Root out prosperity cult teachings

by Letters Editor · January 22, 2015

From Frank Bompas, Johannesburg

For years I have been concerned about the absence of quality Catholic teaching and spirituality in Church sodalities. In most of the parish groups there is no spiritual director or they depend on a parish priest who seldom if ever attends meetings, and show little interest in supporting the group.

(Graphic: The Southern Cross)

The result of this lack is that in many groups people without any training in theology or spirituality give shallow (and even erroneous) teachings which do not do justice to the richness of Catholic doctrine and spirituality.

Many of the questionable teachings and practices of Pentecostalism and the prosperity gospel cults are being openly punted in certain charismatic groups.

Often this involves people being promised healings and solutions to their financial and personal woes that do not materialise and the casting out of non-existent evil spirits.

All this carries on under the noses of parish priests who are too preoccupied to bother about what is happening in the sodalities and prayer groups or do anything about it.

If a priest cannot give teaching in person, he should at least distribute satisfactory material to lay leaders or (better still) ensure they are put through courses on spiritual leadership and theology.

Because I am a longtime supporter of the charismatic renewal, I am concerned that questionable practices, far from building up the charismatic renewal, give it a bad name and damage the Church.

I would like those with the responsibility for the charismatic renewal on the diocesan and national level to take a stand on this issue and ensure that serious steps are taken to terminate the spread of prosperity gospel teachings in a Catholic charismatic renewal setting.

It should also ensure that those attending charismatic renewal groups are given comprehensive Catholic instruction on spirituality and doctrine on a regular and sustained basis, especially on issues where there has been large-scale and systematic erroneous teaching.

However, it is also time that bishops took a stand on the issue of erroneous practices and also on bad or non-existent spiritual and doctrinal formation in many parish groups and compel clergy to fulfil their canonical responsibilities of credible pastoral care and spiritual formation.