Catholic Church Leaders Combat Declining Membership
The Vatican is worried. There’s an exodus of Catholics around the world to Pentecostal churches, and they want to stem the tide reports the Associated Press (AP).
At a meeting of the world’s cardinals, Walter Kasper, who heads up the Vatican’s office for relations with other Christians, said the Church must undergo a “self-critical pastoral examination of conscience” to confront the “exponential” rise of Pentecostalism.
According to the AP the losses of the Catholic Church have been especially pronounced in developing countries.
In Brazil, Roman Catholics used to comprise 90 percent of the population; by 2005, it was down to 67 percent.
Kasper added that the activity of “aggressive” evangelical movements has complicated the Catholic Churches dedication to ecumenism, which he nevertheless called “not an option but an obligation.”
