NEWS STORY: Papal Vote Looms Large in Latin America

c. 2005 Religion News Service SANTO ANDRE, Brazil _ A young priest held a Mass for Pope John Paul II in this industrial suburb of Sao Paulo one recent weeknight. Some 60 faithful sat in the church, part of a diocese once overseen by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a Brazilian now considered among the leading papal […]

c. 2005 Religion News Service

SANTO ANDRE, Brazil _ A young priest held a Mass for Pope John Paul II in this industrial suburb of Sao Paulo one recent weeknight. Some 60 faithful sat in the church, part of a diocese once overseen by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a Brazilian now considered among the leading papal candidates.

A few miles away, an evangelist gripped the forehead of a young blonde. Jumping in unison to his shouts of “Burn, burn, burn! Burn the demons within this woman!” some 700 faithful shook the church, a football field-sized building with a helipad for a roof.


The ground is literally trembling around Catholicism in Brazil.

In fact, the Vatican’s footing throughout all of Latin America _ home to half the world’s Catholics _ is slipping, theologians said. They point to inroads by rival faiths, shifting demographics and sheer attrition.

In a region roiled by economic hardship and violence, people are rejecting worship altogether and abandoning Catholicism for what they see as less dogmatic creeds.

“Faith has become subjective, individualized and materialized,” said Bishop Nelson Westrupp, now head of the diocese here. “It’s weakening the church.”

Consider the numbers in Brazil.

According to a 2003 report by the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil boasts 125 million Catholics, more than any other country. But the Catholic percentage of the total population has fallen sharply _ from 92 percent in 1970 to roughly 73 percent today.

Part of the loss is attributed to incursions by evangelical Protestants, now 16 percent of the population, while another 8 percent of the population now considers itself “non-religious,” up from less than 1 percent a generation ago.

Much of the change, according to theologians, can be traced to migration.

As agriculture mechanized in recent decades, millions of farm workers flocked to cities like Sao Paulo and Rio. Evangelical churches based on the teachings of empowerment theology _ that worship can lead to success and personal gain _ began to thrive.

“Urban lifestyle is a consumer lifestyle,” said Fernando Altemeyer, a theologian at the Catholic University of Sao Paulo. “And evangelicals teach prosperity comes through faith.”


The church in Latin America also faces challenges posed worldwide, such as opposition to doctrine in areas ranging from birth control and homosexuality to biotechnology and women’s role in the church.

“Catholicism should be more tolerant,” said Sonia Barros, a 29-year-old Rio nanny who is unmarried but lives with her boyfriend. Raised Catholic, she said she attends Mass infrequently because “I’m told I live in sin.”

Such views exemplify the “individualization” of faith that church leaders lament. By disputing values of traditional Catholic teaching, some worshippers are forcing the church to reassess many principles John Paul II often defended.

For that and other reasons, many Latin Americans are hoping for a progressive successor.

In Brazil, hope lies with Cardinal Hummes, a Franciscan who was bishop of Santo Andre before becoming archbishop of Sao Paulo. Hummes is popular because of his support for human rights, land reform, indigenous causes and the labor movement.

Last week he spoke on television of the church’s need to be more open “to dialogue with science, reason, philosophy, culture and society.”

“We must show that our faith isn’t fundamentalist, medieval,” he said. “There are important questions that demand modern answers.”


Some former Catholics say the answers are coming too late.

“I don’t need an intermediary to teach me right from wrong,” said Marilda Paulino, a 33-year-old nurse who left a Rio parish for an evangelical congregation. “Faith is not about the pastor, it’s not about any saints. It’s about God and me.”

MO/PH/RB END PRADA

(Paulo Prada wrote this article for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.)

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