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A Seismic Shift to the South - The Catholic Church Beyond Eurocentrism by Stephan Raab

S. Raab · 16 March 2023

Editors: Madeline Vander Velde & Jannis Gesemann

Among the many global actors shaping the process of globalisation it is not too brave to argue that the Catholic Church serves as the actor with the longest experience in global connections. Since its early foundations at the beginning of our time counting, Christian communities have connected people all over the known world, latter even taking part in discovering but also colonising a “new world”. Despite this global network, the power brokers were mostly Europeans approaching global issues through Eurocentric lenses. However, with the election of Pope Francis as first Pope from the Global South, a seismic shift is taking place. On the one hand, Francis provides his experience from Argentina. On the other hand, in 2013 the successor of Saint Peter started to influence global balances by appointing cardinals from the Global South. Accordingly, this contribution will deal with the global policy of Pope Francis, shifting power towards the south beyond Eurocentrism and opening a process of decolonisation. 

The Great Commission and its way around the globe  

Since its founding days, the dispersion of Christian faith was always accompanied by a desire for expanding to new territories. According to the core of Christian faith, as stated in the gospel by Mark 16:14-18, after his resurrection, Jesus gave the following order to his worshipers: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Missionaries during different time periods followed this Great Commission, such as the holy Saint Boniface who is known as the apostle of Germany or Saint Ansgar who brought Christianity to Scandinavia. Their mission was extraordinarily successful, bringing the Christian creed to literally all parts of the world. Today about one in five (17,7%) or 1.34 billion people (according to the statistics of the Vatican) are counted as Catholic. Despite an increase of worshipers worldwide, in Europe - the mainland of Christianity, with its theological capital Rome - the church seems to be in decline. Taking the case of Germany, everyday about 1.000 people are leaving the church (Kempis, 2021). This is done through submitting a motion to the municipality, applying for an exemption from church tax.  

 

Here, the changing patterns of a global world represented in a global church become obvious. In what follows first a critical discussion on the ambiguous role of Christianity and its colonial heritage will be given. After that, this contribution will look at the Second Vatican Council as a turning point in the conception as a world church. Eventually, the third part will elaborate upon the influence of Pope Francis, whose papacy, as a Jesuit and spokesperson from the Global South, might open a new window of opportunity, making use of its global ramifications from its colonial past to promote a process of decolonisation for the future. Obviously, other congregations, such as the Protestants, share a colonial burden, nevertheless, this article will concentrate on the Catholic Church, due to its state-like structures and particular global ramifications. 

A Global Actor between conviction and coercion – Colonialism and the spread of Christianity 

A major factor for the fast spread of the Christian belief was the high urbanisation of the Roman Empire, where the new creed encountered a fertile ground. Different from the Jewish belief, Christianity pursues a strategy of expansion that searches to convince others for conversion, sometimes peacefully, yet not seldom, and often in a violent and forced way. Therefore, the association between Christianity´s Great Commission and colonialism are highly interwoven. The term ‘colony’, derived from Latin, stands for land, estate or settlement that was established under a certain order. After the demise of the Roman Empire, a common faith in one God provided the order for the Holy Roman Empire. Eventually, during the crusades towards the Middle East and the Reconquista in Muslim Spain, the political dimension of the search for spreading the Christian belief among allegedly pagan or heretic people was revealed (Scott, 2004, p. 384). After European sailors arrived in what they called the new world, Pope Alexander IV, in the Treaty of Tordesillas, divided the world into a Spanish and a Portuguese hemisphere, with Isabelle the Catholic fervently urging those sailing to America to spread the Christian faith among the Native people (ibid. p. 388) - imposing the process of colonisation on the region. Appealing to the theory of the sword–separating power into a secular and a spiritual power–under George VII in 1075, the popes began to claim power over both swords, seeing themselves as rulers of the divine and the secular power. Later, his successor emphasised their mandate to spread the Christian faith either through prayers or through the sword. Native, non-Christian people were seen as minor. According to the contemporary mindset, promoted by cardinal and historian Henry of Segusio in the 13th century, since the birth of Jesus only a Christian rule should be legitimate, consequently, legitimising all kinds of deeds perpetrated by missionaries and colonisers as they were assumed loyal baptised Christians (Hartmann, 2022). Here, it becomes obvious that the Christian mission and colonialism were almost one and the same, supporting each other.  

