- Feb 5, 2002
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ANALYSIS: The Same-Sex Blessings Controversy Sends Mixed Signals About Africa’s Importance
The future of the Catholic Church, it’s often said, is in Africa — where vocations are flourishing, parish life is vibrant, and the total number of Catholics is poised to soon surpass Europe.
But is the Catholic Church, and Vatican leadership in particular, ready for Africa to play a leading role in the universal Church?
To judge by the Vatican’s handling of its recent controversial guidance on same-sex blessings, the signals are decidedly mixed.
On the one hand, the African bishops’ forceful, united reaction to the possibility of blessing same-sex couples outlined in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Dec. 18 declaration, Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), got immediate and dramatic results: The dicastery quickly issued a rare clarification, after which a top African prelate sat with DDF prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández in the Vatican to craft a carefully worded statement from the African episcopate, with input from Pope Francis himself, explaining their persisting reservations.
On the other hand, there is Fiducia Supplicans itself, which was prepared in secret while the Synod on Synodality was still underway last October without any formal consultation with the African bishops, or any apparent consideration of how the document would be received in Africa.
The episode highlights the challenges facing a Church still predominantly influenced by Western perspectives and priorities, even as its center of gravity shifts southward.
“For the Church in Africa, the future is now,” said Dominican Father Anthony Akinwale, a distinguished Nigerian theologian currently teaching at Augustine University near Lagos. “But how is the universal Church going to manage that?”
Continued below.
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The future of the Catholic Church, it’s often said, is in Africa — where vocations are flourishing, parish life is vibrant, and the total number of Catholics is poised to soon surpass Europe.
But is the Catholic Church, and Vatican leadership in particular, ready for Africa to play a leading role in the universal Church?
To judge by the Vatican’s handling of its recent controversial guidance on same-sex blessings, the signals are decidedly mixed.
On the one hand, the African bishops’ forceful, united reaction to the possibility of blessing same-sex couples outlined in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Dec. 18 declaration, Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), got immediate and dramatic results: The dicastery quickly issued a rare clarification, after which a top African prelate sat with DDF prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández in the Vatican to craft a carefully worded statement from the African episcopate, with input from Pope Francis himself, explaining their persisting reservations.
On the other hand, there is Fiducia Supplicans itself, which was prepared in secret while the Synod on Synodality was still underway last October without any formal consultation with the African bishops, or any apparent consideration of how the document would be received in Africa.
The episode highlights the challenges facing a Church still predominantly influenced by Western perspectives and priorities, even as its center of gravity shifts southward.
“For the Church in Africa, the future is now,” said Dominican Father Anthony Akinwale, a distinguished Nigerian theologian currently teaching at Augustine University near Lagos. “But how is the universal Church going to manage that?”
Africa’s ‘Growing Importance’
Continued below.
Same-Sex Blessings Controversy: Catholic Church in Africa’s Influence is Growing but is Vatican Leadership Ready for It?
ANALYSIS: ‘For the Church in Africa, the future is now,’ said Dominican Father Anthony Akinwale, ‘but how is the universal Church going to manage that?’
