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C H A P T E R  5  
 

 
 

Forming Future Catholic Priests in a 

‘Pentecostal World’: Challenges and 
Prospects 

 

John Segun ODEYEMI 

 

 

 

Introduction  

Modern Ecumenism and Pentecostalism are two different phenomena 

which have occurred in the Christian world in the last hundred years.  

Even though Pentecostalism was criticized initially by the established 

churches as theologically unsystematic, lacking in doctrine and 

dogma, yet its appeal and rate of growth remain undeniable, giving 

birth to a totally new ecclesial community. This growth is now 

recognized and acknowledged among the World Council of Churches 

as perhaps the new ‘Pentecost’ of our age.  Some make the claim that 

Pentecostalism will be the new face of Christianity within a few 

decades and into the next millennium. Using Nigeria as a template, 

this essay investigates the relationship between Pentecostalism and 

Catholic seminarians in formation.  These seminarians will be priests 

within an existing but fragile ecumenical union.  Hence, there is the 

need for a framework by which one can critically explore 

Pentecostalism’s future challenges and prospects vis-à-vis future 

Catholic priests.   

In the spring of 2016, Missio Aachen, in Germany awarded 

me some grant to pursue a study of the impact of Pentecostalism in 

West Africa with a specific focus on ecumenism. I had grown up in 



68    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.  This country is also the most 
diverse in terms of language and ethnic affiliations, it happens to be 

home too for Pentecostalism in West Africa.  Growing up within 

these complexities of ethnic, lingual and multiple religious identities 

made me query the idea of the production of multiple meanings 

within Christianity.  It is necessary to state, that these multiplicities of 

the production of interpretations cut through traditional missionary 

founded Churches, the African Independent Churches(AICs), the 

evolution of classical Pentecostal Churches, the birth of Charismatic 

and Neo-Pentecostal bodies and currently the newest form of 

Pentecostalism which I refer to as Pentecôtistes nouvelle génération; 

(PNG).1  Let me clarify that Pentecostalism in Nigeria and in West 

Africa, from my fieldwork across Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and 

Sierra Leone has its own peculiarities and distinctiveness from 

Pentecostalism in the global West. 

At the turn of the twentieth century, Pentecostalism in sub-

Saharan Africa had become a phenomenon that no serious scholar of 

religion could ignore. Through its evolutionary stages from the 1920s, 

Pentecostalism for various reasons, which we shall explore later, 

continued to grow and expound thereby impacting the societies it 

exists in on all fronts; culturally, economically, socially, politically, 

and religiously.  Consequently, it is said that “the Pentecostal genre of 
Christianity is becoming the dominant form of Christianity in 

contemporary Africa.”2 Cephas Omenyo, reflecting on the genre 

which in and of itself is not mono but existing in pluriformity, states, 

“The variety and diversity of African Pentecostalism is palpable.  It is 
sometimes suggested that we should speak of ‘African 
Pentecostalisms’ rather than ‘African Pentecostalism’ because of the 
existing complexities of categorization.”3  The diversities spoken of 

here deserve another script and research, starting from classical to 

Neo-Pentecostals of contemporary times. It can be argued that 

Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing religious phenomenon around 

the globe currently.  Some call it a revival of traditional Christianity, 

which is said to have grown lukewarm.  Cardinal Walter Kasper calls 

this a “third wave of Christian history” or a third phase where the 

mission is no longer ‘ad gentes’ – to the nations/peoples of the world, 

but ‘inter gentes’ – between peoples of same religious commitment.4  

This growth is adduced to evangelical movements, Pentecostal 

Churches, and Charismatic movements.   



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   69 

 

 

 

West African Pentecostalism may be popular, but it has 

considerable baggage of problems to deal with. For now, a brief 

reflection suffices; Pentecostalism is a proliferation and further 

splintering of the Christian Church that was born out of the 16th 

century Reformation. As young as Pentecostalism is within 

Christianity and the history of the Southern hemisphere, it continues 

to suffer multiplications and splintering or breakaway factions.  In all 

of the West African countries I visited, most notorious are Ghana and 

Nigeria, where the Pentecostal billboards and signposts litter the city 

skyline.  Television and radio broadcasts are filled daily with 

competing Pentecostal Churches, founders and general overseers 

jostling for adherents and making promises of deliverance, healings 

and breakthroughs.  Particularly, in Nigeria, this splintering becomes 

a battle for bodies and minds of people, every new assembly vying for 

social relevance and survival.  Within the raucousness, some of these 

newly founded and self-appointed church ministers create a 

fundamentalist following deeply steeped in proselytizing. The Jesuit 

theologian, Roger Haight sees some of these movements not only 

individualistic and fundamentalist, but extremely suspicious and 

exclusivistic of other Pentecostal assemblies.  Haight avers, “… so 
individualistic is their anthropology and piety that they scrupulously 

