The Church and the Global South: Prospects of Catholicism in the post-Franciscan era

“The Church is no longer Eurocentric”. While this quote from Cardinal Sarah of Guinea is from ten years ago, it rings more true than ever today. He is one of the cardinals overseeing the shift of the nucleus of the Catholic world from the confines of the West, to the Global South. This paradigm shift is taking place chiefly due to the decline of churchgoers in the West, and the growing number of followers in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, and East Asia. It seems as though while Catholicism’s legacy is largely tainted in Western eyes, due to its involvement in systemic cases of child abuse and its institutional anachronism, it is undergoing a revival in countries of the Southern Hemisphere. In order to resonate with believers in the new nucleus, the Church has to expediently incorporate local traditions and languages in the process of evangelisation and embrace issues that matter most in the Southern Hemisphere, including climate change or exploitation. While the Bergoglianism of the late Pope Francis has certainly made strides in accommodating change, both institutionally and substantively, the question is if the new papacy and the ones beyond it will be able and willing to continue his legacy. Can the Catholic Church become truly universal?

‘The Pope of the Global South’

Pope Francis was revered around the world for bringing sweeping changes to an institution that was perceived as rigid and not keeping in time with social changes. This reflected chiefly in his administrative shakeup of the Church through his reform of the College of Cardinals, amongst others. As a result, cardinals were appointed in countries like Myanmar, Mongolia or even South Sudan, which have not had a prelate before, to create a church that is active ‘in the peripheries’. Thanks to these institutional reforms, many in posterity will know him as the ‘Pope of the Global South’. However, this title would be empty without his doctrinal advancements as well. 

The papacy in the past 12 years was set on overhauling how the Church previously approached issues through doctrine. Instead of rigidity, Pope Francis prioritised dialogue to incorporate a deeper understanding of social issues, including the suffering of immigrants, perils of climate change and social exploitation, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. A prime example of this is his daily video calls with the Catholic parish in Palestine, to ensure the community of his spiritual support amidst the horrors of the war. Or his apostolic visits to Sub Saharan Africa, solidified his commitment to the emergent Catholic communities there.   

That is not to say that the ‘social’ turn of the papacy resulted in the emergence of a liberal institution. In fact, Francis still remained adamant on rejecting social reform in terms of same-sex marriage, divorce and abortion. Nevertheless, his encyclicals, authoritative papal documents that reflect on theological or social debates, like Laudato Si’ reflected on the disastrous effects of climate change and the common efforts needed to overcome it. Furthermore, he displayed his advocacy for the rights of the marginalised with his first trip in office leading to the island of Lampedusa, infamous for being the cemetery of immigrants attempting to cross into Europe. While the missionary nature of Francis’ papacy undoubtedly pushed the gates of the Catholic Church wide open to the Global South, it will be a challenge to maintain this legacy. 

Keeping change on the agenda

With Francis’ death, the conclave of cardinals will be facing a tricky task. Francis’ deep reforms have also caused backlash within the Church, and even within cardinals of the Global South. Conservative catholicism is alive and well, spearheaded by papabiles like Robert Sarah himself, the author of the quote at the beginning of this article. His adamant rejection of the ‘gender ideology’, as well as pro choice matters is exemplary of cardinals ‘in the peripheries’ that are wary of social reform. A recent survey has found that while in most Latin American countries, most believers are leaning liberal on most contentious issues, churchgoers in Sub Saharan Africa are markedly more conservative. It would be unwise to conflate the rise of Catholicism in the Global South with the consolidation of social justice matters within the Church. 

This raises a problem then. If the Church is divided both geographically and ideologically, the new papal election could turn out to be a difficult circle to square. Take another papabile, whose name has been floated en masse on various social media platforms. The popular Filipino candidate, Luis Antonio Tagle is the polar opposite of reactionaries like Sarah, advocating for the inclusion of divorced couples into the Church, as well as being openly accepting of same-sex couples. Not only is he social media savvy and approachable, but also relatively young, being 67 years of age. If elected, his papacy could herald a more prolonged consolidation of the Bergoglian reforms. This could on the one hand open the door to new believers, but turn traditionalists away from the Church. One thing is certain though. After Francis, the Global South will no longer be shunned as a potential source for popes, continuing to shape the previously stubbornly Western institution. 

Stability in an unstable world

The Catholic Church is not a political institution, and the conclave is not a presidential election. But in a hyperpolitical world, the Church needs to carefully balance between making reforms and yet refrain from becoming too ideological. While the Franciscan reforms were groundbreaking in the history of the Church, they certainly did not mend the divides within it. The new papacy will need to cater to the needs of the Global South, but to a Global South that is also just as doctrinally diverse as the Global North. To keep 1.4 billion and potentially more believers on board, the papacy will have to play an immense role in bringing stability and faith to millions, in a growingly unstable world.