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Global Catholicism
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Global Catholicism

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 13295

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Bryan Froehle

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Guest Editor
Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL 33401, USA
Interests: global Catholicism; world Christianity; practical theology
Prof. Dr. Massimo Faggioli

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Guest Editor
Department of Theology and Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085, USA
Interests: Pope Francis; American Catholicism; church history; religion; Catholicism and World/European politics; historical theology and ecclesiology; history of Christianity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global Catholicism is a field of study with diverse roots in missiology, ecclesiology, and practical theology as well as contemporary social scientific and historical research. While related to the study of World Christianity and religion more generally, the distinctive ecclesiological features of Catholicism open possibilities related to Catholic theology, including understandings originating or with certain affinities within particular world regions or localities. Scholarship within Global Catholicism offers great potential to advance the self-understanding of the Catholic Church in light of Catholic understandings of the development of the doctrine and the sensus fidei. This is all the more the case in the contemporary period of the life of the Church, one of disruption and two generations after the Second Vatican Council. The field of Global Catholicism is interdisciplinary and comparative, with a methodological grounding firmly rooted in the Council. While Catholic Christianity has been visibly global from the beginning, forms of that globality have shifted dramatically through the centuries. While the Catholic Church could have arguably been described not long ago as merely globally extensive, it may increasingly be said to be on its way to becoming truly globalized. From its beginning to today, the dawning of its third millennium, Catholicism has both reflected and shaped the diverse social contexts in which it has been embedded. Understanding these dynamics requires a social and historical analysis that is simultaneously theological, even as it embraces philosophical and social theoretical questions. Such an intradisciplinary approach, respectful of various approaches to empirical and theological research, offers a method and methodology that is sufficient to understand what has emerged as Global Catholicism. We seek papers that would expand our understanding of both the field and discipline of Global Catholicism, areas of scholarship that have both a sociological and theological dimension and which therefore may be best described as practical theological. Papers may focus on contemporary conversations within Global Catholicism, regional or local ecclesiological developments or histories, comparative studies of other traditions or between historical periods of instantiations of Catholicism, and related but broader methodological or theological questions.  
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Prof. Bryan Froehle (bryan_froehle@pba.edu), Prof. Massimo Faggioli (massimo.faggioli@villanova.edu) or to the Assistant Editor of Religions, Ms. Margaret Liu (margaret.liu@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Bryan Froehle
Prof. Dr. Massimo Faggioli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • case study
  • catholicity
  • circle method
  • culture
  • development of doctrine
  • ecclesiology
  • hermeneutics
  • intercultural theology
  • interdisciplinarity
  • method
  • methodology
  • Missio Dei
  • missiology
  • political economy
  • practical theology
  • sensus fidelium
  • sensus fidelium fidei
  • synodality
  • world Christianity
  • world regions

