A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy
both conservative and liberal challenges. On the left are
the liberation theologians, who redefine the gospel in
terms of social justice and revolutionary action. Pope
John Paul II denounced these views, but they are still
quite influential.
On the right are the Evangelicals, of whom eighty percent
or more are Pentecostals. The Evangelicals are growing
rapidly in Latin America at the expense of the Catholics.
Even though the Catholic Church has become quite ecumenical,
in Latin America it has taken a strong stand against
non-Catholic denominations, calling them cults or sects. At
times there has been strong persecution, even resulting in
violence and murder. In the 1950s, the United Pentecostal
Church suffered severe persecution of this nature in
Colombia. In recent years, Evangelicals in remote areas of
Mexico have also endured such persecution. Of course, the
Catholic Church does not officially endorse violence, but
bishops and priests in various locations have incited followers
to harass, hinder, or expel non-Catholics.
A dramatic development in the Roman Catholic
Church is the Charismatic movement, which entered the
church in 1967. (See chapter 10.) Officially, the Catholic
Church has been open to this movement. The prevailing
philosophy is that as long as the Charismatics stay within
the Catholic Church, continuing to acknowledge its
authority and doctrines, then they can conduct and attend
private Charismatic prayer meetings. In this way, the
church has been able to retain most of these people.
Conflict occurred, however, when Archbishop
Emmanuel Milingo of Lusaka, Zambia, embraced the
Charismatic movement. He “experienced a trancelike
vision after meeting Italian priests in the Catholic charis-
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