avoid all social involvement except for an extreme conservative type; 

and so independent and at times hostile to the interests of the mainline 

churches that they reject any ecumenical cooperation.”5  

The various ecclesial communities may be witnessing an 

explosion in numbers across the continent currently but they risk an 

implosion in the future due to present inaction.  The authenticity of a 

true Christian spirit lies in its witnessing, the power of her truth, her 

forthrightness in speaking against unjust structures and not the 

domination of the poor.  An appeal to divine authority for a ‘gospel of 
prosperity’, the collection of tithes, the promise of deliverances, 

revivals, night vigils etc., may not be a veritable vehicle of truth that 

builds real and enduring faith. If the Church cannot speak this 

language of freedom and be at the forefront of the liberation of the 

people, political and economic forces will take the driver’s seat. 
When a new and progressive era dawns in Africa and in Nigeria, 



70    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

particularly, Christianity runs the risk of becoming irrelevant, as it has 

happened to some other continents. 

It is important, therefore, that seminarians pay attention to the 

complexities that will mark ecumenical relationships between 

Pentecostals and Orthodox Christian faiths. This initial formation 

prepares future priests to be disposed to ecumenical exchanges, which 

by now should be seen as inevitable. Refusal of ecumenical 

exchanges denies the unifying action of the Holy Spirit in the 

Christian community. It is the same Holy Spirit that vivifies the 

proclamation of the Goodnews.  It is this sort of unity that gives the 

Christian message credibility and makes for authentic and lasting 

conversions.  According to Killian McDonnell, at a more pragmatic 

level, it is exactly the Church’s credibility that is called into question, 
“At the level where most persons experience the Church… it is the 
want of holiness, the lack of fruit, and the manifest disunity which 

make her efforts at evangelization ineffective and constitutes a threat 

to the power of the gospel.”6 McDonnell states further that a real 

commitment to Jesus consists of entering into a community of human 

persons totally committed to resisting popular values “which see the 
ultimate goal in an ever-increasing, ever higher, standard of living, of 

resistance to mindless consumerism, and to social values which 

sanction racism and the exploitation of the poor.”7  

 

The Specificity of Nigerian Pentecostalism: A Staring Point for 

Ecumenical Formation in the Seminaries 

The first step towards understanding any natural phenomenon is a 

careful study of its history and growth. For seminarians to be 

adequately prepared to engage Pentecostalism in ecumenism, it is 

important, given their philosophical, theological and scholastic 

studies to engage in academic research and when possible fellowship 

and joint acts of praying or worship.  The following is an abridged 

history that is illustrative of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria.   

Western and European scholars tend to locate the origin of the 

renewal of Pentecostalism solely to the Azusa Street mission of 1906, 

born out of an African American prayer group in Los Angeles.8  

Some other scholars from South America, Asia and Africa trace a 

different historical origin different from the Azusa mission.  For 

instance, Ogbu Kalu in his seminal work on Pentecostalism clarifies 

that from the very beginning, “African Pentecostalism did not 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   71 

 

 

 

originate from Azusa Street and is not an extension of the American 

electronic church.”9  For Kalu, African Pentecostalism was as a result 

of the response to missionary enterprise by the indigenous African 

Christians (also known and referred to as African Independent 

Churches, (AICs).10  Citing the Ethiopian movement as an example, 

which was an attempt at a recovery of African identity through 

religion; Kalu makes the claim “Ethiopianism was a muscular 

movement that operated with a certain theodicy claiming that God has 

not deserted Africans to their humiliation but has raised a people to 

restore Africa’s lost glory.”11  This, Kalu perceived to be an African 

spirituality that will be anti-structure, anti-colonialism which will give 

birth to a vibrant nationalism. It will empower and energize African 

Pentecostalism post-independence. So, the first question to be asked 

is, how will seminarians understand and perceive African spirituality 

in relating to their own scholastic and format theological training? 

