Pentecostolism

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,

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[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.