By Isabelle de Gaulmyn
The controversies over the blessing of homosexual couples in Africa and Pope Francis’ diplomacy regarding Ukraine are evidence of a shift happening in the Catholic world, that favors the global South. Catholics from the Old Continent must take this into account in a Church that has been, for centuries, led by Europe.
In recent months, at least two events have demonstrated the extent of the divide now emerging between the global North and South of Catholicism: first was the document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith allowing blessings for homosexual couples (Fiducia supplicans), a text very poorly received on the African continent. Then there was the positioning of Pope Francis himself, in response to Russia’s invasion of part of Ukraine.
On this second point, it’s an understatement to say that the statements of the Argentine pope, refusing to clearly side with Ukraine and support its military resistance, have shaken European Catholics. Certainly, this absolute “pacifism” is consistent with the doctrine of the popes: Benedict XV, who had pleaded for a truce during the First World War of 1914-1918, was criticized by both the French (“the German Pope”) and the Germans (vice versa!). Moreover, Catholic doctrine has continued to evolve, moving from a definition of “just war,” i.e., morally acceptable, to a refutation of all war, including armed resistance. Paul VI had exclaimed before the United Nations: “No more war.” Pope Francis continued, considering that there is no “just war” and that all war is unnecessary.
The center of gravity has shifted
But truly, the pope’s viewpoint is also explained because he comes from the global South. Or more precisely because he is pope of a Church where the global South is now the majority. He carries a vision in which a majority of Catholics now would find themselves: it’s a conflict where the West is very quick to intervene, to defend its vital interests, while it does not show the same resolve in other parts of the globe. This is the famous accusation of “double standards,” a reproach intensified since the terrible bombings of Israel on the population of Gaza. The Russia-Ukraine conflict appears, for part of the world, as a matter of the West.
We must now reckon with these new balances of Catholicism. We Europeans, we are minorities, not only as Catholics in the Western world but as Westerners in the Catholic world. The observation, with the growing influence of Africa and the dynamism of South America, is well-documented. But are we aware of the profound implications of this fact? We have been, for centuries, at least since the end of Constantinople, in a very “Roman” Church where the impulse came from Western Europe, whether it was for missions, modeled on colonization policies, for artistic culture, theology, etc. The center of gravity has shifted. In 1963, for the election of Pope John XXIII, 68% of the cardinal electors came from Europe. For Francis, they were only 38 percent.
The weight of the Church is now in the global South. It’s a new paradigm for European Catholics. They will have to accept being in the minority. After all, Catholics from other countries have been for so long. They will have to understand the world from the other side, listen to and learn from those Churches, even if they do not think like them. From this perspective, let’s dare to say that Catholicism can be prophetic, if it manages to maintain unity, while being predominantly centered in the southern part of the planet. – La Croix International