Despite the foregoing, there is a clear distinction between the 

Pentecostal movements through the decades, which makes 

contextualizing a necessity but labelling difficult and unnecessary.  In 

proper context, therefore, one can historically begin to see the 

emergence of African Pentecostalism, revivals and identity from 1900 

to 1960. Various indigenous ‘Prophets’ were already crisscrossing 
different parts of Africa from 1910 when European missionaries were 

gathered in Edinburgh to discuss further mission work in Africa.  

Kalu sums up this all-important clarification as follows, 

From the historical discourse, it can be demonstrated 

that the movement in Africa did not start from Azusa 

Street… I conclude that a charismatic wind blew 

through the African continent in the post-independent 

period that first hit the youth and women, and later 

overawed the resistance of the mainline Churches.  In 

each country, certain socioeconomic and political 

factors determined the pattern of the early concerns.  

But various strands connected across national 

boundaries.12 

 

This argument does not exclude a variety of missionary influences.  

What remains clear according to Kalu is that the emergence of 



72    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

missionary evangelical Pentecostalism came to Africa to find these 

religious impulses already in existence. While they initially coexisted, 

various factors forced a separation. African Pentecostalism took its 

roots from the indigenous impulses.13  It would be difficult to argue 

successfully that it has remained the same ever since. 

With the emergence of this new face of Pentecostalism, a 

topological distinction is made between the AICs, the first wave of 

neo-Pentecostalism and the current mega auditoriums, and jet-flying 

Pentecostalism.  The development and timeline seem to be one and 

the same along the West African Coast and in Africa generally.14 

Brigit Meyer concludes that given the current state of African 

Pentecostalism and its classifications and categories it can give way 

to, “albeit contested, processes of de-essentializing such notions as 

African, authentic, or local, de-temporalizing tradition, deconstructing 

modernity, blurring the boundary between religion and politics, and 

even de-universalizing religion.”15 Whatever the case might be, 

Pentecostalism, especially of Nigerian persuasion continues to 

expound and enlarge.  For instance, J.D.Y. Peel notes, “The Yoruba16 

have exported their brand of Neo-Pentecostalism all over sub-Saharan 

Africa, especially to major cities like Nairobi and Johannesburg.  And 

in Europe too, whether to serve mainly their own in the diaspora or to 

light the Pentecostal fire in a native white population (as with the 

Embassy of God in Ukraine.)”17 All over Europe and America, 

Pentecostals offer a chaplaincy of welcome and safe haven for the 

throngs of African migrants.   

The contention of the relationship between future priests, who 

are now seminarians takes on another extension worthy of 

consideration; as we begin to experience a ‘reverse re-evangelization’ 
of the West by African priests, pastors and preachers, it is important 

to pay attention to ecumenical relationships in the diaspora.  The 

Pentecostals believe there is a trend which constitutes a “major 
paradigmatic change in the Christian mission, popularly labelled a 

‘reverse mission.’ African Pentecostals are convinced that God’s 
mandate to them is to reach out to the entire world.  This conviction is 

captured by their including words such as ‘global’, ‘international,’ 
and ‘world’ in their nomenclature.”18 And the history of European 

missionaries’ relationships in the evangelization of Nigeria is well 
documented and not much of it reflects ecumenical embrace or 

friendship.  In the United States, Catholics, Evangelicals and African 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   73 

 

 

 

Pentecostals are already experiencing tensions based on 

proselytization.  There is much work to be done in this area so as to 

bridge the existing widening gap between Christians in the diaspora. 

From my personal experience, most Africans who arrive in 

Europe and America and who practice the older forms of Christianity 

usually have problems with ‘sombre and solemn’ liturgies they 

encounter in their new homes. Unlike the celebratory and lively 

worship back home, the migrants encounter a cold and impersonal 

style.  In some instance, their white hosts fail to extend a hand of 

welcome and sure enough, they begin to “shop” around.  Once they 
find the Pentecostal communities, they immediately feel at home.  

