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June 16, 2006
Word Up
He begins by discussing Catholicism in the Global South, with this rather useful analogy:
In other words, the central challenge for world Catholicism at the moment is not decline, but growth, and making sense of the new interactions between faith and culture this growth is generating.
"Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" has passed into the cultural idiom as a synonym for blithe indifference to an underlying crisis. I would suggest that much conversation in Western Catholicism these days is more akin to arguing over which buggy whips are best, while ignoring the emergence of the car; that is, a completely new world is taking shape, one destined to render many of this era's debates obsolete.
What I have called the "upside down church" of the future, one driven increasingly by the experience and priorities of the South, is likely to take scant interest in matters that have set the Catholic agenda in the West for more than a century, such as the balance of power between Rome and the bishops, or debates over various questions of doctrine. Instead, it will be the "cash value" of Catholicism in the confrontation with poverty, disease, corruption, war and cultural conflict that will increasingly be on the minds of most Catholics on the planet.
Here's a fascinating observation:
Third, as Lamin Sanneh, a native of Ghana who now teaches at the Yale Divinity School, notes in his 2003 book Whose Religion is Christianity?, the 20th century explosion in Christianity occurred at a time when "conversion" had become a bad word. Thus it has largely flown below the radar.
"Political correctness created a PR vacuum," Sanneh wrote.
Pope to Israel in 2007?
A long-time veteran of Jewish-Catholic relations told NCR this week that the Vatican has confirmed Benedict XVI's intention to visit Israel in 2007, though no date has yet been established for the trip.
According to this source, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo relayed the pope's intention in conversations with Israeli officials.
Lajolo, this source said, expressed two "desires" with regard to the prospective visit. The first is that long-running negotiations between Israel and the Vatican over the tax and juridical status of church institutions in Israel will be resolved before it happens. The second is that no violence will occur during the pope's trip, to avoid it being "instrumentalized" to serve the political ends of any party to the Middle East conflict.
According to this source, however, Lajolo said these were "desires" rather than conditions that must be satisfied before the trip can take place.
Though no itinerary has been discussed, when Benedict XVI met with Israeli President Moshe Katsav last November, he expressed interest in seeing Meggido, a site in northern Israel where archeologists recently unearthed what is believed to be the oldest Christian church yet discovered. Those remains date to the end of the third century.
Some clarification on the Oregon judge's decision allowing the Vatican to be named as a defendant:
Most legal experts say it's a long shot that the court will eventually take jurisdiction, among other things because it's a stretch to argue that every Catholic priest, brother and sister in the world is an "agent" of the Vatican. (That would suggest a corps of more than 1.2 million Vatican "agents" in every nook and cranny of the planet). Normally an "agent" or "employee" is defined as someone whose day-to-day activities are directed by the employer, who is supervised by the employer, and whose paycheck is signed by the employer. It would be difficult, experts say, to show that such was the case with Ronan.
Further, it would have to be shown that the "sovereign," meaning the Holy See, caused the abuse in Oregon to take place, or that it knew of the abuse and failed to stop it. One would have to prove that someone in the Vatican tracked Ronan's affairs, and hence in theory should have known what he was up to.
Aside from the Oregon and Kentucky cases, there's one other lawsuit currently making its way through American courts that seeks to establish jurisdiction over an agency of the Holy See -- the Institute for the Works of Religion, popularly known as the "Vatican Bank." Alperin v. Vatican Bank deals with the Vatican's alleged role in recycling loot stolen by the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime in Croatia during World War II (the Franciscan Order is also named as a defendant).
To date, the wall of sovereign immunity in American courts has held up where the Vatican is concerned. As with floods and hurricanes, however, the problem with lawsuits is that it only takes one.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
It's interesting that John Allen has again revealed his liberal stripes: we in the West are again arguing over "buggy whips" as against the real interests of the emerging Catholicism of the South, which is poverty, disease, corruption, and war. Allen simply does not understand that beginning with orthopraxis is not the Roman Catholic way. One must start with orthodoxy (i.e., the hated doctrine, which for most Catholic liberals has been irrelevant for the past forty years). Orthodoxy, which begins with the praise of God, is the font out of which flows right belief, from which flows right action. Therefore, doctrine is essential. It guides one's actions in fighting such things as poverty, disease, corruption, and war. Obviously, Catholic methods of eradicating these differ from secular methods. Even apart from these items, Catholic doctrine in itself is important and time spent on issues of doctrine is not wasted as Allen seems to think. The Catholic Church is not just another social service agency.
Posted by: Janice at Jun 16, 2006 1:16:35 PM
"The Catholic Church is not just another social service agency."