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 227 KiB  
Article
Dangerous Memories and Violence
by Donald Tyoapine Komboh
Religions 2025, 16(4), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040493 - 10 Apr 2025
Viewed by 195
Abstract
The big challenge regarding social violence is relationships and the quest for societies to live together. As a result, this has affected, in different ways, how various demographics are composed, economies are built and religions are practiced. This investigation weighs in on these [...] Read more.
The big challenge regarding social violence is relationships and the quest for societies to live together. As a result, this has affected, in different ways, how various demographics are composed, economies are built and religions are practiced. This investigation weighs in on these matters to delineate the issues critically. It spotlights the thrust of the matter, which is based on trust and fairness. Adopting a categorical theological method, this article interrogates Johann Baptist Metz’s categories of memory, solidarity and narratives in reverse. It highlights relationships, narratives and community to dissect the issues of violence in Taraba State with the intention of restoring relationships. Conflicts result from a series of broken relationships, and they become ethnic and religious. In intentionally engaging these categories, the hope is that they serve as a formidable resource for interrogating these conflicts and providing a reset for healthy living. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
20 pages, 364 KiB  
Article
Impact of October 7 Attack and 2024 War in Gaza on Catholic–Jewish Relations
by Magdalena Dziaczkowska
Religions 2024, 15(10), 1180; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101180 - 27 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2524
Abstract
The 2023/2024 war in Gaza is testing Catholic–Jewish relations. It uncovers three layers of tension in the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people and the State of Israel: First, the differences in the Catholic historical interpretation of the Hamas attack and the war [...] Read more.
The 2023/2024 war in Gaza is testing Catholic–Jewish relations. It uncovers three layers of tension in the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people and the State of Israel: First, the differences in the Catholic historical interpretation of the Hamas attack and the war in Gaza in respect to the Jewish one. Second, a theological tension between Catholic teachings on Jews and Judaism and the concept of universal fraternity—how unique is the relationship with the Jewish people compared to all of humanity? Third, a tension between supporting Christians in the Holy Land and their political aspirations and maintaining positive relations with the State of Israel while avoiding a theological stance on Zionism. These tensions lead to intra-Catholic and ecumenical challenges in the theology of Jews, Judaism, and the Land of Israel, particularly in discussions on antisemitism, anti-Judaism, universal fraternity, and violence. This study relies on analyzing relevant press articles and statements from Catholic hierarchs and Jewish leaders, contextualizing them with recent developments in the Catholic theology of war and violence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
11 pages, 326 KiB  
Article
The Challenge of Synodality
by Joe Inguanez and Bryan Froehle
Religions 2024, 15(7), 770; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070770 - 26 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2348
Abstract
While the Synod on Synodality (2023–2024) called by Pope Francis is meant to develop deeper unity within the Catholic Church, it has nonetheless provided an occasion to deepen tensions between the Church. While synodality has deep theological roots, its practical implications involve more [...] Read more.
While the Synod on Synodality (2023–2024) called by Pope Francis is meant to develop deeper unity within the Catholic Church, it has nonetheless provided an occasion to deepen tensions between the Church. While synodality has deep theological roots, its practical implications involve more than theology. Though the self-understanding of the Catholic Church and the meaning of synodality are naturally theological, they are expressed in historically embedded, socially constructed ways. The tensions experienced in the preparation and reception of the Synod on Synodality stem from implied structural changes. Conflict is normal when social change is involved, particularly when questions of power and meaning-making are involved, and all the more so when there is no certainty as to the outcome. Practical theology offers a means of understanding the Synod and the ways in which synodality may or may not be expressed within the contemporary Catholic Church. Such an approach brings theology and social science into dialogue for deeper ecclesiological understanding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
14 pages, 286 KiB  
Article
Popular Catholicism Puerto Rican Style: The Virgin of Rincón, Human Agency, and Miracles
by Angel D. Santiago-Vendrell
Religions 2024, 15(4), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040463 - 8 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1658
Abstract
In the past, popular Catholicism in Latin America and the Caribbean was perceived with suspicion by liberation theologians and official Roman Catholicism for its eccentricities, lack of doctrinal coherence, and fears of syncretism with folk religions. Nowadays, popular Catholicism in Latin America and [...] Read more.
In the past, popular Catholicism in Latin America and the Caribbean was perceived with suspicion by liberation theologians and official Roman Catholicism for its eccentricities, lack of doctrinal coherence, and fears of syncretism with folk religions. Nowadays, popular Catholicism in Latin America and the Caribbean has been a source of theological reflection, ecumenism, and religious revitalization. The apparition of the Holy Mother in 1953 at barrio Rincón in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, is a case study in global Catholicism that exemplifies this turn to see popular Catholicism as a source of liberation, perseverance, and deep spiritual devotion by the faithful. Using cultural, social, and reception historiography, the article argues that the Puerto Rican faithful were not passive recipients of the literary narratives of journalists covering the events as narrated by the main protagonists, the children/seers, but rather themselves formulators of history through their reception and participation. This is demonstrated by the allegiances of the faithful to popular Catholicism and their rejection of the official mandates of the clergy to ignore the events taking place at barrio Rincón regarding the apparition of the Virgin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
11 pages, 230 KiB  
Article
Synodality and Decision-Making Processes: Towards New Bodies of Participation in the Church
by Francesco Zaccaria
Religions 2024, 15(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010054 - 30 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2960
Abstract
The church’s synodal conversion requires a reform of its decision-making processes. Facing the challenge of keeping in balance the common dignity of all the baptized and the value of the hierarchical structure of the church, the participation of all the faithful in decision-making [...] Read more.
The church’s synodal conversion requires a reform of its decision-making processes. Facing the challenge of keeping in balance the common dignity of all the baptized and the value of the hierarchical structure of the church, the participation of all the faithful in decision-making processes is grounded in biblical and theological arguments and defined as a co-responsibility in taking joint decisions. The analysis of two synodal bodies recently established within the Catholic Church in the Amazon and Germany delineates new directions for the renewal of decision-making structures in the church. These directions entail reforming the existing participatory structures and creating new deliberative bodies in the church. Looking at church reality and the practice of consultation and decision-making, synodal conversion ultimately requires the reform of training for church leaders with a view to changing church mindsets and culture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
10 pages, 294 KiB  
Article
Synodality in the Reception of the Second Vatican Council and Development of the Pastoral Orientations of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference, 1965–1985
by José Ignacio Fernández
Religions 2023, 14(11), 1374; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14111374 - 31 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1092
Abstract
After the Second Vatican Council, the Chilean bishops met in a plenary assembly during May 1968. As a result, the Episcopal Conference of Chile developed its first Pastoral Orientations (POs). Between 1968 and 1985, the Chilean Bishops produced eight different iterations of the [...] Read more.
After the Second Vatican Council, the Chilean bishops met in a plenary assembly during May 1968. As a result, the Episcopal Conference of Chile developed its first Pastoral Orientations (POs). Between 1968 and 1985, the Chilean Bishops produced eight different iterations of the POs. The ongoing development of the POs during this period reflected an emerging consensus across the various dioceses of the county. Five aspects of the POs in particular helped develop a synodal culture: (1) to reform the Church, (2) to establish the Church as an evangelizer and servant of humanity, (3) to opt for the base ecclesial communities as the local realization of the People of God, (4), to carry out the liturgical reform and diocesan synods, and (5) to develop intermediate forms of collegiality among the bishops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
7 pages, 203 KiB  
Article
Synodality from a Reformed Perspective
by Arnold Huijgen
Religions 2023, 14(10), 1295; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14101295 - 16 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1489
Abstract
For Reformed theologians, the “synodal process” in the Roman Catholic Church is an important ecumenical rapprochement since it is based on the conviction that all believers, and all humans of good will, should have a voice in the Church’s future. While “synod” sounds [...] Read more.
For Reformed theologians, the “synodal process” in the Roman Catholic Church is an important ecumenical rapprochement since it is based on the conviction that all believers, and all humans of good will, should have a voice in the Church’s future. While “synod” sounds in Reformed ears as a movement toward formal authority, the opposite is the case: the synodal process aims at communion, participation and mission. This article highlights aspects of the synodal process that dovetail with Reformed emphases and, thus, open ecumenical avenues, particularly journeying together and listening. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Catholicism)
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