Pope Francis and the Strengthening of Christianity in the West

[Martellus]

" He invented a new easy style of communication at the Vatican, brought in fresh blood, and publicly lambasted power-hungry princes of the church - the cardinals and bishops who run the Catholic Church's Rome headquarters; he also found time to play an active diplomatic role in helping the US and Cuba bring to an end 50 years of public enmity.

Following up on his predecessors Pope John Paul's and Pope Benedict's historic visits to Cuba and meetings with Fidel Castro in 1998 and 2012, he helped broker a political deal which made headlines around the world this month.

Following up on his predecessors Pope John Paul's and Pope Benedict's historic visits to Cuba and meetings with Fidel Castro in 1998 and 2012, he helped broker a political deal which made headlines around the world this month. (...)"

"(...) According to worldwide polls conducted by the prestigious US-based Pew Research Centre, a majority of people in over half the 43 countries surveyed say they had a positive view of Pope Francis, with particularly high ratings in Europe (84%) and Latin America (72%). (...)"
Source: BBC News - Popular Pope Francis takes own path in Vatican​

" Pope Francis is largely popular around the world, according to a study by Pew Research Center that includes information from 43 countries in all regions of the world. He is most popular in Europe, where 84 percent of people view him favorably.

Pope Francis is also extremely popular in the U.S. and Latin America, where 78 percent and 72 percent, respectively, had favorable opinions of him. Fewer people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East have favorable opinions of him.

Pope Francis is also extremely popular in the U.S. and Latin America, where 78 percent and 72 percent, respectively, had favorable opinions of him. Fewer people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East have favorable opinions of him. (...)"
Source: Pope Francis Approval Rating: Popular In Europe, Less So In Asia And Middle East

" After years of decline, cathedrals in Britain have seen a 20 per cent rise in congregations since the Argentinian pope was elected as head of the Catholic Church (...)"

"(...) The Italian opinion poll Opinioni reported this week that more than four in five Italians have a 'positive' or 'extremely positive' opinion of the Pope.

Spain, which had been experiencing a decades-long slump, has also seen attendance figures begin to climb since the pontiff's appointment.

Catholic leaders in France, the USA and Latin America have also reported growth in the numbers of churchgoing Catholics. (...)"
Source: Pope Francis inspired huge increases in church congregations since election | Daily Mail Online
​

Christmas. Crowded churches. An image that I had never seen in my life. I have always criticized the corruption that seemed to be completely impregnated in the Church and the numerous sex scandals by priests and other church authorities and I had always thought that the churches did not represent Christianity, however, motivated by the good character and the benevolent acts of the Pope Francis, I decided that I would attend church on Christmas. Surprisingly, when we arrived at the Church, it simply had no more places to sit. We continued on Mass, standing. We weren't the only ones. There were dozens of people standing. After many years, I could see how good attending the Church is. It was a moment of communion. In some ways, the Church promotes a great interaction among its regulars. I confess that, after mass, I felt really good and, furthermore, I have found myself willing to attend church regularly. The Church has increasingly become a haven for people trying to forget, at least for a few hours, all this materialism, selfishness, greed and violence that have plagued the world. Upon arriving home, I noticed that my girlfriend, who resides in Norway, had sent pictures to me: Some of them show she in a crowded Church.

Could we be witnessing the rebirth of Christianity in the West? Why? Could the Pope Francis be the reason for it?

 

[Spiderman]

Christianity is growing fastest in Asia and Africa.

Pope Francis has brought many people into Catholicism. I think most of them were already Christian though.

That is awesome that as a Cardinal he chose to live in poverty though!

Now in order to get really big he needs to get shot like JP2

 

[Shiranui117]

" He invented a new easy style of communication at the Vatican, brought in fresh blood, and publicly lambasted power-hungry princes of the church - the cardinals and bishops who run the Catholic Church's Rome headquarters; he also found time to play an active diplomatic role in helping the US and Cuba bring to an end 50 years of public enmity.

Following up on his predecessors Pope John Paul's and Pope Benedict's historic visits to Cuba and meetings with Fidel Castro in 1998 and 2012, he helped broker a political deal which made headlines around the world this month.

Following up on his predecessors Pope John Paul's and Pope Benedict's historic visits to Cuba and meetings with Fidel Castro in 1998 and 2012, he helped broker a political deal which made headlines around the world this month. (...)"

"(...) According to worldwide polls conducted by the prestigious US-based Pew Research Centre, a majority of people in over half the 43 countries surveyed say they had a positive view of Pope Francis, with particularly high ratings in Europe (84%) and Latin America (72%). (...)"
Source: BBC News - Popular Pope Francis takes own path in Vatican​

" Pope Francis is largely popular around the world, according to a study by Pew Research Center that includes information from 43 countries in all regions of the world. He is most popular in Europe, where 84 percent of people view him favorably.

Pope Francis is also extremely popular in the U.S. and Latin America, where 78 percent and 72 percent, respectively, had favorable opinions of him. Fewer people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East have favorable opinions of him.

