In many parts of the world, religious leaders are concerned about the number of people leaving their churches. In this issue, our report from Italy takes up the matter regarding the situation in the Catholic Church. At a later time, Awake! will consider the situation in other religions.

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

R. Krubner/​H. Armstrong Roberts

Why Are They Worried About Losing Members?

Many churches are losing members. These first three articles, by Awake! correspondent in Italy, show that the Vatican itself, as well as many Catholic papers and commentators, is concerned. What reasons do they and others give for loss of church members?

THE Vatican is concerned. It issued a report last May entitled Sects or New Religious Movements: Pastoral Challenge. This document was the result of a study begun in 1984 by four Vatican departments to determine why so many Catholics are leaving the church.

Among the many reasons the Vatican gave for Catholics’ leaving the church were the following: ‘Concern over the future; the nature of truth and how it is to be found; the meaning of life; the lack of answers to their questions; feeling betrayed, deceived, exploited, not listened to; and disillusioned with Church laws and practices.’

It sounds like the condition of the crowds that flocked to Jesus: “They were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)a The Vatican document admitted that there are “many deficiencies and inadequacies in the actual behaviour of the Church” and emphasized that “there is a vacuum crying out to be filled.” It also referred to the “lack of leadership, patience and personal commitment on the part of church leaders.”

Other sources list further reasons for the departures from the churches. The well-known Dutch Catholic theologian Johannes Baptist Metz made this statement: “Our Western religion is secularized to the bone. No trace of messianism has been left over in it. Rulership by God has vanished out of it. He does not figure anymore within the churches, within theology, nor within the social and political issues of our day.”

Commenting on the situation regarding young people in Spain, Concilium, an international theological magazine, said: “Youth and the church represent two totally separate worlds, far removed from each other.” This magazine mentions parallel situations in Holland, Belgium, Federal Republic of Germany, and Australia.

One press report referred to the papal document as “the Vatican’s cry of alarm.” The document suggests a ‘rethinking of the parish community approach.’ It should be ‘outgoing and witnessing.’ It observes that the sects go “out of their way to meet people where they are, warmly, personally, and directly, pulling the individual out of anonymity, promoting participation, spontaneity, responsibility, commitment.”

It calls for an “ongoing education in the faith” to combat the religious ignorance so widespread among members of the churches today. “The word of God,” the document declares, “should be rediscovered as an important community-building element,” and the preaching work should have a “biblical dimension.”

Turning from its self-examination, the document strikes an ominous note: “At times we may have to recognize, and even support, radical interventions on the part of the state acting in its own sphere.” (Italics ours.) This “invitation” to the State to step in to help in the war was not lost on the press. “Is the shadow of the ‘secular arm’ reappearing with regard to non-Catholic religions, and particularly with regard to the so-called ‘sects’?” asked Marco Tosatti in La Stampa of June 4, 1986.

Does this possible use of the government indicate that the Vatican wishes to return to its methods of the Dark and Middle Ages to suppress freedom of worship? Did Jesus ever request the help of political authorities to neutralize those who opposed his teachings? Did Peter ever do so? Did the other apostles ever do so? Was it not the Pharisees who appealed to Pilate in order to have Jesus impaled? Is requesting governmental help proof of spiritual strength, or is it an admission of weakness?

Not all Catholics leaving the church are joining another religion, but large numbers are flocking to one particular religious organization. What group is that, and why is it the one being chosen by so many who are leaving their church?

[Footnotes]

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Cover photo: K. Scholz/​H. Armstrong Roberts

Why Are So Many Becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses?

IN MANY lands people are doing just that. For example, at Bologna, Italy, church authorities, with the pope’s approval, held a congress to study how to combat the success of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Catholic Church raised a “cry of alarm,” according to La Repubblica, because every year ten thousand Catholics become Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Jesuit Giusseppe De Rosa said that “from a religious point of view the most dangerous are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They come fully trained; they always have the Bible in their hand.”

In an editorial dealing specifically with Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Jesuit magazine La Civiltá Cattolica of February 18, 1984, wrote:

“The first reason for the spread of the movement lies in the propaganda techniques [that is, in the preaching work]. The work on the one hand is painstaking, carried out from door to door by people who are scrupulously trained in this work and strongly convinced . . .

“The second reason for the success of the JWs is in the attractive force of the jehovist message, in being able to cater to the needs, demands, and expectations of the people of our times. First of all, it fulfills the need for certainties, something very much appreciated at a time when all is uncertain and unsteady. . . . Above all, it is an absolutely certain revelation of the future, and therefore all who accept it are freed from all fear and anxiety and can face the future with joy, with the certainty of surviving the ruination of God’s tremendous judgment day for a wicked world and to live in eternal happiness on earth. Secondly, the jehovist message helps in overcoming the anxiety of the individual in the face of this world’s woes, announcing that the overturning of today’s unbearable situation is near, and that soon, therefore, there will be a new era, a new world will be born from which all the wicked who are now triumphant will be eliminated. . . .

