[LINK] "Euro Skepticism"

[rfmcdonald]

3 Quarks Daily linked to a worthwhile commentary by scholar of religion Philip Jenkins on the reign of Pope Benedict XVI. In an article subtitled "Why Benedict XVI tried, and failed, to evangelize Europe", Jenkins suggests that the Pope's strategy for reevangelizing the European continent was a failure. (And yet, the Church is committed to keep on fighting.)

In his vision, a faithful Christian core would begin the re-evangelization of the continent. As a precedent, the cardinal cited the Reformation era of the sixteenth century, when surging Protestantism seemed all but certain to overwhelm the Catholic establishment. Yet the church not only survived, but in the long term grew even more powerful and prestigious than ever before. Partly, it did this through cultivating new forms of piety and new devotions, particularly to the Virgin Mary in her many guises. Amazingly for many modern observers, John Paul II’s papacy followed this model closely, launching a full-scale Marian revival. Old shrines of the Virgin were restored and popularized, new ones fostered, and the strategy has enjoyed some success. Across the continent, pilgrimage sites really have welcomed unprecedented crowds.

But true reconversion, Ratzinger believed, could only be achieved by small, dedicated groups of highly active and committed believers, like the small, super-loyalist movements that emerged during the sixteenth century, chiefly in Spain and Italy. The Jesuits and Opus Dei are the best-known examples, but also influential were the Italian Focolare, the Sant’Egidio Community, and Communion and Liberation, Spain’s Neocatechumenate, and the Mexican-founded Legionaries of Christ. So were charismatic offshoots like Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo (“Renewal in the Holy Spirit”) and the Emmanuel Community. Like the early Jesuits, such groups demanded extremely high levels of participation and activism, and some were accused of cult-like behavior. Focolare, for example, subjects members to ritualized public confessions and retreats that serve as a kind of total immersion in the group and its doctrines. Still, such movements spread widely, partly because they offered such a high role for lay activists, especially women.

[. . . W]hile Benedict's goals have been consistent, his achievements have been disappointing: Far from beginning a reconversion of Europe, Benedict’s papacy has actually witnessed an acceleration of European defections from the Church. Indeed, the Church’s position in Europe today is far worse than when he took office. The sex abuse scandals that have been revealed in a torrent in European countries since 2010, each quite as devastating as the American disasters of the previous decade and often implicating the church’s senior leaders, have gravely undermined the church’s claim to moral stature or spiritual leadership. A growing number of Catholic states are now openly defying Church authority; the rapid spread of gay marriage laws offers a gauge of the Catholic Church's fading influence.

It’s worth asking whether the emphasis on ecclesial movements actually contributed to the accumulating sequence of disasters. Benedict did try to combat some of the most severe problems among the groups: After several decades of ignoring sexual misconduct allegations against Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the Vatican only took disciplinary steps after the new Pope took office. But the “ecclesial” strategy exacerbated other pervasive problems in the senior ranks of the hierarchy, especially a sense of elitism and a detachment from the ordinary faithful. Arguably, the new evangelism theme also took time and resources that might have been better used shoring up the church’s defenses against scandal—not least in developing a modern, professional public relations apparatus.

But the final chapter of the pope's European legacy might not yet be written. Throughout his papacy, Benedict's concern for Europe has also informed his appointment of new cardinals, the men who will choose his successor. By any reasonable standard, Europeans are already massively over-represented in the College of Cardinals, and any sense of justice would call for more African and Asian appointments. Benedict, however, not only continued to appoint European cardinals, but chose a striking number of Italians. Europe now notionally accounts for just 24 percent of the world’s Catholics, but 53 percent of the Cardinal electors. In tilting the balance towards a European successor, Benedict was not slighting the rest of the world: Rather, he was declaring his intention to keep up the fight for Europe.