They network and are helped to settle down, get accommodation, 

jobs, social security cards and even for the illegal immigrant, he or 

she finds welcome and fellowship.  Pentecostals in the diaspora fulfil 

a role the older generational Churches are unable to fill.  Gradually, 

Pentecostalism is beginning to impact the host European and 

American communities. Perhaps the Pentecostals will be at the 

forefront of the re-evangelization of the global West. Here, the 

challenge for training future Catholic priests in the new 

evangelization of the next century becomes a paramount task to be 

fulfilled. 

 

A Pentecostal Perspective on Ecumenism  

Nigerian Pentecostals generally seems ambivalent when it comes to 

the question of ecumenism.  Neo –Pentecostals in the West who are 

beginning to build a viable theological base are willing to engage in 

ecumenical encounters better than evangelical and Neo-Pentecostals 

found mostly in the Southern hemisphere. Based on my fieldwork and 

research findings, Pentecostals in West Africa think that ecumenism 

is important, but in reality, I did not find many instances of 

ecumenical associations between Pentecostals, Catholics and other 

denominations. There are a few instances where Pentecostals had to 

work with other denominations borne out of immediate expediency. 

For instance, in Sierra Leone, immediately after the civil war and the 

aftermath of the Ebola decimation, a coalition between churches was 

formed to try and respond to the humanitarian needs at the time.  



74    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

This sort of situation found in Sierra Leone is one of the 

examples that show the state of Christianity in its supposed glorious 

upsurge on the face of the continent.  Interestingly, Frank Macchia 

calls attention to ‘the tongues of Pentecost.’  Macchia avers, “The 
tongues of Pentecost may provide a pregnant metaphor for a distinctly 

Pentecostal reflection on ecumenical exchange with Roman 

Catholics.”19 Macchia clarifies further, “The tongues event of 
Pentecost exposes the scandal of both a complacent sectarianism that 

offers no need to strive for unity and a complacent Catholicism that is 

convinced such unity already exists.”20  Because the Pentecostals lay 

claim to the centrality of ‘tongues’ as it was given on Pentecost day, 
Pentecostalism cannot be sectarian, therefore must be ecumenical.  

Macchia goes further to state, 

The event of Pentecost by nature resists domestication as 

a metaphor that inspires the narratives of just one 

movement or segment of the people of God.  Pentecost is 

an ecumenical event.  It should make Pentecostals feel 

uneasy and insecure within the closet of Pentecostal piety.  

It urges them to come out of that closet and to discover 

‘Pentecostalism’ in communions other than their own, 
especially in ways unfamiliar to them.  It reminds them 

that being Pentecostal in the full sense of the word means 

transcending the boundaries of the Pentecostal movement 

in directions unexpected and quite dramatic.  It means, in 

part, facing the ecumenical promise and challenge implied 

in the presence of the Roman Catholic Church.21  

 

To focus on the mystery and transcendence of tongue-speech, 

according to Macchia is an important theological foundation for 

understanding and affirming diversity among the various Christian 

traditions.  Language, culture and doctrinal traditions are relative to 

the mystery of God who is present in these diversities of traditions 

where diversity stands for the communion of free humanity with a 

free self-revealing God.  Macchia, therefore, concludes that “such 
diverse communions can fellowship and work together as equal 

partners as they dialogue across ecclesiastical lines. Tongues as a 

prodigium that breaks in upon us from God’s spirit functions on one 
level as a kind of ‘anti-language’ that reveals the utter futility of any 
effort to attribute status to anyone language of faith.” 22 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   75 

 

 

 

               Allan H. Anderson, one of the most acknowledged 

theologians to have carried out thorough research on Pentecostalism 

views the connection between ecumenical work and contemporary 

Pentecostalism as almost void.  Anderson posits that despite the belief 

of evangelicals and Pentecostals dating back to Azusa Street, it was 

presumed that this new surge of the spirit will become an Apostolic 

Faith.  This idea, that the Pentecostal movement will sweep over the 

known Christian Church holds sway till date, and more so in the 

nerve centre of neo-Pentecostalism of the Southern hemisphere.  

Anderson asserts that Pentecostals saw unity in a spiritual sense, but 

not unity in creed or doctrine.  Anderson alludes to one area in which 

ecumenism seems to function even if not profoundly taken to heart; 

the interaction between Pentecostals and Charismatic Renewals in the 

older Christian traditions.  Anderson argues, “At the grassroots level, 

the Charismatic movement brought people together from many 

different denominations in an unprecedented way… ‘A sense of unity 

was generated through the sharing of the divine experiences in the 

spirit which washed away denomination barriers at the grassroots 

level’…”23  Anderson concludes that the greatest weakness of modern 

Pentecostals is their inability to embrace their potentials for 

ecumenical diversities and unity. 

