Winds of Change Blowing Over the Vatican
UENO Kagefumi / Professor (non-tenured), Kyorin University
June 17, 2013
Winds of Change Blowing Over the Vatican
UENO Kagefumi Professor (non-tenured), Kyorin University
Two months have passed since Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Latin American to assume the papacy. The series of processes that took place before and after the ascension of Pope Francis, the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church, defied conventions, and has already set off a chemical reaction that may eventually turn the tide in the Catholic world.
In March this year, the Papal Conclave astonished the world by entrusting the future of the Catholic Church to the “least Vaticanistic” man from Argentina.
The Catholic Church is said to have two cultures - the “culture of splendor” as exemplified by the Vatican and the “frontier culture” of monks and nuns who have taken the vow of poverty, humility and devotion. And it is largely thanks to the latter that the Church has retained people’s respect over the centuries. As a Jesuit, Pope Francis embodies this latter culture, standing antipodal vis-à-vis the Vatican culture.
Francis, who had for decades stood by the poor people and lived a life of simplicity and humility, has started to introduce “frontier culture” to the Vatican by simplifying the official functions and the papal environments. Together with his personality of preferring direct conversations with people, Francis is generating sympathy within the Catholic world and could change the very culture of the Vatican.
The Vatican is predominantly Euro-centric, giving little say to non-European regions such as the Americas and Asia, which account for three quarters of the world’s Catholic population. The full voice of each continent does not reach the Vatican. Will the new pope from Latin America seek a break from the past to create a pluralistic Catholic Church that better reflects the realities of each continent by attempting to decentralize the existing structure that is yet centralized around Rome? How will he counter those who resist the “de-Europeanizing” process? We should watch closely.
Previous Pope Benedict 16th never visited Asia during his regime, and, besides, Japan has been kept devoid of a cardinal for the past three years. I do hope that Pope Francis, who had once upon a time volunteered to work in Japan, will give proper weight to Japan and Asia. I also expect the Catholic Church of Japan to make an effort to realize a papal visit to Japan.
Besides, the Vatican is plagued with a number of institutional maladies, such as sexual abuses by clergymen, which are characterized by the cover-up mentality and lack of self-corrective capability that are rather common among giant organizations, having thus unnecessarily discredited the Catholics. The fact that a “Vatican outsider” was deliberately chosen to steer the Church is also an indication of the severity of the situation in which the Catholics find themselves. Francis has moved swiftly, selecting eight cardinals to his “Advisory Council,” whose members includes only one from the Vatican bureaucracy, while three were chosen from English- and German-speaking countries where churches are deemed to be more reform-minded. The next important step will be the appointment of a State Secretary, or the No.2 man in the Roman Curia.
In addition, Francis is expected to make vigorous appeals to the entire world. He will impress the world by his presence through the Church’s expanded dialogues with Jews and Islam, and through extending papal messages on such themes as poverty, environment and human rights.
Pope Francis has thus brought with him the winds of change. We will see with endless interest whether he will transform the cultures and traits of the entire Catholic world as his reform of the Vatican gathers full momentum. He will inevitably encounter resistance from the Vatican bureaucracy and the Europeans. However, propelled by typical energy of times of change, Pope Francis is, as an “autocrat” with both authority and absolute power, in a position to make history.
Kagefumi Ueno is a civilizational essayist and former Ambassador to the Holy See. The article first appeared in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper dated May 16, 2013.
UENO Kagefumi Professor (non-tenured), Kyorin University
Two months have passed since Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Latin American to assume the papacy. The series of processes that took place before and after the ascension of Pope Francis, the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church, defied conventions, and has already set off a chemical reaction that may eventually turn the tide in the Catholic world.
In March this year, the Papal Conclave astonished the world by entrusting the future of the Catholic Church to the “least Vaticanistic” man from Argentina.
The Catholic Church is said to have two cultures - the “culture of splendor” as exemplified by the Vatican and the “frontier culture” of monks and nuns who have taken the vow of poverty, humility and devotion. And it is largely thanks to the latter that the Church has retained people’s respect over the centuries. As a Jesuit, Pope Francis embodies this latter culture, standing antipodal vis-à-vis the Vatican culture.