Nevertheless, aside from territorial subjugation, effects of the colonisation of the mind remain impactful today - forcing the colonised to relinquish their own cultural norms as inferior, being instilled to see the world through the lenses of the colonisers (Dascal, 2007, p. 1). "Colonialism is a form of imperialism based on a divine mandate and designed to bring liberation – spiritual, cultural, economic and political – by sharing the blessings of the Christ-inspired civilization of the West with a people suffering under satanic oppression, ignorance and disease, effected by a combination of political, economic and religious forces that cooperate under a regime seeking the benefit of both ruler and ruled" (Falola, 2001, p. 33). Here, with the importance of a proclaimed divine legitimacy and a self-perceived superiority of one’s Christian beliefs and culture over the native cultures, a heavy colonial burden rests on the history of Christianity. Natives were considered as inferior people, or in the best case seen as children, which would depend on the superior morality of the Christian education - just like parents showing their offspring what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, the European colonists proclaimed themselves as destined to conquer, colonise and rule the world (Gillner, 1998, p. 145f).  

Dealing with colonialism presents itself as controversial as the role of the Catholic Church within European expansion worldwide. On the one hand, clerical authorities provided an ideological basis for conquest, coercion, and the destruction of a rich treasure of local knowledge. On the other hand, several theologians managed to preserve local knowledge of those native cultures that their counterparts were fervently destroying (not just for the purpose of spreading faith). Several Spanish theologians such Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1492-1546) and Domingo de Soto (c. 1494-1560), opposed the imperial endeavours by the pope and the emperor. Most famous was Bartolomé de las Casas (c. 1485-1566) eagerly pledging for the rights of the Natives. Relying on Thomas Aquinas, they argued that human beings are free under natural law, with no human law ascribing universal dominion to an emperor. Those even went so far as to claim the return of goods to the native people (Scott, 2004, p. 388). Furthermore, missionaries often serving as first outposts, served as antennas in inaccessible regions, such as China. As first contact to the region, they were tasked with disseminating knowledge about the local structures to Europe (Caboara, 2020, p. 19). Mostly missionaries served as early cartographers. Their stories, instead of being scientific maps, determined the first understanding of Europe about the surrounding world (Dizon, 2021, p. 74). Admittedly it has to be emphasised, that it was not only the Catholic Church, but other Christian beliefs, following the same missionary role, yet due its unique global interconnectedness and comprehensive structure, this paper will have a special look upon the Catholic Church. Especially Catholicism with the Vatican provides a unique state-like structure.  

From Missionary Church to Global Church - Turning Point of the Second Vatican Council  

Suddenly, with the brunt of the Second World War, the old Europe ceased to exist, as described in the famous novel by the Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig: “The day I lost my passport, at the age of 58 I discovered, that losing your home does mean more, than leaving a certain defined spot on earth” (Zweig, 1978, p. 208). Suddenly, the Catholic Church was facing a post-war world, full of crisis, unleashing the dangers of the Cold War heydays. On the 25th of January 1959 unexpectedly Pope John XXIII announced the proclamation of a Second Vatican Council. Under the slogan of “Aggiornamento”, freely translated as updating, the Pope searched for a repositioning and rethinking of the Catholic church and creed in a modernising and changing world. Considering the time spans from the first announcement, through the preparatory phase up to to its first session day on the 11th of October 1962, many historic events such as the building of the Berlin wall, the independence of 18 former African colonies, the People's Republic of China gaining the status as a nuclear power, and even the Cuban crisis fell into that period (Gassert, 2013, p. 306). Those events reflect a world that was searching for new ways into its future. After his election in 1958, Pope John XXIII was aware that the church needed an update, arguing in his encyclical Ad Petri Cathedram: ”Our intention to hold an Ecumenical Council. Bishops from every part of the world will gather there to discuss serious religious topics. They will consider, in particular, the growth of the Catholic faith, the restoration of sound morals among the Christian flock, and appropriate adaptation of Church discipline to the needs and conditions of our times'' (John XXIII, 1959, p. 61). Wedged between the capitalist United States of America and the Communist Soviet Union, Europe had lost its global dominance, directly affecting the catholic church and, which as the previous part has shown, contributed to Europe's rise. Despite claiming the unity of mankind through bishops in the Council, the opposite was true, with a world that got more fragmented by new emerging nations (Schloesser, 2006, p. 284).  

Adapting to the changes the church was asking about is self-definition, starting to develop a consciousness as a world church. Instead of enforcing a unitary rigid model, the concept of inculturation was introduced, taking the local patterns more into consideration. Among those reforms was the promotion of the local language instead of Latin, which was used as liturgical language in church service prior to the Council (ibid. p. 287), “respecting and fostering the qualities and talents of various races and nations” (Pope Paul IV, 1963, p. 37). For the first time significant delegations of African ecclesiastical figures participated in the Council, presenting a “New Africa” that was arising from the ashes of European Colonialism. Admittedly, among the 273 participants from Africa, the majority was of European descent, but at least 77 delegates were African natives (Borrusso, 2014, p. 1). This gave an impression of a world that required a drastic rethinking.  