Pope Francis is also extremely popular in the U.S. and Latin America, where 78 percent and 72 percent, respectively, had favorable opinions of him. Fewer people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East have favorable opinions of him. (...)"
Source: Pope Francis Approval Rating: Popular In Europe, Less So In Asia And Middle East

" After years of decline, cathedrals in Britain have seen a 20 per cent rise in congregations since the Argentinian pope was elected as head of the Catholic Church (...)"

"(...) The Italian opinion poll Opinioni reported this week that more than four in five Italians have a 'positive' or 'extremely positive' opinion of the Pope.

Spain, which had been experiencing a decades-long slump, has also seen attendance figures begin to climb since the pontiff's appointment.

Catholic leaders in France, the USA and Latin America have also reported growth in the numbers of churchgoing Catholics. (...)"
Source: Pope Francis inspired huge increases in church congregations since election | Daily Mail Online
​

Christmas. Crowded churches. An image that I had never seen in my life. I have always criticized the corruption that seemed to be completely impregnated in the Church and the numerous sex scandals by priests and other church authorities and I had always thought that the churches did not represent Christianity, however, motivated by the good character and the benevolent acts of the Pope Francis, I decided that I would attend church on Christmas. Surprisingly, when we arrived at the Church, it simply had no more places to sit. We continued on Mass, standing. We weren't the only ones. There were dozens of people standing. After many years, I could see how good attending the Church is. It was a moment of communion. In some ways, the Church promotes a great interaction among its regulars. I confess that, after mass, I felt really good and, furthermore, I have found myself willing to attend church regularly. The Church has increasingly become a haven for people trying to forget, at least for a few hours, all this materialism, selfishness, greed and violence that have plagued the world. Upon arriving home, I noticed that my girlfriend, who resides in Norway, had sent pictures to me: Some of them show she in a crowded Church.

Could we be witnessing the rebirth of Christianity in the West? Why? Could the Pope Francis be the reason for it?

Perhaps it is bringing back disillusioned cultural Christians. I don't know if it would be right to say that Christianity is being reborn in the West, given that we now have an almost fully secular culture (some countries like the US, and to a greater extent Malta, aside) and more young people find themselves drawn to agnosticism and atheism. But I believe, if Pope Francis' policies, actions and attitudes carry on throughout the Church as time passes (and God willing, it will), the respect for Christianity in the West will rise once more, and perhaps less people will become jaded and leave the faith.

Now in order to get really big he needs to get shot like JP2

Let's not paint the devil on the wall, now!

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

Sadly I am skeptical of anyone who grows overly popular, haha.

I remember my non-believing friends were saying how much they liked Francis, and then saying "He said atheists will go to heaven!"

Well, no, he didn't really. But he was vague enough that the media was able to misinterpret him.

I am wary of his style which is often so open to interpretation that the media have crafted their own Pope Francis, who throws away all the offensive doctrine and is a sweet old hippy through and through.

I preferred Pope Benedict, because he was disliked. That seems kinda mean, doesn't it, but when a person is disliked and they keep pushing their own beliefs they just feel real genuine, and he wouldn't stop speaking out for the truth. Not to mention he was a brilliant theologian, people should read his Deus Caritas Est encyclical, that was great.

I just get too much of the vibe that Francis says stuff that the world is gonna like, peace and love and unity and all that great stuff. That stuff should be talked about, no doubt, but the hard stuff, the stuff that people find offensive, should be talked about as well. Jesus said how the Gospel would divide people, son will rise against father, etc., and I'd like to see Francis speak more on the difficult subjects that the unbelieving world doesn't like to hear, namely, salvation and the necessity of Jesus for salvation.

 

[Glaurung]

Christianity is growing fastest in Asia and Africa

The parish priest at a Church I attended years ago was a Filipino. He was a fantastic priest that I would attend just to listen to. (I was a borderline atheist at this point).

 

[Johnlove]

This pope is taking the church farther away from living the will of the Father.

In doing this the church will grow in numbers. People want to believe they are righteous even though they are living as the world lives.

 

[Martellus]

Speaking of Christianity's rapid growth in Asia, it seems that South Korea is the newest Asian Christian majority nation.

Christian 31.6% (Protestant 24%, Roman Catholic 7.6%), Buddhist 24.2%, other or unknown 0.9%, none 43.3% (2010 survey)
Source: The World Factbook​

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

Speaking of Christianity's rapid growth in Asia, it seems that South Korea is the newest Asian Christian majority nation.

Christian 31.6% (Protestant 24%, Roman Catholic 7.6%), Buddhist 24.2%, other or unknown 0.9%, none 43.3% (2010 survey)
Source: The World Factbook​

Interesting, I knew South Korea had a large Christian population, didn't know it was that big.

 

[Shiranui117]

Speaking of Christianity's rapid growth in Asia, it seems that South Korea is the newest Asian Christian majority nation.

Christian 31.6% (Protestant 24%, Roman Catholic 7.6%), Buddhist 24.2%, other or unknown 0.9%, none 43.3% (2010 survey)
Source: The World Factbook​

Christianity isn't even a plurality there; notice the "none" is 43.3%, while the Christians are 31.6. It's a majority only if more than 50% of the country is Christian.