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Written by The Age (Australia)
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Sunday, 25 November 2007 10:00 |
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Church told
'look inward' as rivals rise
“A TOP cardinal has urged a critical self-examination
by the Roman Catholic Church in the face of the "exponential" rise of
Pentecostal groups.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, who heads the Vatican's council
for relations with other Christian faiths, told a gathering including Pope
Benedict XVI and 143 cardinals that the church should undergo a
"self-critical examination of conscience".
"We must not ask first what is wrong with the
Pentecostals but ask what our pastoral failings are and come to a spiritual
renewal," Cardinal Kasper told the cardinals, including 23 freshmen who
were to be consecrated yesterday.
The church's stand against divorce and remarried
Catholics receiving communion has been a major factor prompting Catholics to
leave for evangelical charismatic groups, which now count some 400 million
adherents.
During a trip to Brazil in May, Pope Benedict offended
Pentecostal churches by referring to them as sects and accusing them of using
aggressive tactics to win souls...”
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