With the Pope’s very recent visit to Guanajuato, Mexico, The Economist ran a great article on religion in that country. As the map above reveals, the Catholic Church has lost its stronghold in southern Mexico even though it remains one of the world’s greatest Catholic nations with 112 million faithful.
Many areas of Mexico have been claimed by other Christian denominations, especially regions where the Catholic Church and the state have had little presence. Mexico has been transformed from a 96% Catholic nation in 1970 to an 83% Catholic nation at the present moment.
It is not a coincidence the Pope has traveled to both Mexico and Brazil during his pontificate. The rise of evangelicals in both countries has revealed enormous gaps in the evangelization done by the Catholic Church. This may be in part due to complacency by Church leaders or their disregard of the laity. During Vespers at the Cathedral of Leon, the Pope called on the Bishops of Latin America to foster closer bonds between all members of the Church, especially by paying attention to the formation of lay faithful who must never be considered “second class citizens” in the Church.
The Pope has traveled to Mexico to affirm and to fortify the faith of the Mexican people, especially during a time of social unrest and upheaval, and they have responded. The numbers are astounding: 700,000 lined the roads from the airport to Guanajuato, 600,000 attended his outdoor Mass. His closing words to the bishops in Leon express the suffering and pain experienced currently in Mexico and throughout Latin America:
“Beloved Brother Bishops, the Church in Latin America, which has often been joined to Christ in his passion, must continue to be a seed of hope enabling the world to see how the fruits of the resurrection have come to enrich these lands.”
The Pope has come to bring hope for a better tomorrow during trying times.
Click here to read the article from The Economist.
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