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Religion

Faith Matters

March 3, 2013

Where is the Catholic Church Heading?

https://p.dw.com/p/17pML

Who will be the next Pope? As soon as Benedict XVI announced his resignation, speculation was rife. The Roman Catholic Church is also the world’s largest nongovernmental organization. Its problems vary from continent to continent. In Europe the Church is short of priests, membership is declining and the child abuse scandal has rocked the institution. On the other hand, Catholicism is flourishing in Africa and Asia.

On his visit to Brazil in 2007, Benedict XVI addressed the specific problems of the Church in Latin America, where the Catholic Church is losing millions of members to the Pentecostal Churches and various sects each year. Dissatisfied with the formality of traditional religion, many Latin Americans are turning to the new Protestant movements for warmth and comfort.