Pope John Paul II said as much.
The emergence of spiritism and animism alongside and within the Christianity of the South is something that has to be reckoned with.
There are some Catholic truths that are not "western" or "southern" but a core part of the deposit of the faith. If those disappear then the "exploding growth" in the South won't mean much.
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 1:41:24 PM
" Instead, it will be the "cash value" of Catholicism in the confrontation with poverty, disease, corruption, war and cultural conflict that will increasingly be on the minds of most Catholics on the planet. "
Sure smacks of a Peace & Justice emphases ... maybe the Southern church won't be too worried about liturgical nits and gnats.
Posted by: Jimmy Mac at Jun 16, 2006 1:47:48 PM
"maybe the Southern church won't be too worried about liturgical nits and gnats"
Hmmm -- wanna tell that to the Anglican Bishops of Africa who are contending with the ECUSA as we speak ??
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 1:59:42 PM
1. Coming from Argentina, I get somehow baffled at expressions such as "we in the west... meanwhile, in the south (Latin America)". I believe Allen could save his condescending tone for himself while reporting. Culturally, historically and racially, South America is as western as N. America or Europe. The same culture wars that take place there are fought here.
2. In South America, Catholicism is far from new and, I believe, it is not getting stronger by any means. That is a fact. I believe Allen's analysis applies only to Africa and India.
3. I endorse Janice comment. Allen's positions is just the usual liberal/progressive crap. The more "traditional" Catholicism is here, the stronger it is. The "poverty, corruption, social justice" agenda is -and is perceived here- as secondary.
Posted by: Ignacio at Jun 16, 2006 2:41:35 PM
The "cash value" comment simultaneously bothers me and confuses me. Yes, the southern hemisphere is largely poor and often wracked with violence, but it has been for centuries. If we are still worrying about "buggy whips," I suspect it's because it's still pretty hard to drive the buggy without them.
Posted by: Fortiterinre at Jun 16, 2006 2:44:54 PM
I share the doubts of Chrsitie about the long term orthodoxy of our "southern" component. Will African Catholicism of the future look like the syncretic Afro-Christian cults long established in the New World? Would it really be an advance to have a hundred million black Africans practicing animism, ancestor worship, and spirit-possession? And as for Latin America. how many Christians will be some species of Protestant in the long run rather than reproducing ancestral Catholicism? Syncretism is at work here, too, and long-buried paganism is re-emerging among the Maya among other groups.
Posted by: Sandra Miesel at Jun 16, 2006 2:45:43 PM
I don't understand what Allen means by "cash value" of Catholicism in combating poverty etc. Schools? hospitals? that sort of thing? Denouncing governments for not doing more and more? Instilling in Catholics moral behaviors which are conducive to getting out of poverty?
What has been the "cash value"of Catholicism in combating poverty in Latin America since 1492?
Posted by: Caroline Gissler at Jun 16, 2006 2:58:24 PM
I have neighbors whose father comes from south of the border. They are very nice people. On a number of occaisons they have invited us to thier Pentecostal Church despite me telling them that we are practicing Catholics. One day, when I went to fetch my children who were playing in thier house, I noticed a large number of candles and prints on thier kitchen wall that were unmistakenly catholics. They pictures were mainly of Catholic Saints, The Holy Mother, and the Scared Heart.
I don't know if Central American Pentecostals keep some vestige of the catholic heritage, and have somehow mixed into thier Protestantism, but
I cannot imagine this happening in other Protestant churches. Are these newer denominations bereft of the historical protestant crtitique of The Church of Rome, or are they more "cultish"?
I also know of an acquaintance at work who was born in Mexico, but is a non-practicing Catholic. She still speaks foundly of Our Lady of Gaudelupe, but finds no reason whatsoever to practice or beleive in the Faith.
Posted by: JP at Jun 16, 2006 3:22:21 PM
Southern communities are able to work more unitedly on social concerns because they are more united on moral ones.
Rainbow sashers and their ilk would be inconceivable in the Ivory Coast.
PVO
Posted by: mulopwepaul at Jun 16, 2006 3:33:40 PM
I get the feeling that I am one of the few bloggers here with a specialized background in Christian missions, including studying the history of missions at the graduate school level, so here goes:
Serious sycretism had been wide-spread in Latin American Catholicism for centuries before Protestants arrived. Latin American Catholicism has always, especially at the popular level, incorporated tons of stuff from various indigenous cultures, and various occult practices. As one Puerto Rican woman, who was struggling with the consequences of heavy family involvement in the occult, put it to me : "We're 100% Catholic and 99% spiritist."