 

The Task of Ecumenism Today: Roman Catholics, AICs, 

Pentecostals Relationships  

Our theological ‘elders’ forewarned us when in 1986 they gathered in 
Mexico for the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians 

(EATWOT) that the task of Africa’s theology must be ecclesial, 
cultural, political and liberating.  They posit the following wise 

words, 

…. we begin our common methodology of 
theologizing as people who feel in our bodies not just 

our own hearts but the pain of others.  We theologize 

together and individually from our suffering and 

humiliation.  We stand by our prior agreements to do 

theology and live our faith from the energy that flows 

from ecumenism and to which we pray our theology 

should make a contribution.  Together we define 



76    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

poverty, in the comprehensive understanding of the 

phenomenon, as whatever robs human beings and 

groups of peoples of their humanity.  All who are 

impoverished because the culture they created has 

been trampled upon by others, all who’s right to be 
human is challenged by socio-political, economic, and 

religious structures and demands that humiliate, all 

who have to struggle to have their humanity 

recognized and respected – all these are poor.24 

 

It is to these poor that the Goodnews about the kingdom of God must 

be preached.  It is to them that the Christian Church must serve, and 

not dominate, plunder or subjugate further than where they have 

already been marginalized by the corruption of governments and 

multi-million dollar corporations. 

From my experience and fieldwork in West Africa, the 

relationship between Catholics, African Independent Churches and 

the Pentecostals in ecumenical work is not easily navigated. It is 

different from one socio-cultural milieu to another. In most situations, 

these relationships are based on mutual suspicion and disregard.  

While Catholics are accused of worshipping images and idolizing 

Mary, the indigenous African Churches are accused of syncretism and 

the Pentecostals are perceived to be proselytizers and con artists.  At 

best their relationship can mostly be described as a mutual tolerance 

or intolerance. The possible avenue by which these Christian 

traditions can ever come together is usually under the auspices of the 

association of Christian Churches in each particular Church or region 

as the case might be.  In Nigeria for instance, (and this Nigerian 

example is almost the exact template of the same situation along with 

the governments and peoples of the coastline of West Africa), 

Christians come together under the auspices of the Christian 

Association of Nigeria, (CAN). Before CAN, the Nigerian 

Anglican/Roman Catholic Commission (NARCC) had existed as an 

ecumenical body, wherein joint days of prayers for unity are held, and 

theological discussions ensued.   

Upon the arrival of the Pentecostals and in the light of the 

unstable economic and political situation in the country, it was 

imperative for the various Christian blocs under CAN to have a 

common voice facing the new political realities in the nation.  There 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   77 

 

 

 

have been calls to prayers nationwide and several communiques and 

papers presented commonly from CAN in response to burning social 

issues at different times.  Most researchers who have made significant 

contributions to the study of Neo-Pentecostalism usually do not make 

concise connections between Ecumenism, the Christian Church, 

Pentecostalism, politics and social impact. It is true that many 

government officials along the West African coastline are known to 

frequent prayer camps and Pastors.   

According to John Mansford Prior, Pentecostalism is yet to 

understand “the imperative of channelling its formidable power into 

the needs of the temporal world, towards the gospel call to 

transforming the social order according to the plan of God.”25 John 

Prior asserts that Pentecostalism “has confined itself to a spirituality 
of conversion, of holiness and fellowship, failing to galvanize its 

adherents into a force of advocacy and action against the structures of 

sin.”26  Pentecostalism with its numbers is naturally expected to 

collaborate in ecumenical efforts particularly when it speaks to social 

justice issues; on paper, West African Pentecostals (pastors and 

adherents) agree that ecumenism which pays attention to social justice 

issues is essential.  However, in reality, this is not true.  This question 

can also be asked of the older Christian traditions.  It can be asked of 

those who design the curriculum for seminaries in the training of 

future priests.  The preaching of the gospel can no longer be without 

its political and liberational dimensions. 

