Pray today
The Vatican leadership plays a large role in the faith and lives of Roman Catholics. It also greatly influences the wider world. The Pope is one of the world’s most powerful and influential people. Francis left a positive legacy in several areas, due to his humility, simplicity, and concern for the poor and vulnerable. In Leo - the first pope from the USA and the first from the Augustinian order - there is opportunity for fresh impetus and new initiatives. His initial emphases on the centrality of Christ and the importance of preaching and evangelism are encouraging. Pray for God’s grace for this man, and for the Holy Spirit to guide him into all truth.
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The Roman Catholic Church is going through a time of turmoil and change. There are many doctrines and positions that divide this increasingly diverse body - ecumenism, the celibacy of the priesthood, the role of women, LGBTQ+ issues, contraception, and more. Pray for the essence of the gospel to be recaptured and for unbiblical forms and practices to be excised from the Church.
The loss of credibility through numerous scandals, the Church's immense wealth and historical role in colonialism, and a sustained decline in vocations (of priests, monks and nuns) will force many changes on Catholicism; pray for wisdom in adapting the Church to 21st Century realities.
Pray for spiritual renewal. Catholic charismatic renewal has an impact far beyond the 235 countries and 120 million involved. Pray for them to be a bridge to believers in other denominations and to not be absorbed or rendered ineffective by the system. A large proportion of the Catholic missionary force is charismatic. At the same time, the Roman Catholic Church is expanding in many spiritual directions - theological conservatism, charismatic renewal, Marian devotion, folk religious practices and others. Pray for nominal Catholics - many millions strong - to experience the radical conversion and cultural transformation that their pontiff insists is essential to faith.
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Content taken or adapted from Operation World, 7th Edition (2010) and Pray for the World (2015). Both books are published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.