Many churches rediscovered their own cultural traditions within a reformed Catholicism. In the Philippines a “spiritual rebirth” took place with a new canon of liturgical melodies. Prior to that the worshipers, as the church service was held in Latin, did not really understand what was going on. Conversely, literally speaking to understand the word in their own language unleashed a new sense of community and curiosity for confronting Catholic ideas. Furthermore, in 1976, the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference was founded (Fay, 2015, 29f). After the results of the Second Vatican Council, instead of being seen as an appendage of the Spanish colonial church, the Filipino culture became a driving force behind the Philippine Catholic Church (ibid. p. 41). 

On the African side the discourse was dominated by decolonisation, with the clergymen discussing the impacts of a changed social, economic, and political situation. During the Council, twelve martyrs from Uganda were canonised and the missionary activities pledged to dissociate from the “European Civilization” in favour for dialogue with native cultures. Simultaneously, a process of rethinking the relations between the proclamation of the Gospel and African culture took place, yet, with the latter remaining as the core pillar (Borrusso, 2014, p. 3). Based upon the initiatives of the Comboni Missionaries, after their founding father Daniel Comboni, who attended the first Vatican Council in 1871, the creation of a Black theology was encouraged. This included a new conception of the presence of the Church in post-colonial Africa in how it sought to cooperate with national governments despite ideological pressures such as socialism. A renewed sense of mission pursued to narrow the gap between Africa and Europe, presenting a new tip of missionary beyond the colonial stereotype. However during the independence war many missionaries paid for these ambitions with their lives (ibid. p. 5f).  

Even moral and spiritual truths of other non Christian beliefs were acknowledged (Schloesser, 2006, p. 295). Put in the words of the German theologist Karl Rahner, this was the second major paradigm shift, with the first being the transition from a Jewish Christian to Greco Roman Church to a church: “actualizing itself precisely as a world Church.” (Rahner, 1987, 9f). 

United in Diversity or Divergence - A global church with local crisis  

Several times politicians reiterate the creeds of the European Union as a project of common values. Many founding fathers and mothers of the European Idea were influenced by their Christian belief. Referring back to the previous part, a similarity between the concept of the European Union united in diversity and a Catholic world church based on common values of the Christian worldview can be observed. However, this noble idea sounds too good to be true. Nowadays, those providers of creeds are facing a crisis of credibility. The enthusiasm of the European founding days seems to be gone, just like many searching for religious alternatives. 

“The decolonization is a process which imply the transformation of both former colonisers and colonised” (Tonelli, 2020, p. 182). Decolonisation thought through decolonial theology stands for a process for radical epistemic change of society and its religious tradition, searching to include a wider spiritual thinking beyond prevailing Eurocentrism (ibid. p. 185). However, many critics, among those very prominently the church historian Mariano Delgado, claim that the church has not confronted itself enough with its colonial legacy. Researching on the involvement of the Holy See in the crimes perpetrated in the colonies, Delgado argues that the Pope(s) tried to acknowledge their responsibility yet always under the premise of downplaying their own role in slavery and exploitation. Admittedly, several Popes were condemning slavery, however only appealing to a ban of enslaving baptised Native people, yet not speaking on behalf of a general condemnation of slavery. According to that, the church might have admitted the fact that Europeans were responsible for the cruelties of colonialism, but the words of the gospel should not be blamed for that. Here, Delgado emphasises that Eurocentrism included a sense of superiority as exclusiveness as chosen culture for civilisation (Delgado, 2020, p. 67). At the same time an impoverishment of Native cultures happened due to the activities of the missionaries. Much Native knowledge was lost during the expansion of Christianity (ibid. p. 72). Therefore, voices are becoming louder to not only tolerate Native traditions, but also embrace those as cultural heritage equally valid in his sacraments as Christian marriage for instance (ibid. p. 74). Disregarding the efforts of postcolonial movements in the Global North, the historian pledges for a more self-conscious approach of the Holy See in dealing with its colonial past. Instead of sugar coating its own involvement, he claims for a full re-studying of the history (ibid. p. 79). An example of this reluctant policy was given by the Pope's visit to Canada in 2022. Several thousand indigenous children had been deported to residential schools, where they were deprived of their Native identity and forced to assimilate to Christian Canada. Abuse and humiliation were common, with assumedly more than 6.000 Native students having died due to the precarious conditions. During his visit, the Pope apologised for the crimes performed there, but, many Natives, especially the Native youth, took this as a rather weak symbol. Such an apology can only be the first step on a long road to reconciliation. Therefore, besides words, concrete actions confronting that dark past are needed (Maiangwa and Essombe, 2022).  