The resulting Christ-paganism has always deeply shocked Protestants in Latin America and merges in their mind with Marian devotion, etc. It is ahistorical to regard this as a recent, post-Vatican II, post-Protestant onslaught development.
But here's the deal: The only alternative to running the risk of syncretism is not evangelize at all. It has been a constant theme of discussion and tension throughout the entire history of Christian missions. Where does Christ call us to judge the culture and change our ways and where does the faith affirm our culture and bring it to fruition? What is non-negotiable and what is not?
Every culture in history has to be judged and transformed by the Gospel and every culture has resisted and responded in different ways. Every culture in history - whether Irish, German, Tamil, Igbo, or Guarani, that has deeply encountered the Gospel, has gone through an intense and continuous struggle to meld the faith and deeply entrenched cultural practices.
Those of us who are the heirs of 10 - 20 centuries of such struggle by our European forefather and mothers take many of the results for granted. It is part of the warp and woof of our being.
And yet despite many centuries of Christianity and many great saints and apostles, Europe still spawned movements like Nazism and Stalinism that were virolently anti-Christian and destroyed the lives and happiness of so many millions. You should read Deitrich von Hildebrand's description of his astonishment at seeing the cream of highly cultured and deeply Catholic Munich support Hitler. Heads of great religious orders and theologians buying in. Centuries of Christian history and decades of theological formation did not protect them. It is always difficult and none of us is immune.
We find it shocking to witness first and second generations of converts in profoundly alien cultures wrestling with issues that seem obvious and settled to us - and they, of course, are similarly scandalized by the ways in which we "historic Christian peoples" betray and distort parts of the Gospel that seem glaringly obvious to them.
The faith judges all our cultures and calls us all to repentence and transformation. None of us will ever get to the end of it in this life.
Of course, there are deep problems with syncretism in Africa. Are there seriously heretical movements present? Sure. They are no different from us or from the early Church in this respect.
The struggles in Nigeria and Nepal will be different from ours - and the resulting Catholicism will inevitably look different but it will not invalidate their faith and what God has done in their midst any more than the long history of superstition and corruption and the wide differences in European Christanity and practice invalidates our faith.
Posted by: Sherry Weddell at Jun 16, 2006 3:46:44 PM
"Are these newer denominations bereft of the historical protestant crtitique of The Church of Rome, or are they more "cultish"?
I suspect there are some vestiges of cultural Catholicism still at play. A while back a Lutheran church was criticized (rightly) for displaying images of Our Lady of Guadalupe in order to draw in Hispanic folks. Naturally they thought they were in a "Catholic" environment. That is blatantly dishonest as American Lutheran churches don't embrace Marian piety.
As far as "moral" issues are concerned, where the Christian faith is being solidly practiced I think mulopwepaul is right. I just read about an evangelical church in Puerto Rico that has withdrawn its affiliation with the mainland United Church of Christ. I don't know what the specific issues were but I'm betting some were gender based.
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 3:47:01 PM
While it is possible that the Church in Africa and India will "take scant interest in matters that have set the Catholic agenda in the West for more than a century", that doesn't mean that the western baby boomer view will take root there either.
Posted by: Gregg the obscure at Jun 16, 2006 4:00:38 PM
What a thoughtful, intelligent, nuanced post by Sherry Weddell.
Posted by: anon at Jun 16, 2006 4:06:22 PM
We've come to expect thoughtful, intelligent posts from Sherry Weddell. She doesn't disappoint!
Posted by: Tim Ferguson at Jun 16, 2006 4:13:31 PM
"And yet despite many centuries of Christianity and many great saints and apostles, Europe still spawned movements like Nazism and Stalinism that were virolently anti-Christian and destroyed the lives and happiness of so many millions. You should read Deitrich von Hildebrand's description of his astonishment at seeing the cream of highly cultured and deeply Catholic Munich support Hitler. Heads of great religious orders and theologians buying in. Centuries of Christian history and decades of theological formation did not protect them. It is always difficult and none of us is immune."
Well, I certainly count both Dietrich von Hildebrand (and Dietrich Bonhoeffer) as tribal kin since we are all German born. Their writings are a much cherished part of my personal library.
Perhaps if you had lived through those times as my mother, father, grandparents (who all kept their Christian faith intact through the war) did you might have a better understanding of how and why Hitler and Stalin came to power. I am not justifying it. I'm simply saying that to see it through academic eyes is one thing. To have been there is another.