 

Future Priests, Ecumenism and Pentecostalism: Prospects and 

Challenges.  

There is a complexity in approaching the question of anything in the 

future since no one knows the future. We can try to predict 

possibilities in the future, but there are too many factors at play 

beyond human control that can reshape the future. The future of 

Catholic priests and Pentecostals at home and abroad, engaging in 

ecumenical work is bleak.  The reality is that both sides view each 

other with suspicion.  The future as far as it can be perceived puts a 

great challenge on the part of the priests of the next generation.  

Again, there is an urgent need to review the curriculum in the 

seminaries especially as it affects Homiletics, evangelization and 



78    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

managing ecumenical outreach.  Awareness is essential as the future 

of Catholicism in the global west may now be the missionary 

responsibility of the next generation of Catholic priests. The 

following points are the essentials that I consider a necessity for 

preparing men who will bear witness to our catholic and apostolic 

faith in the very near future. 

 Pentecostalism is a reality of the Christian Church today.  We 

have all to learn to live together as we lay claim to 

proclaiming Christ to the world. Pentecostalism in Nigeria 

and on the West African landscape is still very amorphous in 

nature to be approached in an ecclesial setting.  The onus is on 

the existing older traditions to continue to extend the hands of 

fellowship to those in the Pentecostal assemblies willing to 

work with others in an ecumenical setting. 

 There is an urgent need for our seminaries to undertake a 

theological and ecclesiological understanding of Pentecostal 

teachings, to review its hierarchical/governmental structures.  

To understand Pentecostalism in its various forms is a step 

forward in building a relationship, that lessens the existing 

tension and mutual suspicion. 

 For the Christian message to endure on the continent, the 

Pentecostals cannot afford to make the same mistakes their 

older brothers of the older traditions have made in the past; 

the idea that it is cosy and safe within their own assemblies, 

thereby becoming exclusive and not desirous of interacting 

with other Christian Churches.  The Christian Church in sub-

Sahara Africa faces a silent but potent threat from 

globalization and extreme liberalism.  As cultures collide and 

penetrate each other through technology and the new wave of 

the internet and electronic media, a common front and 

ecumenical handshake across the divide is a necessity for the 

Pentecostals and other Christians.   

 In the West African region what makes ecumenical work, a 

must is the unrelenting insurgency of extreme and radical 

Islam.  In Nigeria, the hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency, and 

in Ghana and Sierra Leone, skirmishes have been recorded 

between radical Islamic Jihadists against Christians and 

sometimes against moderate Muslims. In Nigeria for instance, 

there are public statements, unrefuted by the federal 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   79 

 

 

 

government that there is an agenda to Islamize the entire 

country by Jihad. In this volatile situation, presenting a 

common ecumenical front in protecting the Christian 

population is a necessity. 

 It seems the future of Christianity lies in the soil, sons and 

daughters of Africa, yet the issues, which disunite us, are 

more than the issues that unite us. Ecumenical work, 

especially in constant dialogue, is the only way forward if the 

new Pentecost breathing in the panting heart of Africa will 

reverberate and will engage in the new evangelization of lands 

previously home of Christianity, out of which the good news 

came to us.  

 Catholic seminaries hold a wealth of spiritual and intellectual 

traditions in the training of future priests.  This process must 

now be updated to include methods and approaches by which 

the priest to be is equipped in religious dialogue broadly.  The 

interaction of traditional Christianity with the new face of 

Pentecostalism is only one stage in the dialogical process.  

There are Muslims and traditional religions to encounter and 

embrace, especially in regions such as ours so deeply 

polarized and divided. Catholic seminaries must begin to 

produce priests for the future who will take leadership roles in 

these dialogues.27 

 

