The Hidden Exodus
(Pentecostalism: A Pastoral Challenge to the Roman Catholic Church)
1.Meaning of Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism
or Classical Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that
places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the
baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost,
the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates
the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described
in the second chapter of the Book of Acts.
Like other forms
of evangelical Protestantism, Pentecostalism adheres to the inerrancy of
scripture and the necessity of accepting Christ as personal Lord and Savior. It
is distinguished by belief in the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an experience
separate from conversion that enables a Christian to live a Holy Spirit–filled
and empowered life. This empowerment includes the use of spiritual gifts such
as speaking in tongues and divine healing—two other defining characteristics of
Pentecostalism. Because of their commitment to biblical authority, spiritual
gifts, and the miraculous, Pentecostals tend to see their movement as reflecting
the same kind of spiritual power and teachings that were found in the Apostolic
Age of the early church. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term
Apostolic or full gospel to describe their movement.[1]
2. Development of the Pentecostal Movement
The Pentecostal Movement is divided between Trinitarian
and non-Trinitarian branches. Comprising over 700 denominations and a large
number of independent churches, there is no central authority governing
Pentecostalism; however, many denominations are affiliated with the Pentecostal
World Fellowship.
There are over
279 million Pentecostals worldwide, and the movement is growing in many parts
of the world, especially the global south. Since the 1960s, Pentecostalism has
increasingly gained acceptance from other Christian traditions, and Pentecostal
beliefs concerning Spirit baptism and spiritual gifts have been embraced by
non-Pentecostal Christians in Protestant and Catholic churches through the
Charismatic Movement. Together, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity numbers
over 500 million adherents.[2]
3. The Reasons for Leaving the Catholic Church
1. They feel
the Roman Catholic Church no longer teaches the values found in the gospels
2. They can’t
stand the hypocrisy of the hierarchy, especially about sexual issues
3. They are
convinced that the Roman Catholic Church’s policy of keeping known and credibly
accused child sex offenders employed by the church is a major public safety
risk
4. They are
disgusted at the way the pope and bishops treat women
5. They no
longer believe one or more specific church teachings, doctrines, or practices
(e.g., abortion, homosexuality, divorce, euthanasia, birth control, primacy of
the ordained priesthood)
6. They
believe the Church wants to control each church member’s entire system of
ethical beliefs and moral decision-making processes from womb to tomb, and they
no longer accept this old way of thinking
7. They are
scandalized at the way the pope and bishops treat victims/survivors of Catholic
clergy sexual abuse
8. They don’t
feel welcomed
9. They
strongly disagree with the parish priest and/or the bishop, not the people,
having control of parish-level decisions, especially financial decisions
10. The major concern that can and should be addressed is that
of bad preaching. Again and again, people said that they left the Church
because homilies were boring, irrelevant, poorly prepared” or “delivered in an
impenetrable accent.[3]
11. The weekly
Sunday messages from the priest did not relate or “speak to” them.
12. The church
should stay out of politics; it should certainly not threaten politicians.
13. The churches stance on divorce is closely tied to their
stance on adultery. Without getting a marriage annulled, any marriage after a
divorce is considered adulterous. Therefore, divorced people who have not had
their marriage annulled or remarried are not able to receive Holy Communion.
14. A number of people who have left the church cite a “history
of discrimination against women,” as one of the reasons for leaving the
Catholic Church.
15. They were
not supportive of the pastor they had left behind.
16. The
faithful feel more like spectators than participants.
17. Father
Parathazham said that they never had "God-experience" while in the
church and could not find solutions to personal problems there. He also pointed
out that fellowship was missing in the Catholic community, whereas among the
Pentecostals there is great concern for each member.
4. Church in India Responds to Pentecostalists
The Catholic Church in India is making serious efforts to counter the
challenge posed by neo-Pentecostals who have deep made inroads among Catholics
in several Christian areas across the country.
"The threat from Neo-Pentecostalism is a global phenomenon with over
8,000 Catholics joining them every day. In India too, it is becoming a serious
problem for the Church. We cannot ignore this challenge," says Bishop Gali
Bali of Guntur, the chairman of doctrinal commission of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of India (CBCI). [4]
The "pastoral guidelines" called for fostering genuine Catholic
renewal programs stressing the role of Holy Spirit, revitalizing the
traditional parish structure, setting up parish councils to build up the parish
as a true fellowship, greater concern for the needy members of the parish, and
publicizing significant events in the life of individuals and families through
appropriate announcements.
5. Suggestions
1.
The Catholic Church must also give the primary
importance to the word of God. The word of God should be celebrated in the
parish level.
2.
There must be a group for visiting the houses of those
who are about to leave the Catholic Church. They must get the opinion from them
and bring their inconvenience to the notice of parish priest.
3.
We must see them not as enemies but call them in the
words of Pope John XXIII, as ‘separated brethren’.[5]
4.
There should be a charismatic group for each parish.
This group must consist of people those who are interested in the charismatic
movement.
5.
The word of god should be discussed in the micro level.
The people must bring the holy bible to the church every day.
6.
The parish priest must smell their sheep.
7.
The expectation of the people should be taken care by
the parish priest.
8.
The Sunday homilies should be discussed with the people
well in advance.
9.
Every priest must be rooted in the prayer life. Even
their way of life becomes a homily to the people.
10. The
priest must conduct a frequent dialogue with the Pentecostal movements and
ready to adopt the good things from them.
Bibliography
1. Burgess
M.Stanley. “Pentecostalism in India: An Overview”. Bangalore: Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, 2001.
2.
“Pentecostalism”,
http:/en.Wikipedia.org/Wiki/Pentecostalism (accessed on July 8, 2014).
3. Thomas Reese, S.J. “The Catholic Reporter”. U.S: The
National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, 2001.
4.
“CatholicResponse”,http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=4866
(accessed on July 10,2014)
5.
Allen, David. “Separated Brethren”, The
Expository Times,2008,
[1]
Stanley M. Burgess. “Pentecostalism In India: An Overview”. (Bangalore
: Asian
Journal of Pentecostal Studies,2001). P-8.
[2] “Pentecostalism”, http:/en.Wikipedia.org/Wiki/Pentecostalism
(accessed on July 8, 2014).
[3]
Thomas
Reese, S.J. “The Catholic Reporter”.
(U.S: The
National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company,2001) . P-56.
[4]“Catholic Response”,http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=4866
(accessed on July 10,2014)
[5] David Allen, “Separated
Brethren”, The Expository Times, 2008, p-119.
