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E-book: Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio: Questions and answers about missionary service in Italy (part 8)
In this electronic book (e-book), "Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio," Howard Culbertson answers questions he has been asked about missionary work in Italy. Originally published for the Nazarene Missions International mission book series, this Nazarene Publishing House publication carried ISBN 0-8341-0612-4. Some material has been updated for this e-book edition.
Historical note: This chapter reflects questions and observations from our years of missionary service in Italy. Political conditions, church practices, and religious movements have changed since it was originally written.
I didn't know. For a long time, the Italian Communist Party was a powerful political force in Italy. Many major cities had Communist mayors, and the party held roughly one-third of the parliamentary seats.
We didn't get paranoid about that, however. God had called us to announce the Good News of His kingdom to people of whatever political persuasion. In fact, three of our pastors — Mario Cianchi, Angelo Cereda, and Salvatore Scognamiglio — were active Communists before their conversion and subsequent call to preach. Their hunger to change the world was transformed and harnessed by God for service in God's kingdom.
The official Italian Communist Party never bothered our work in Italy, but in isolated incidents, radical leftists did threaten evangelicals. During the period when nearly one-third of the Italian population was voting Communist, it was, of course, natural that some of our good friends happened to be Communists.
We talked about whatever friends talk about when they are together — except for politics. A political discussion with an Italian Communist could very quickly turn into a tirade against the United States and all of our country's problems.
I learned early in Italy that I would probably have a chance to talk to a Communist about only one of two things: (1) politics in which I would bravely defend my country, or (2) Jesus Christ, who is, after all, the most important Person in my life. I had to learn early that I was an ambassador for Jesus rather than an ambassador from the United States to Italy.
During our years in Italy, there were political discussions between Communist leaders and leaders of the Christian Democratic Party. Many Italians identified as Catholic while voting Communist, so religious affiliation and political allegiance clearly overlapped.
The relationship between Catholicism and Communism was complicated. A 1949 Vatican decree opposed Communist political activity and imposed excommunication on Catholics who professed materialistic, anti-Christian Communist doctrine. It is misleading to describe every Communist voter as excommunicated or to give 1960 as a simple endpoint for the church's opposition.
The Catholic Church was also an influential force in Italian public life. Its Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, provided an important window into its concerns.
I cannot judge a pope's personal relationship with Christ merely from his office or the terminology he uses. From my evangelical perspective, being born again means receiving new life through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, by God's grace.
Evangelicals and Roman Catholics differ over important questions involving justification, the sacraments, and assurance of salvation. Nevertheless, Catholic teaching explicitly says that the initial grace of forgiveness and justification cannot be earned. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe Catholic teaching simply as salvation purchased through enough penance or good works.
Our concern should be that every person, whatever their religious background, experiences God's saving grace in Christ.
I once heard people in St. Peter's Square shout "Salvatore, Salvatore" ("Savior, Savior") toward the pope. That language troubled me because I understood it as language belonging to Christ. However, what I heard from a crowd does not establish that the pope claimed that title for himself.
Yes. During our years in Italy, the pope regularly appeared at a window overlooking St. Peter's Square and celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on special occasions.
One year, an Olivet Nazarene University women's choir visited Rome at Epiphany, the January 6 celebration of the visit of the wise men. Pope Paul VI was celebrating Mass in the basilica when we arrived. Several men carried him down the central aisle on his ornate ceremonial chair. He passed within about 30 feet of us.
There is the kind of suspense that hangs in the air in the U.S. during presidential election time, but the papal election process is so super-secret that it creates an additional aura of mystery and suspense.
Any pope can leave a lasting imprint. However, the Roman Catholic Church is immense, and its established hierarchy and traditions mean that major changes often come slowly.
When John Paul II was elected, some people hoped he would change the requirement of celibacy for priests in the Latin Church. Instead, he reaffirmed that tradition.
Some Protestants also hoped for changes in Catholic devotion to Mary, which they regarded as giving her a place that belongs to Christ alone. In his first encyclical, Redemptor hominis (1979), section 22, John Paul II emphasized Mary's distinctive role in helping believers enter into the mystery of redemption. From my evangelical perspective, this emphasis raised questions about the roles assigned to Mary and to the Holy Spirit.
I first heard that claim from a radio preacher, but there is no sound basis for treating the number of available papal burial places as a sign of the end times. Popes have been buried in various places in Rome, including the catacombs and St. Peter's Basilica. Many papal tombs are in the Vatican grottoes beneath the basilica.
It is better to consider what Scripture teaches about the end times than to speculate about the number of burial places remaining after a brief tourist visit to Rome.