Conclusion 

A seeming lack of interest on the part of Pentecostals in questions of 

political engagement, the struggle for liberation and freedom from 

political oppression and social justice, widens the gap and makes 

ecumenical work more difficult. In Nigeria, one gets a sense of a 

disconnect between social involvement and evangelism in the 

Christian Churches generally. While the Pentecostals fill up 

auditoriums and stadiums for revivals and crusades, most of them are 

unable to put programs in place which supports social services.28  

Both Pentecostals and the older Christian traditions are guilty of 

building social services like schools and hospitals, which most of 

their congregants cannot afford monetarily to use. This is very 

prevalent across the board on the West African coast. It is easily 



80    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

noticeable in private secondary schools, polytechnics and universities 

owned by Pentecostal pastors or General Overseers (GOs). This 

extreme lack of social consciousness builds a wall that wedges any 

kind of effort at an ecumenical embrace.  According to Anderson, for 

the Pentecostals, “There has not been a clearly articulated theological 
foundation for social ministry.”29  Contrarily, they seem to focus on 

what Anderson refers to as an ‘otherworldly’ spirituality that avoids 
‘worldly’ issues. Most prominent and at the forefront of Pentecostal 

evangelism is material wealth, suppression of demonic forces, 

healings and miracles, and speaking in tongues – all of which will not 

feature on the agenda of an ecumenical meeting.  

In this work, I examined the possible connections between 

Catholic seminarians, who will become future priests, contemporary 

Pentecostalism and the notion of a possible ecumenical engagement 

towards social, political and religious reconstruction. While 

acknowledging Nigerian Pentecostalism and its phenomenal growth 

over the last few decades, it could well be said that it is the future face 

and phase of African Christianity. However, there is the distressing 

news; Nigerian brand of Pentecostalism lack a coherent ecclesiology 

especially as it focuses mostly on "health and wealth" doctrines. If 

Nigerian Pentecostalism would thrive, it must connect and reach out 

ecumenically, by committing itself to social justice issues.  It is also 

clear that there is work to be done to adequately equip young 

seminarians ordained into Catholic ministry in the coming decades as 

they encounter their brothers and sisters of the Pentecostal persuasion.   

We all know where we are today, but where we shall be tomorrow is 

in the hands of God.  We can only pray and work assiduously, and 

together so that “His kingdom may come.” 

 

End Notes 
                                                           
1 John Segun Odeyemi. Pentecostalism and Catholic Ecumenism in Developing 

Nations: West Africa as a Case Study for a Global Phenomenon. (Eugene, 

Oregon: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2019), 52 
2 Cephas N. Omenyo. 2014. “African Pentecostalism” in Cecil M. Robeck Jr and 

Amos Yong (Eds). The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism. (NY: 

Cambridge University Press), 132 
3 Ibid. 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   81 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                  
4 Johannes Muller & Karl Gabriel (Eds.) 2015. Evangelicals, Pentecostal 

Churches, Charismatics: New Religious Movements as a Challenge for the 

Catholic Church. (Quezon, Philippines: Claretian Publications), 9-10 
5 Roger Haight, SJ. “Responding to Fundamentalism in Africa: Three Questions 
for the Mainline Churches. “ In the New Theology Review: An American 

Catholic Journal for Ministry. Vol 7, no.1, Feb. 1994, 60 
6 Killian McDonnell. 1978. The Charismatic Renewal and Ecumenism. (NY: 

Paulist Press), 16-7 
7 Ibid., 18 
8 This also is debated by some other scholars who give credence to the 

missionary work of Charles Parham in Texas where Pentecostal charisms had 

already been experienced before the Azusa street prayer meeting.  Of the Azusa 

street ministry, Thomas Rausch writes, “It was extraordinary in a number of 
ways.  First, those coming to the mission rejoiced in extraordinary gifts of the 

Holy Spirit, including an ecstatic form of worship.  Second, though it originated 

in an African American prayer meeting in a still segregated Los Angeles, the 

congregation was soon interracial, with blacks and whites praying and singing 

together.  Third, from its beginnings the movement spread like wildfire.  Within 

six months, members and others interested in the Azusa Mission had founded 

several new congregations in Los Angeles and its environs.  Its participants held 

meetings in neighboring communities, often in tents or rented storefronts.  By 

September, its evangelists had traveled from San Diego to Seattle, by December 

they were active across the country, and at least 13 missionaries had been sent to 

Africa.  In the next two years the movement spread to Mexico, Canada, Europe, 

Africa, even to Northern Russia. cf. Thomas P. Rausch. "Catholics and 

Pentecostals: Troubled history, new initiatives." Theological Studies 71, no. 4, 

2010, 928 
9 Ogbu Kalu. African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. 2008 (New York: 

Oxford University Press), viii 
10 Other designations for the AICs include African Initiated Churches, African 

Indigenous Churches, and African Independent Churches. 
11 Ibid. 
12 Ibid. 
13 Kalu surmises the situation at the time in the following succinct words, 

“Classical Pentecostals appeared early in the African religious landscape and 

operated with a muscular indigenous agency to charismatize Africa … The 
crucial point is that none of the classical forms of Pentecostalism became 

important in the religious landscape until they benefitted  from the spiritual 

renewal of the 1970s…. and certainly counter the impression that ‘new 
crusaders’ recently forayed into Africa bearing the insignia of fundamentalism. 



