Pope Francis is visiting Brazil.
Pope Francis is from Argentina and has been titled “Pope of
the poor” because he is a Jesuit and he does seem to lead a much simpler life
as pope than any of his predecessors who did kind of like the “glamour” and or “pomp”
that accompanied the office of pope.
Some reports state that he is in Brazil (South America)
because it is the place that the Catholic Church is losing many of its
faithful. If you remember it was the Spanish and Portuguese that not only conquered
South America but forcefully made it very Catholic.
They are losing their Catholic sheep to Evangelical Pentecostalism.
Why?
Mainly because these Pentecostal people are actually showing
the masses of poor people in South America how to get un-poor or at least to
manage their poverty better.
This is actually also happening in the U.S. mostly down
south (Texas) where there are many poor Mexicans and other Latinos who need
help managing their poverty.
You will also notice in other parts of the U.S. (here in
Plymouth/Canton too) where non-denominational churches are becoming quite
popular. I attended one to see what all the fuss was about and discovered that
they too concentrated on serving their flock with advice and education on a
variety of non-religious (read practical) subjects.
In Brazil, I guess these former Catholics don’t mind
listening to the Evangelical religious babble which can get pretty absurd, as
long as they get the help they need to lead better and more productive lives.
The Catholic Church has had members (Mother Teresa & St.
Francis) who devoted their lives to the poor as well as institutions (Jesuits,
etc.) In South America in the 1960s arose LIBERATION THEOLOGY that strove to
help the poor through political activism, etc. It was later condemned by the
Vatican as too Marxist; Jesus was also called the first Communist by some for
his views on the poor and downtrodden.
It is obvious that in Brazil the Catholic Church there is
not doing enough for the poor at least not as much as the Evangelical Pentecostalists
are.
Pope Francis is trying to change the slide from his church
by going to the poor with a message of hope?
Francis is urging young people in the church to “stir”
things up in the church. What does he really mean by that?
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