{"id":374,"date":"2012-06-22T18:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-examines-why-latin-american-catholics-join-evangelical-churches\/"},"modified":"2012-06-22T18:05:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T18:05:00","slug":"pope-examines-why-latin-american-catholics-join-evangelical-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/pope-examines-why-latin-american-catholics-join-evangelical-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope examines why Latin American Catholics join evangelical churches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Jun 22, 2012 \/ 12:05 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict believes that Catholics who convert to evangelical Christianity often do so because they experience a lack of fervor, joy and community within Catholic parishes \u2013 rather than for doctrinal reasons. <\/p>\n

\t\u201cOften sincere people who leave our Church do not do so as a result of what non-Catholic groups believe, but fundamentally as a result of their own lived experience; for reasons not of doctrine but of life; not for strictly dogmatic, but for pastoral reasons; not due to theological problems, but to methodological problems of our Church,\u201dhe told a delegation of Colombian bishops at the Vatican June 21. <\/p>\n

\tThe Pope\u2019s comments were specifically focused on Latin America, where\u201cthe increasingly active presence of Pentecostal<\/a> and Evangelical communities \u2026 cannot be ignored or underestimated.\u201d <\/p>\n

\tDespite statistics indicating that more than 90 percent of Colombians still identify themselves as Catholics, in recent decades the rate of conversions to evangelical Protestantism has increased across Latin America, particularly in poor urban neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\tSuch a trend, the Pope said, suggests that increasing numbers of Christians feel called \u201cto purification and the revitalization of their faith.\u201d <\/p>\n

\tIn response to this, he urged Catholics to become \u201cbetter believers, more pious, affable and welcoming in our parishes and communities, so that no-one feels distant or excluded.\u201d The Pope also offered some practical advice, calling for better catechesis \u2013 particularly to the young \u2013 carefully prepared homilies during Mass and the promotion of Catholic doctrine in schools and universities. <\/p>\n

\tIf Catholics strive to follow this path, the Pope said, it will help awaken in them \u201cthe aspiration to share with others the joy of following Christ and become members of His mystical body.\u201d <\/p>\n

\tSimilarly important, he said, is social solidarity with those who suffer most due to poverty or violence. A 2009 survey by polling company Gallup found that nearly 1 in 5 Colombians has had a close friend or relative murdered in past 12 months. <\/p>\n

\tThe Pope called for increased help for those people \u201cwhose fundamental rights are trampled underfoot and are forced to abandon home and family under the threat of terror and criminality,\u201d as well as\u201cthose who have fallen into the barbarous networks of drugs or arms dealing.\u201d <\/p>\n

\tSuch\u201cgenerous and fraternal\u201d help, he said, is not born of \u201cany human calculation\u201d but from \u201clove for God and neighbor: the source from which the Church draws the strength she needs to carry out her task.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jun 22, 2012 \/ 12:05 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict believes that Catholics who convert to evangelical Christianity often do so because they experience a lack of fervor, joy and community within Catholic parishes – rather than f…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"\nPope examines why Latin American Catholics join evangelical churches<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Jun 22, 2012 \/ 12:05 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict believes that Catholics who convert to evangelical Christianity often do so because they experience a lack of fervor, joy and community within Catholic parishes – rather than f...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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