VATICAN CITY — The Vatican convened Roman Catholic bishops in Seoul, South Korea, July 17 to discuss the inroads Christian revivalist movements and evangelical churches have made into regions once dominated by Catholic missionaries.
The weeklong seminar aims “to find a pastoral response to the emerging challenges, particularly the rapid growth of new religious movements — Pentecostal, Evangelical and Charismatic,” the Vatican said in a statement.
Revival churches have been eating away at Catholicism’s numbers in Africa, Asia and Latin America in recent years.
Followers of Pentecostal and charismatic churches preach a more direct relationship with Jesus Christ than Catholic theology typically allows.
The growth of Pentecostalism has been particularly rapid. The movement, which marked its hundredth anniversary in April, claims up to 600,000 members worldwide.
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