Posted on 01/26/2006 8:12:07 AM PST by NYer
KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, JAN. 25, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Brazil has seen the phenomenon of Catholics who leave the Church to become members of evangelical communities. Now, some evangelicals are coming back, says a prelate.
Bishop Franco Dalla Valle of Juina, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, shared his view during a recent visit to the headquarters of the charity Aid to the Church in Need.
"When my diocese was erected in 1997, there were just six parishes, now there are 10 and a mission area," said the 60-year-old bishop.
The prelate, an Italian missionary, added: "The number of priests has risen from six to 20, nine of whom are diocesan priests. Currently, five young men are preparing for the priesthood in the Cuiaba seminary. And we also have vocations to the female religious life."
Bishop Dalla Valle explained that violence and drug trafficking are widespread in the region, mainly due to poverty and unemployment.
"In order to give a perspective to young people, I am planning to establish institutions of higher education and professional training," he said.
The prelate also emphasized the importance of Catholic media.
"Our diocesan TV programs do not contain 'telenovelas,' pornography or propaganda," he said. "Therefore, they are popular even among evangelicals, many of whom return to the Catholic faith when they contemplate the mystery of God."
Excellent quote!
Sounds a little on the small side.
Does your church have those four marks of a true church?
One
Holy
Catholic
Apostolic?
I really don't see where the argument is............Christ told the apostles about the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament: "Do this in memory of me." And the Catholic Church (along with some Anglican Use parishes) are the only churches that do celebrate the Holy Eucharist in this way.
You are not alone! As Sandro Magister reported last Fall ...
Halfway through the synod on the Eucharist, during a break in the work, the pope met with cardinals Francisco Javier Errázuriz, archbishop of Santiago, Chile and president of the Latin American bishops’ conference (CELAM); Pedro Rubiano, archbishop of Bogotá; Cláudio Hummes, archbishop of San Paolo, Brazil; and Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.
The topic of their conversation was the upcoming general conference of CELAM, the fifth of these after the previous ones held in Rio de Janeiro in 1995, in Medellin in 1968, in Puebla in 1979, and in Santo Domingo in 1992.
The conference was already set for 2007, but the place and the exact date remained to be determined. The four bishops were prepared to hold it in Rome, in order to ensure the pope’s participation in the work.
But Benedict XVI said to them all of a sudden: “It will be held in Brazil,” and immediately asked what the country’s most venerated Marian shrine is. “The Aparecida,” they replied. And the pope: “In Brazil, at the Aparecida, in May. I’ll be there.”
The four cardinals were taken completely by surprise. And so were the leaders of the Roman curia – the pope hadn’t discussed the matter with any of them. What induced Benedict XVI to choose Brazil may have been what Cardinal Hummes said at the synod a few days earlier:
“The number of Brazilians who declare themselves Catholics has diminished rapidly, on an average of 1% a year. In 1991 Catholic Brazilians were nearly 83%, today and according to new studies, they are barely 67%. We wonder with anxiety: how long will Brazil remain a Catholic country? In conformity with this situation, it has been found that in Brazil there are two Protestant pastors for each Catholic priest, and the majority from the Pentecostal Churches. Many indications show that the same is true for almost all of Latin America and here too we wonder: how long will Latin America remain a Catholic continent?”
But the choice of the Aparecida also left the four cardinals speechless. That is indeed the most frequently visited shrine in Brazil, but it is located in an isolated part of the state of San Paolo, and it lacks the structures capable of hosting a large-scale continental congress.
But none of the four cardinals dared to object. The pope had decided, and his reasons were all too clear. He has at heart a vigorous renewal of the Catholic faith on the Latin American continent, and symbols are very valuable in this regard.
There’s time to build a convention center on the plain of the Aparecida, until May of 2007.
Mother was --I dare to say--inspired by God. Talk about "democracy in the Church," she managed to succeed where the bishops failed. One practical, hard-working woman of faith succeeded, where a coven of pointy-headed intellectuals failed. I love the story of the way she defeated and deflated the fairy cardinal of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, their Catholic counterparts have been attempting to organize unions, and spread their version of social justice and it has all been done with our dollars and at the expense of the Gospel.
Thank you for that link. I remind everyone of the work of Catholic Relief Services versus the work of the Baptists in the wake of the horrific tsunami. Both groups provided badly needed fresh water and medical supplies. But only one group provided a gospel tract with its aid, and it wasn't CRS.
I join you in your prayers.
The diocese is relatively small - 124,000 Catholics in 2004.
I had to stop giving to CRS after talking to them on the phone one day a couple years ago. Very disappointing. Someone should put together a list of worthy Catholic charites.
If the Catholic Church had focused on these things all along, the Evangelicals would never have left it in the first place. Here in Southern California, a majority of Evangelical Protestants are ex-Catholics, and the above list pretty much sums up the reasons why.
"Nothing bad could ever come from accepting people's diversity."
First of all, welcome to FR.
Uhhh. A LOT of bad can and has come about from accepting people's so-called "diversity." Diversity circa 2006 is more often a code-word used by practitioners of deviant behavior to try to normalize their deviancy.
I have no doubt that if you were to go talk to NAMBLA, they would ask that you be willing to accept the "diversity" of those who believe that adults should have sex with children.
Blindly accepting people's "diversity" is moral and intellectual sloth. You have to be willing to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Why thank you!
Uhhh. A LOT of bad can and has come about from accepting people's so-called "diversity."
Yes, I agree. I was being just a little facetious with post #8.
"Yes, I agree. I was being just a little facetious with post #8."
Ahh. Sarcasm! We're/I'm not familiar with your sense of humor yet.
You'll pick up on some FR-culture specific things over time. The "sarcasm-off" tag is one of them. It goes like this:
(/sarcasm)
....indicating that your post or part of your post was intended as sarcasm. Sad to say, we get a lot of trolls on FR so with new folks, we're never quite sure what you mean or where you're coming from until we get to know you over time.
(That goes double for FReepers who happen to be an open-and-notorious Democrats.)
That said, the folks on the religious threads are pretty nice by and large. Once again, welcome!
Thanks, I've been lurking for quite a while and I should have known that.
I don't remember when I stopped giving to CRS. I know for certain I haven't given them anything since I read the difference between the Baptist's relief and and CRS in the aftermath of the tsunami.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.