“The third reason for the success of JWs is that the movement gives its members a precise and strong identity, and it is a place for them where they are welcomed with warmth and a sense of brotherhood and solidarity.”

The Vatican document analyzed people’s needs at the present time, and the foregoing quote from the Jesuit magazine La Civiltá Cattolica showed that it is the message of Jehovah’s Witnesses that is fulfilling those needs. This is further evidenced by the Catholic writer Vittorio Messori in his recent book Scommessa sulla morte (A Bet on Death), in which he writes:

“It makes you think when you realize that one of these apocalyptical sects​—Jehovah’s Witnesses—​is the fastest growing confession, or religion, in the world. It is among the most practiced religions in many lands . . . and it is perhaps in first place when it comes to fervor, zeal, activism, ability to make proselytes.

“Neither is their ever more accentuated presence limited to lands of Christian tradition, but it reaches the whole of the world where, in the name of Jehovah, and in a very short time, results are obtained that are often superior to those of Catholic, protestant, and orthodox missionaries in centuries of work.

“This impressive force of expansion is incomprehensible only to the one who does not want to admit that . . . Jehovah’s Witnesses’ way of reading the Bible evidently meets real needs that other theologies no longer fill.

“One cannot avoid the issue by insinuating that the Witnesses prosper because they play on fear. Just the opposite: Unlike the ‘official’ churches, they deny the existence of hell, preaching annihilation for the wicked and unbelievers, definitive disappearance after death. An unpleasant prospect, perhaps; but certainly less terrorizing than the threat of terrible pains for all eternity.”

Yes, the God of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a loving God, not one that strikes people with terror.

The following quotation is taken from the Catholic magazine Mondo erre of March 1986: “It ought to be said that Jehovah’s Witnesses are the first to live the faith they preach: They don’t get angry, they don’t smoke, they don’t accumulate riches, they keep out of political discussions, . . . they pay the taxes, they follow a virtuous and honest life-style, they are happy and obliging. All of this has made them well liked.”

Ex-Catholics Interviewed

It is interesting to consider some firsthand accounts indicating the reasons why two ex-Catholics chose another religion.

Rosanna C., a young married woman who lives in the province of Parma (northern Italy), says:

“I had a peaceful infancy. I received much affection from my parents and had a normal Catholic education. During adolescence, I developed a desire common to many young people: I wanted to make myself useful to God and serve him. This desire was nourished by reading a copy of the Gospel I bought at a bookstall. I had never read it before. What I read made me love Jesus. I realized that he had a message of hope for mankind, even though I did not grasp the meaning of it. I also realized that his disciples must show deep love for God and their fellowman.”

Awake!: Were you satisfied with the way you practiced your religion?

Rosanna: Not really. When I was 17, I taught catechism to children who were from 10 to 12 years of age. As a member of a Catholic Action youth group, I took part in meetings and spiritual meditation. I was very occupied, religiously speaking. But there were two things I didn’t like. The Bible, the book I so deeply respected, was never examined, and in the group I belonged to, there was no real unselfish love or unity. And that was not all. I was also concerned by the fact that a sodomite and a Lesbian were accepted and highly esteemed by the group. One afternoon I just broke down and cried.

Awake!: Was it easy for you to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Rosanna: No, it certainly wasn’t! When my parents first began receiving visits by Jehovah’s Witnesses, I had no wish to join in. Later, however, impressed by the good manners of the Witnesses, I decided to get to know them and joined in on a Bible discussion with them. This was decisive for me. What most impressed me was the fact that for every objection I raised, they gave me a clear answer from the Bible.

Awake!: Did you ask any priests for advice after this conversation?

Rosanna: Yes, several, and a nun. They were not too concerned about helping a ‘lost sheep.’ After an accurate study of the Bible, in 1977 I symbolized my dedication to Jehovah God with water baptism.

Claudio C., 30, from Isérnia (central Italy), said:

“When I was ten years old, of my own free will I entered a seminary run by the Capuchin friars. My desire was to serve God as a missionary. Seminary life had its problems due to certain situations existing there; but what really disturbed me was when my superiors refused to give me a copy of the Bible, a book I greatly desired to read. I was even more concerned when a priest told us that man’s origin was through evolution. I realized that I could not achieve my goal of serving God in the seminary, so I left at the age of 15.”

Awake!: How did you come in contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Claudio: They came to my house. I remember asking them direct questions, and they gave me direct and precise answers. They left two books with me, Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? and Is the Bible Really the Word of God? After reading them, I realized that the theory of evolution is unfounded and that the Scriptures are inspired by God. My brother had joined me in my search for the truth, and we wondered if the Witnesses really were the representatives of true Christianity. We needed to examine their doctrines more thoroughly.

Awake!: What did you do then?

Claudio: We had conversations with three priests and with ministers of several Protestant denominations. After a thorough investigation, we were convinced that it was Jehovah’s Witnesses that really helped people to understand the Bible. We got baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I’ve finally achieved my childhood goal of serving God.

Are you willing to compare your religious views with God’s Word the Bible? Do you have the courage to do that with an open mind?