We need to face the facts. The significant number of Christians who are leaving the church to join new communities is a sign that Christians are tired of what we Catholics have offered them. So they are looking for something new that the classical parish pastoral framework is unfortunately no longer able to provide.

In fact, the Catholic Church’s classical parish pastoral program in Ivory Coast is currently trapped in a bureaucratic system that kills the prophetic spirit of pastoral ministry. This has led to a spiritual vacuum among Catholics. Weighed down with the burden of endless socio-political suffering, they are desperately looking elsewhere for a new experience of God.

As the Psalmist wrote: “It is your face that I seek, Lord.” Genuinely thirsty for the Holy Spirit, thousands of Christians have ended up deserting the bureaucratic classical parish pastoral framework in order to “descend into deep waters.” As a result, they are joining the framework offered by many new communities, which seems to quench their spiritual thirst. We therefore need to recognize that at this time in our history, we have failed as pastors.