 

A new Pope a new perspective - The changing patterns and chances of a global church 

As the previous parts have shown, since Vatican II the church has become more aware of its features as a truly global institution, despite that, concrete actions often remain rather bleak. Besides decolonising the territory, as colonial powers did in the last centuries, a decolonising of the mental map is needed (Raab, 2021). Therefore, three steps are needed. Firstly, naming certain events as they were such as oppression or enslavement. Secondly, comes a critical reflection to query the colonial narratives behind. Thirdly, there comes action translating the new conclusions into concrete change (Strobel, 1997, p. 69). That is to explore the constructions, examine and deconstruct them building new mental reconstructions, or new mental maps, how our perception of the world can be filled with values (Reich, 2004, p. 106).  

Here, Pope Francis has started a historic process, shifting the powers in the curia. In 2022, the head of the Catholic Church appointed twenty new cardinals mostly outside of Europe. Now power balances are shifting. During the election of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, more than half (58 out of 115) cardinals were from Europe. Now this number is steadily decreasing to currently 54, meanwhile Latin America now has 38 instead of 34 members, Asia 20 instead of 12, and finally, Africa increased from 11 to 17. A full list of the new cardinals can be found in the references, with remote regions such as Mongolia now being presented. Appointing certain cardinals , the pope focuses less on historic heritages foremost given in Europe, leaving for instance Ireland without a vote, but preferring more simple priests and missionaries directly attached to the basics of pastoral work (Lombardi, 2022).  

Since the church has lost its authoritarian mandate due to secularisation, popes started to exceed debates about doctrines, searching to reach a wider even secular audience. International relations had paid little attention to the papacy as a static, contemplative, and self-focused institution. However, human religious actors envisage to translate their religious fundamentals of human rights into a secular language and context. Consequently, this traditional institution underwent, and continues to undergo a paradigmatic shift from a political force, such as the Vatican State once did–from covering a wide part of Italy to become a normative political actor, interfering with global politics (Troy, 2019, p. 67). Since Pope Pius XII in his 1942 Christmas address, popes have interfered on behalf of human rights. After the declaration of the Universal Human Right in 1948, the Holy See, like many other religious actors, searched to frame Christian beliefs in the direction of promoting human rights (ibid. p. 74). Nevertheless, debates about the Eurocentric traits of those human rights are still going on. Diverting from his predecessors, Pope Francis focuses on the common good, searching for collective solutions and an inclusive language for challenges like climate change, where he dedicated a whole encyclical “Laudato Si”. His perspective is not just looking at the peripheries, but looking upon the globe from the peripheries, contributing an enrichment of perspectives (ibid. p. 76f). When Francis was elected, he introduced himself as a “pope from the far side of the world” (Giovagnoli, 2019, p. 456). But the Argentinian Pope is closer to Europe than many assume. Both are currently facing tremendous crises: with Europe searching for its position in a global world, and the Catholic Church searching for its norms in a secular world. While his predecessor Benedict XVI focused on secularisation, Francis looks at the process of globalisation. Contrasting his predecessors, he does look at this process affecting all people on the planet, not from the perspective of promoting and mostly benefitting from it, but through the lenses of those mostly being affected with fewer chances to govern global changes. This includes promotion of dialogue in Africa, as well as Christian-Muslim reconciliation, for example in visiting the renowned Cairo Al Azhar University in Egypt.

European Ideas and Catholic ways - A concluding synthesis 

To conclude, some final remarks on the parallels between the European Idea and the Catholic Faith shall be given. Historically, it was Europeans which discovered most parts of the world, connecting distant regions with each other. Superior weapons and technological capabilities provided the hardware for that endeavour. At the same time, Christian beliefs, based on the concept of superiority and exclusiveness, provided the software to justify the greed for wealth, power and domination over the world. In other words, Christianisation and colonisation became very interwoven. Today, a critical reflection upon this interconnectedness is highly required. Promoting a process of decolonisation is needed. “Decolonial theology looks to the past because it requires the building of a common narrative, composed of several histories, all simultaneous and inter-connected by colonial powers and by colonial differences. It has an inclusive approach to the past, unlike Western or European one, which often excluded non-Western and non-European experiences. At the same time, decolonial theology looks to the future, because of its research into a new paradigm of rationality“ (Tonelli, 2020, 196f). 

Both are currently facing a world that is changing quickly–with a church that is wedged between its mission to preserve the values of the past, meanwhile giving a normative guideline for the future and searching for its purpose in a secular and multicultural world. With Europe being torn between those powers, searching for more and those searching for status quo or even less Europe, the old continent needs to redefine its position in the world, depending on its capabilities to strengthen its proclaimed common values. Such a process has just started and will probably take generations. Apart from blaming, it is essential to learn for the future, with Europe having brought together people in diversity, which were fighting each other in bloody wars for centuries. Eventually, the church has the same potential to learn from the past for shaping the future, arguing that “he Church remains important and powerful, not only because of its moral authority, which has been its traditional power source, but also because the Church has access to a vast network in civil society around the globe and today’s challenges inevitably involve the Church” (Troy, 2019, p. 87). 

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