Meantime, as Jews and Arabs (ethnic kin) Muslims and Hindus, Shias and Sunnis continue to slaughter one another sixty some years later, I'm not too surprised that the human condition has changed so little.
Time will tell what kind of shape African Christianity will take. Let us hope that another massacre like the one that took place in Rwanda will never happen again.
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 4:16:56 PM
Pardon me, I must back up. I always get my Dietrich's confused. Von Hildebrand was born in Florence, Italy of German parentage.
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 4:19:49 PM
Christine:
I must add the Von Hildebrand's description of his idyllic childhood in a 16th century villa in Florence, raised in a family of great intellectual, cultural, and artistic sophistication, made me *so jealous*.
Posted by: Sherry Weddell at Jun 16, 2006 4:24:38 PM
I agree, Sherry. I loved reading his writings. His integrity shines through and I was so nourished in reading his own journey into the Church. My admiration for him is deep.
Reading Soul of A Lion was a wonderfully nostalgic journey for me. My family left Europe for Australia when I was only five but I was able to return for visits as a teenager and young adult. I am very much a product of European and American culture.
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 4:31:01 PM
I must give a quick nod here to the magnificent Count Clement August von Galen, bishop of Münster, the ecclesiastical capital of the strongly Catholic region of Westphalia and the Lower Rhine in Northwest Germany. It is written of him that "He took a consistently courageous stand against the policies of Hitler and the Gestapo, and was unrelenting in his criticism of them. His immense prestige at home and abroad was what ultimately saved him from the extermination that many of his own priests suffered."
There was a much stronger protest against Hitler in Catholic Bavaria than in the predominantly Lutheran parts of Germany. Because of Luther's teachings about the role of the church and state Lutherans had a much more quietistic approach to the regime. There were, of course, exceptions such as the courageous witness of Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church.
A rabbi has uncovered dcouments that after Hitler was done eliminating the Jews the Church was his next target.
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 4:51:45 PM
Hitler frequently referred to getting rid of the shavelings (priests: a reference to tonsure) once things were properly Judenrein.
Posted by: Ed the Roman at Jun 16, 2006 6:13:22 PM
I am surprised that no one has expounded or expanded on the comment that conversion was a "dirty word" for so long.
I only recently discovered (gad, I'm naive.....) that despite being middle-aged, I had not learned what virtually every similarly aged Catholic of my acquaintance had -- that we were not SUPPOSED to try to, or wish to convert other Christians or Jews, that our religion was not "better" than any other, etc., etc.
Had this been what I was told by one or two friends, I would consider it an aberation, but it was too widespread.
One even quoted a Cardinal in support of the notion that trying to convert others was a kind of sin.
So, patently, there was a large segment of the Catholic Church, in America, at least, that for the last 30 years or so, taught that missionary zeal should really only be zealous for... well, peace and justice issues.
How did this happen?
Posted by: G at Jun 16, 2006 6:19:39 PM
I just want to say that thanks to Sherry, Tim, and any number of the other posters, this was one of the most edifying treads I have read on Open Door. There were other threads with much meat, but the thoughtfulness, self-awareness, and charity of this one has been exemplary.
Deus vos omnes benedicat.
Posted by: Fr. Augustine Thompson O.P. at Jun 16, 2006 8:34:16 PM
Hi Fr. Augustine:
Thanks for your kind words. I really can't take credit for the basic ideas that I wrote about because they were common coinage at the Fuller School of Cross-Cultural Ministry in LA where I studied before becoming Catholic. Standing on the shoulder of giants and all that, you know!
Oh, but seeing your name reminded me of your book Cities of God
The Religion of the Italian Communes, 1125-1325 that Fr. Mike Fones (my current OP partner in crime) and I have been salivating over. I checked the publisher again and behold! it's been issued in paperback. Sold to the lowest bidder!
I do look forward to reading it. There is so much good, ground-breaking stuff on medieval lay sodalities but alot of it is in French and I'd have to find the time to teach myself French and I can't figure out where to fit it in at present. So I shall shamelessly crib from you!
As Michael Sweeney, OP was fond of observing: Intellectual theft on a grand scale is a time-honored Dominican tradition.
Posted by: Sherry Weddell at Jun 16, 2006 11:12:30 PM
Re: Waddell on syncretism or simultaneous religion and spiritism
Yeah, it's lot of fun to read about Irish folk practices and beliefs. Then you think, "What if I really believed that bad stuff might happen if I didn't leave a bowl of milk out, and that potential fairy child-stealers and rapists lurked everywhere?"
Suddenly, the fun just disappears.
Posted by: Maureen at Jun 17, 2006 5:27:54 AM
