, 8:40 pm

The defections from the Church in Latin America are due first to poor catechesis, and second a lack of help - or not enough help - with their miserable living conditions.

We in the United States could do a whole lot more to help our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout Latin America. There is one collection each year to aid the Church in Eastern Europe and Latin America. This is not enough.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh has long operated a mission in Chimbote, Peru, an area that is terribly poor. Parishes with the means could "spiritually adopt" a Latin American parish and provide them with books as well as other things they need.

Catholic Extension has, for 100 years, assisted the poor mission churches and dioceses throughout the United States and its territories. Certainly there are equivalents in Latin American countries.

Latin America holds a special place for me. My wife is from Santiago de Cali, Colombia, a nation torn for decades by war. I want to go there and adopt from one of the Catholic orphanages in Cali.

We can all help the Church in Latin America, the USA and throughout the world.

**Ani Ibi** · #13 Apr 23, '05, 4:17 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by JW10631

Parishes with the means could "spiritually adopt" a Latin American parish and provide them with books as well as other things they need.

Let's do it. If every church in Canada adopted a church in Latin America we could have:

reports in the National Register about our Latin churches;

bulletin boards with news and projects and photos;

websites witih news projects and photos (for us I guess) but also for the more affluent and for the priests and religious down there; and message forums;

inter-church conferences up here in Canada and down there.

'Working' vacations: people could spend part of their vacation time working in a Latin American parish.

Latin American teenagers could come up here for Catholic summer camp.

And tons more stuff.

I'm telling you, the more I get to know this Holy Spirit, the more I think he is a fun person!

jman507 · #14 Apr 23, '05, 5:21 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ani Ibi

Let's do it. If every church in Canada adopted a church in Latin America we could have:

reports in the National Register about our Latin churches;

bulletin boards with news and projects and photos;

websites witih news projects and photos (for us I guess) but also for the more affluent and for the priests and religious down there; and message forums;

inter-church conferences up here in Canada and down there.

'Working' vacations: people could spend part of their vacation time working in a Latin American parish.

Latin American teenagers could come up here for Catholic summer camp.

And tons more stuff.

I'm telling you, the more I get to know this Holy Spirit, the more I think he is a fun person!

I'm apart of a program that does that. It's dioces to dioces. It's kind of hard to get off the ground, but is well worth it. You need some people who really what it to happen.

I think the biggest thing for those of us who've gone down is to see how much faith they seem to have. I think it does them well to have us come down, and generates some excitment. The work really seems secondary, but the relationships created are important.

Franze · #15 Apr 23, '05, 5:39 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ani Ibi

Strengthen the Catholic Charismatic movement in Latin America.

Multiply the venues for catechism and for community economical ventures.

Provide venues for regular International Catholic Conferences on issues timely for the Latin American and for the Universal Church.

Appoint a Cardinal to First Nations Peoples (which include FNP in North America, NZ, Australia and other regions of the world).

Have a few World Youth Days in Latin America.

It´s necessary all these things, the great problem of South America is there aren´t enough priests and seminarians and this is difficult to change except with prayings and good pastoral vocation.