Patrick Lyon, Staff Writer

Allen speaks to American Church’s response to expansion, globalism

“Like Henry VIII said to each of his new wives, ‘I won’t keep you long.’”  These types of humorous asides peppered a presentation by Vatican journalist John Allen on September 30 at Geddes Hall, and lightened the mood in a speech otherwise dedicated to very serious matters.

The subject of Allen’s exposition was primarily the persecution of modern Catholics, though not in the way Americans commonly think about persecution.  A point that Allen frequently reiterated in his talk was that the Catholic Church is global, now more so than ever, and that in the global Church the persecutions are far more real than the ideological struggles seen in America.

Allen first sketched out modern Catholicism in the United States in contrast with Catholicism worldwide, specifically pointing out common misconceptions about the global Church.  The statistics Allen cited to make his point were indicative of these misunderstandings: In 1900, there were approximately 256 million Catholics in the world, about 200 million of which lived in Europe and America, and 56 million of which lived in developing countries.  In 2000, there were 1.1 billion Catholics, of which 740 million lived in the developing world.

As this pattern of development continues, the 21st century is destined to see these developing countries become the centers of faith and religious movement that Europe and the United States have been in the past.  Allen’s point in producing these numbers was to illustrate that, consciously or not, American Catholicism is introverted and has not yet realized that we are actually now living in a universal Church, the focal points of which may not even be in the West anymore.

Allen continued by offering a way to look at the globe as Americans, by comparing the struggles of the respective Catholic theatres.  In the US, he said, “tensions around identity have been a core feature of Catholic life,” as the culture has been in a constant struggle to avoid sliding into secularism.  The issue here is that secularism is more of a concept or ideology than a physical presence, whereas outside the United States, such as in Latin America, approximately 8,000 people a day are leaving Catholicism for protestant communions.

The issue in such places is the need for a hands-on presence, for the Church to get “out of the sacristy and into the street”, and of the simple need for more people to aid in missionary work—as priests are spread thin in developing countries experiencing rapid Catholic growth.

There is a world of difference in the problems of religious freedom between these countries and the US, Allen explained.  In North America there is an identity crisis and Church-state clashes over matters such as the HHS mandate, clashes in which faith-based institutions are casualties.  In the global sphere there is a “decidedly literal war against religion” being waged, where the casualties are “shot rather than sued.”

To emphasize this, Allen produced a new set of statistics: Today, 80% of religious violence in the world is perpetrated against Christians.  In addition, 139 of the 193 countries recognized by the UN have persecuted Christians in the last 10 years.  Globally, 100,000 Christians have been killed every year for the past decade.  As an individual example, Allen mentioned the Catholic Church in Iraq, which in 1991 had an estimated 1.5 to 2 million members.  Through wars and persecutions in the intervening years, that number has now dwindled to 400,000.

In addition to his remarks, Allen was kind enough to correspond with the Rover to further flesh out some themes of his talk.

On secularism in the U.S. and worldwide: “Real secularism is hard to find outside the West, meaning in Africa, Asia, Latin America, etc.  In those parts of the world, the primary challenge the Church faces is not secularism but the competitive dynamics of a flourishing religious marketplace, which means the pastoral priority isn’t so much staging a principled defense of religion as the practical need to make sure the Church is as missionary-oriented as its competitors.”

On the future of the Church in the US as religious focus shifts toward developing countries: “The Catholic Church in the US will continue to be relevant, in part because it’s the most dynamic local church in the West, in part because the US will continue to be a major player in global affairs.  The question is whether our potential contribution to the global Church will continue to be limited by our internal tribal rivalries and our myopic self-absorption.”

Patrick Lyon is a freshman living in Dillon Hall. He has many talents, but among the many is one that stands out above the rest: the twinkle in his eye. Contact him at plyon@nd.edu.