During our years in Italy, some changes in Catholic worship were quite visible, including greater use of the language of the people and different styles of music. However, changes in worship style alone did not resolve the doctrinal differences that separated evangelicals and Roman Catholics.
For example, John Paul II's emphasis on Mary continued to raise questions for me about how Catholic devotion related to the centrality of Christ.
I also encountered popular religious practices in Italy that, from my evangelical perspective, seemed to blend Christian language with superstition or an almost magical understanding of sacred objects. These observations concerned particular practices I encountered; they should not be treated as a description of every Italian Catholic or as a complete account of official Catholic teaching.
There is more diversity within Catholicism than many non-Catholics realize. Religious practice can differ considerably between countries and even between communities in the same country. In the United States, Catholic life has developed alongside a strong evangelical presence; in Italy, it has been shaped by a different history and culture.
Nevertheless, some practices that troubled me in Italy were also visible in the United States. American pilgrims visited Rome during the Holy Year of 1975, and I saw Marian shrines in American yards while traveling on home assignment. From my evangelical perspective, certain expressions of devotion to Mary and the saints seemed to give them an emphasis that belongs to God. These were my theological judgments about particular practices, rather than proof that all Catholics understood or practiced their faith in the same way.
Yes, I do. We're not engaged in a battle of converting Catholics to Protestantism, but of converting sinners to Christ. Our enemy is the devil. Our message is one of deliverance from sin and of new life in Christ. Our prayers must include lost and Satan-deluded people regardless of their religious background.
On the other hand, we do have to be careful not to fall into the treacherous trap of the syncretistic "theology of dialogue" which says that since there's good in all, all must, there, be good.
Fundraising associated with the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica helped trigger the Protestant Reformation. The promotion of indulgences in connection with financial contributions became a particular focus of Martin Luther's protest.
In Catholic teaching, an indulgence concerns the remission of temporal punishment for sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. It should not be defined simply as buying a specified number of years out of purgatory. The fundraising abuses surrounding indulgences, however, encouraged people to treat spiritual benefits as something money could secure.
Luther challenged those abuses in his 95 Theses, a set of propositions for debate. A slogan traditionally associated with indulgence preaching captures the problem: "When a coin into the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs."
Yes, that's the logic I've heard from several Italian — as well as American — Catholics. Of course, this rationale has no biblical basis. I go through a powerful man's advisors because that may be the only way I can get access to that man. He does not know about me, care about me, or even have time for me.
That's not true of the God we know and serve. When that giant curtain in the Jerusalem Temple was ripped in two by supernatural forces 2,000 years ago, it symbolized the elimination forever of the need for you or me to have to go through anyone else to reach the Presence of the God who loves us.
Yes, Italian Catholics pray for those who have died. Catholic teaching holds that those undergoing purification after death can be helped by the prayers of the living.
Catholics may offer a stipend when requesting a Mass for someone who has died. Such Masses were a familiar practice in the Italian churches we visited. Catholic law treats these payments as offerings, encourages priests to celebrate for people's intentions even without an offering, and prohibits treating Mass offerings as commerce. From my evangelical perspective, prayer for the dead and the doctrine of purgatory remain points of disagreement.
During the later years of our service in Italy, we generally encountered less open opposition than Protestant missionaries had experienced in earlier periods. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), begun under Pope John XXIII and continued under Pope Paul VI, encouraged a more constructive relationship with other Christians.
There were still occasional, isolated instances of opposition, but the overall atmosphere had softened considerably.
Yes. Family loyalty is important in Italy, and some families regarded a relative's conversion to an evangelical church as a rejection of their Roman Catholic heritage.
Some grandmothers we encountered were particularly distressed to learn that their infant grandchildren would not be baptized in a Roman Catholic Church. Their fears should not be presented as a complete statement of Catholic teaching. The Catholic catechism entrusts children who die without baptism to God's mercy and expresses hope for their salvation.
We also saw these strong family ties become a means of sharing the gospel. During one five-year period in the Florence church, member after member of one extended family came to the Lord.
During our years of missionary service, the charismatic movement had relatively little impact on the congregations we knew personally. That local experience should not be taken to mean that Italy had no Catholic charismatic groups: the Italian Catholic renewal movement dates its beginnings to 1972.
Pentecostal denominations, including the Assemblies of God, were a significant part of Italy's evangelical community. In the settings we knew, speaking in tongues was particularly associated with those churches.
Our Nazarene congregations sometimes gained members from Pentecostal backgrounds. We welcomed them and emphasized our understanding of entire sanctification and life in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Continue reading: Sincerity, self-support, and sowing the seed
Do you believe Catholics who are really sincere
will be lost? . . . What percentage of the converts remain Christian? . . . Why don't you attempt to
convert some of those rich Italians? . . . [ more ]