82    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age 

 

                                                                                                                                  

Pentecostalism emerged from the indigenous response of Africans to the 

missionary message; the missionary input from evangelical ministries such as  

Scripture Union, Campus Crusade, and such; from the increasing missionary 

forays of Pentecostals from the holiness tradition and Pentecostal denominations 

from various countries who utilized the labors of African agents; and from 

interdenominational parachurches, bolstered by the educational institutions  of 

many American Bible colleges  and many evangelical evangelizing outreaches. 

Cf, 64 
14 Meyer expounds on the all too common features of the new Pentecostal 

leadership in the following way, “Many PCCs present themselves as ultimate 
embodiments of modernity.  Building huge Churches to accommodate thousands 

of believers, making use of elaborate technology to organize mass-scale sermons 

and appearances on TV and Radio, organizing spectacular crusades throughout 

the country-often parading foreign speakers – so as to convert nominal 

Christians, Muslims, and supporters of traditional religions, creating possibilities 

for high-quality Gospel Music, and instigating trend-setting modes of dress all 

create an image of successful mastery of the modern world. Meyer,Birgit. 

“Christianity in Africa: From African Independent to Pentecostal-Charismatic 

Churches.” Annual review of Anthropology. 33, no.1,2004, 459   
15 Ibid, 467 
16 The Yoruba nation is the most dispersed ethnic group in Nigeria through the 

trans-Atlantic slave trade.  They inhabit the South Western part of Nigeria. 

Among the Yorubas, the first impulse of Charismatic- Prophetism and 

indigenous forms of Christianity was born in Nigeria. 
17 J.D.Y. Peel. Christianity, Islam, and Oriṣ a Religion: three traditions in 

comparison and interaction. 2016. (California: University of California Press), 

214 

 

18 Cephas Omenyo. “African Pentecostalism” in Cecil M. Robeck Jr and Amos 

Yong (Eds). The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism. Ibid,144 
19 Frank D. Macchia. “The Tongues of Pentecost: A Pentecostal Perspective on 
the Promise and Challenge of Pentecostal/Roman Catholic Dialogue.”  Journal 

of Ecumenical Studies, December 1, 1998, Vol.35, Issue 1.  
20 Ibid. 
21 Ibid., 2 
22 Frank D. Macchia. Ibid., 8 
23 Allan Heaton Anderson..  An Introduction to Pentecostalism (2nd Ed.) 

(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 252 
24 K.C. Abraham (Ed.) “Third World Theologies: Commonalities and 

Divergences.”  Mercy Amba Oduyoye, contributor, Commonalities: An African 

Perspective. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990.), 103 
25 John Mansford Prior (Maumere-Flores). “How Does the Catholic Church Deal 
with the New Religious Movements in a Constructive Way? (Focus on Asia)” In 



Forming Future Catholic Priests in a  Pentecostal World...   83 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                  

Johannes Muller & Karl Gabriel (Eds.) Evangelicals, Pentecostal Churches, 

Charismatics: New Religious Movements as a Challenge for the Catholic 

Church. Op.Cit, 255 
26 Ibid. 
27 Most of this section can be found in my book earlier cited, John Segun 

Odeyemi. Pentecostalism and Catholic Ecumenism in Developing Nations: West 

Africa as a Case Study for a Global Phenomenon. Op. Cit. 
28 While one must not make a blanket statement or over generalize on this 

matter, it must be stated that there are in the more established Pentecostal 

Churches, some who have some welfare plans for economically disadvantaged 

members.   For instance in Nigeria and Ghana, there are clear evidences to show 

that some needy Pentecostal members are provided raw food, they are given 

financial support to pay hospital bills, school fees or in some instances some 

amount to start a personal small scale business.  The problem lies with when you 

look at the wider picture. 
29 Ibid.  Allan Heaton Anderson, 278 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


