Schumpeter: Pope, CEO | The Economist

Schumpeter: Pope, CEO | The Economist: The church cannot take its success in the global South for granted. It is under pressure from lean start-ups with more vigorous marketing. Its market share in Latin America has declined from 90% in 1910 to 72% today, thanks to the growth of Pentecostalism. The Latin American church is responding by borrowing Pentecostal techniques such as holding “liberation masses” in soccer stadiums and allowing priests to speak in tongues. But Benedict refused to meet Marcelo Rossi, a charismatic priest who has sold more than 12m CDs, during his visit to Brazil. Jeff Immelt, the boss of General Electric, says his firm needs to disrupt itself with new ideas from the emerging world if it is not to be disrupted by emerging-world rivals. The next pope, likewise, needs to understand that he is not just the bishop of Rome.