Western Catholics urged to focus on Church’s global future

Monday, August 26th, 2024

According to a prominent sociologist, Western Catholics are failing to grasp the Church’s dynamic global future.

In a recent webinar hosted by The Tablet, Dr Thomas Landy highlighted the stark contrast between the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in the West and the vibrant growth seen in regions like Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Charismatic Catholicism is “a huge story that we are not looking at” and charismatic practice is “drawing a huge number of believers in Central and South America, Africa and in the Philippines” said Dr Landy.

Issues confronting Western Catholics such as secularisation and dwindling congregations are not being noticed in those other regions.

In the webinar titled “Global Christianity: The Future of the Catholic Church” Dr Landy pointed out that these regions are witnessing a surge in charismatic Catholic movements such as the El Shaddai in the Philippines and Pentecostal-style communities in Africa.

These groups are flourishing and playing a significant role in evangelisation, offering a model of Catholicism that is deeply engaged with modernity while maintaining strong religious convictions.

El Shaddai has 10 million followers and is “the largest Catholic lay organisation in the world, one that I would venture to guess that most people here have never heard of. It is a potent force in the Filipino diaspora”.

Religion in decline in the West

This contrasts the Western narrative that often sees traditional religion in decline.

The webinar underscored a growing disconnect within the Western Church which tends to focus inwardly on its localised issues. By doing so, it risks overlooking the broader global trends shaping Catholicism’s future.

The discussion focused on how global Catholicism has expanded more over the last 100 years than at any time in its existence. An estimated 75 percent of Catholics today live outside the West.

Dr Landy warned that this narrow focus could limit the Western Church’s understanding and engagement with the diverse and rapidly changing global Catholic landscape.