Or Peruvian strategies against the loss of membership in the Catholic Church
(photo: Martin Steffen) Paula Bermudez is a strong woman. Have them hanging prints on my feet, I would sometimes like to scream. These were strained my meridians, she answers me happy. And while gently, or less gently, my blocked energy zones open again, she tells me about their lives. 48 years old she is, mother of a grown son who has just completed his training as a midwife. Paula lives in one of the great slums of Lima and earned their living with foot reflexology. Just as clever as she massaged my feet, she brings the conversation to me: what I do, how is my life if I was happy. Do I believe in God. We quickly to the subject of church and theology and Paula keeps me a long lecture about the importance of Marian devotion in the early church. Paula is a voluntary medical worker, a Catholic, as she points out. This must be in Peru now to say. In the last 40 years the Catholic Church in Latin America experienced a steady decline in membership. Recently, Peru was still considered a good Catholic home country, saw that some bishops as their fief. Today, even the Peruvian Bishops' Conference is only 80% of Catholics in Peru. But it's not as if the remaining 20% are now ready to fall from God faith. Most of the breakaway Catholics find in evangelical churches for a new home. "Asamblea de Dios", "Alianza Misiones" or "church of Jerusalem, called the small to large evangelical churches. They have in common is that they come with their dedicated lay missionaries to the remotest poor neighborhood and that against their Bible argument commonly as a Catholic is not important.
(photo: Martin Steffen) Sebastián Abanto This also has felt firsthand. The 54-year-old carpenter and father, like Paula Bermudez member of the group "Servicio Biblico Católico", a Catholic Bible study group in the diocese Chosica in the east of Lima.
"My wife comes from an evangelical family, and I have no less than 4 evangelical pastors in the family. Each week, they pray that I also repent," says Walter. But Walter Abanto is stubborn. wants from his Catholic faith he does not desist. He believes the force of the evangelical Bible can stand up, he is a member of the "Servicio Biblico Católico" become. 120 members left the group, they meet weekly in a modest brick room in the quarter-Zárate, and finance their activities Bible with foot reflexology. Above all, they go in the competition in the evangelical teaching and copy their strategies: "The evangelicals have so much success because they go to the people and because they let people talk about themselves," says Paula. "The Assemblies of the evangelicals are very sincere and they give you the feeling that they listen to you." Just this cordial cooperation and self-mutual-worry they would live in their group too.
(photo: Martin Steffen) Paula, Walter and the other group members have therefore formed in theology and biblical studies - including with the help of the theology courses of the Diocese of Chosica - and are now even as a street missionaries from house to house. As Catholic missionaries as they emphasize. How it because lie that the Catholic Church losing its appeal? Walter and Paula have some answers ready: the Catholic priests are too busy to manage their time more social welfare and had no time to really care about the people, or Priests who want to do everything themselves and not delegate it to lay (ie non-priests). Or that some priests and bishops as what would feel better, and did not want the "ordinary" Catholics also educate and tasks.
After 20 minutes, with Paula's hands are relaxed my reflexology and I feel almost as a newly converted Catholic. Although I have some advice to my liberal Paula Catholic way of life because it too closely think so but I feel great respect for their dedication and good Catholic sense.
discuss these days, the Latin American Bishops in Rome, which they face the loss of members their church can do. Maybe they should just take off your shoes and can open their meridians of Paula .....
