(Reuters) - The Roman Catholic faith in many advanced countries risks being "eclipsed" by an increasingly secularised and materialistic world, bishops who discussed strategies on how to woo lapsed faithful back to the fold said on Friday.

The alarm was sounded in the final message of a synod of bishops from around the world who met at the Vatican on the theme of the "New Evagelisation", or the need to stop the haemorrhaging of the faithful, particularly in developed countries.