Western concerns and interests have dominated world Christianity for hundreds of years.
But the conclave to elect a new pope, which starts on Monday, could accelerate a major shift of power to the Southern Hemisphere, where Christianity is on the rise, says Emmanuel Katongole, associate research professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke Divinity School.
Although the number of Christians in the West has more or less remained constant, the Southern Hemisphere generally, and Africa in particular, has been experiencing explosive growth, says Katongole, who is also a Roman Catholic priest. This growth has been marked especially within the Catholic Church.
Many observers of the church speculate that the cardinals might elect an African as the next pope. This may or may not come to pass.
"When the conclave begins, however, cardinals know that the next pope will have to deal with the changing face and geography of Catholicism," Katongole says. "He will have to provide leadership to a global church with a majority of its members living in the Southern Hemisphere. Those members are characterized by styles of worship that are more spontaneous and expressive, and a world view that makes them more responsive to the realities of prophecy, healing and exorcism."
The church also must offer a clear, prophetic voice in confronting poverty, social and political unrest, and widespread AIDS.
"These and many other factors mean that that the next pope will have to respond to the dynamism and pressing concerns of Catholicism in the Southern Hemisphere in a manner that allows Catholics everywhere to see these as gifts and challenges not just of a particular region, but of the entire universal church," Katongole says. "That, of course, is what being Catholic should be about."