Brazzaville, 26 November, 2023 / 8:51 pm (ACI Africa).
Increasing Pentecostalism in the Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is causing a kind of “guerrilla warfare" on the Catholic Church by disrupting the faith of many Catholic adherents in the Central African nation, Archbishop Bienvenu Manamika Bafouakouahou of Brazzaville has said.
In a Monday, November 20 report by the information service of Propaganda Fide, Archbishop Manamika says the Pentecostal churches seem to offer quick and easy solutions to problems thus attracting many Catholics, especially the poor.
“While we are in the truth, and that is what I actually believe, this truth is difficult for Christians who live in poverty to accept because they seek direct, immediate solutions to their pressing problems,” he says.
The vulnerable Christians, the Congolese Archbishop adds, “then find ‘magical solutions’ with these pastors, even if they still remain in poverty. But in general, the Catholic Church continues on its path,” the Local Ordinary of Brazzaville who doubles as the President of the Episcopal Conference of Congo further says.
Archbishop Manamika adds, “I believe that the local elites in Central Africa are not escaping Freemasonry. To climb the social ladder, one must join Freemasonry. The Church strongly discourages it because it is like a ‘magical’ path to success. However, even if a person has the intellectual ability to obtain a position of responsibility, he cannot get it unless he joins Freemasonry.” he says.
