Alluding to Protestant Pentecostalism, among other movements, Pope John Paul II called religious sects a "serious problem" in predominantly Roman Catholic Latin America and urged the region's bishops to reevangelize their flocks.
"Resolute pastoral action is necessary to face this serious problem," the Pope told bishops belonging to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, which met in Rome earlier this spring.
The 289 million Catholics in Latin America make up almost a third of the 1 billion Catholics worldwide, according to Vatican statistics.
The bishops must face this challenge by "reviewing the pastoral methods employed, reinforcing the structures of communion and mission, and seeking results from the possibility of evangelization," John Paul said.
"You well know how important the presence of evangelizers can be," he said, "because where priests, nuns or laity tied to the apostolate are at work, the sects do not prosper."
Protestant Pentecostals in Latin America have been attracting large numbers of Catholic converts in recent years.
According to William Taylor of the World Evangelical Fellowship's Missions Commission, the number of evangelicals in Latin America has grown from 50,000 in 1900 to about 64 million in 1997—about three-fourths of whom are Pentecostal or charismatic.
Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineEmpty Streets to the Empty GraveWhile reporting in Israel, photographer Michael Winters captures an unusually vacant experience at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
- Editor's PickShoes Stay On for Maundy ThursdayFew Protestant traditions continue the footwashing that Jesus did at the Last Supper. Some want a revival of the practice.