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This is the link:Pope urges Middle East Christians to persevere (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090510/ap_on_re_mi_ea/pope_mideast - broken link)
The Pope was in Jordan and gave a message to the Christians living in the Middle that says in short "hang in there". He told them to perservere their faith. I look at it as hang in there and keep on. I know that Christians in the Middle East have had problems. This is an encouraging message from the Pope to the people.
I never knew there were 1.1 billion Catholics in the world. That's 1/6 of the globla population!
They just seem to be out-shouted by evangelicals in our country over recent decades that they seem to be far more of a minority. Then again, myself and many others who have moved on are probably included in that 1.1 billion.
According to the Pew Forum
While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic. These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration.
The lack of ability of the bishops to "lead" the hierarchy in a manner such that the laity will listen to what the bishops have to say along with the Sex Abuse Scandal has really hurt the Church.
Having the title does not mean that people will listen, or agree, or follow. You've got to get people willing to listen to what you have to say, before you stand much of a chance of getting them to agree with the content of the message.
Since it is the bishops who now seem to be taking the position that the church is an all or nothing proposition, then it is they who must be able to explain and defend the positions that are most offensive to many people, and thus the positions over which they either leave, or are deemed to be no longer welcome.
People today are highly educated
They will not simply accept the answer “because I say so”
The silencing of theologians and other members of the body of Christ is not the way to win the souls and support of the people, the people want honest dialog or else they will continue to vote with their feet.
Jesus was all about inclusion, the hierarchy is all about exclusion.
It's always struck me as a business model. You put your resources in your emerging markets. Pope spends a lot of time shoring up support in Latin America and the Middle East. Not much time in Europe and the U.S. because they are fading markets and that's not where the money's going to be in the future for them. Not too unlike the auto industry when you think about it.
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