Francis, who had for decades stood by the poor people and lived a life of simplicity and humility, has started to introduce “frontier culture” to the Vatican by simplifying the official functions and the papal environments. Together with his personality of preferring direct conversations with people, Francis is generating sympathy within the Catholic world and could change the very culture of the Vatican.
The Vatican is predominantly Euro-centric, giving little say to non-European regions such as the Americas and Asia, which account for three quarters of the world’s Catholic population. The full voice of each continent does not reach the Vatican. Will the new pope from Latin America seek a break from the past to create a pluralistic Catholic Church that better reflects the realities of each continent by attempting to decentralize the existing structure that is yet centralized around Rome? How will he counter those who resist the “de-Europeanizing” process? We should watch closely.
Previous Pope Benedict 16th never visited Asia during his regime, and, besides, Japan has been kept devoid of a cardinal for the past three years. I do hope that Pope Francis, who had once upon a time volunteered to work in Japan, will give proper weight to Japan and Asia. I also expect the Catholic Church of Japan to make an effort to realize a papal visit to Japan.
Besides, the Vatican is plagued with a number of institutional maladies, such as sexual abuses by clergymen, which are characterized by the cover-up mentality and lack of self-corrective capability that are rather common among giant organizations, having thus unnecessarily discredited the Catholics. The fact that a “Vatican outsider” was deliberately chosen to steer the Church is also an indication of the severity of the situation in which the Catholics find themselves. Francis has moved swiftly, selecting eight cardinals to his “Advisory Council,” whose members includes only one from the Vatican bureaucracy, while three were chosen from English- and German-speaking countries where churches are deemed to be more reform-minded. The next important step will be the appointment of a State Secretary, or the No.2 man in the Roman Curia.
In addition, Francis is expected to make vigorous appeals to the entire world. He will impress the world by his presence through the Church’s expanded dialogues with Jews and Islam, and through extending papal messages on such themes as poverty, environment and human rights.
Pope Francis has thus brought with him the winds of change. We will see with endless interest whether he will transform the cultures and traits of the entire Catholic world as his reform of the Vatican gathers full momentum. He will inevitably encounter resistance from the Vatican bureaucracy and the Europeans. However, propelled by typical energy of times of change, Pope Francis is, as an “autocrat” with both authority and absolute power, in a position to make history.
Kagefumi Ueno is a civilizational essayist and former Ambassador to the Holy See. The article first appeared in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper dated May 16, 2013.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
転換点告げる「バチカンの新風」
上野景文 / 杏林大学客員教授
2013年 6月 17日
中南米出身者として史上初めてベルゴリオ枢機卿が新ローマ法王に選出され、２カ月余が過ぎた。第２６６代法王、フランシスコ誕生に至るプロセスは従来の常識を覆すもので、カトリック世界の潮流を変える新風を早くも吹き込んでいる。
３月のコンクラーベが世界を驚かせたのは、カトリック世界がアルゼンチン出身で「最も非バチカン的」人物にその将来を託したためだ。
カトリックには華美なバチカン文化と清貧、謙虚、献身を旨とする修道士（女）の「前線文化」があり、教会が長く尊敬をつなぎとめているのは後者のおかげでもある。イエズス会出身の新法王は後者を体現し、バチカン文化の対極にいる人物であることを再認識すべきだ。
長年、貧しい人たちに寄り添い、質素、謙遜を実践してきた新法王はバチカンでも従来の姿勢を貫き、行事や法王の環境を大幅に簡素化することで「前線文化」を持ち込みつつある。大衆への直接的語りかけを好む人柄とも相まってカトリック世界で共感を呼んでおり、バチカンの体質を変える可能性がある。
欧州中心主義が強いバチカンでは、世界のカトリック人口の４分の３を占める中南米、アジアなど非欧州地域の発言力は弱く、各大陸の声は十分には届いていない。中南米出身の新法王が、各大陸の実情を反映した多元的カトリック世界への脱皮をめざし、ローマ中心の集権体制から分権的構造への転換を試みるか、脱欧州化に対する抵抗にどう立ち向かうか、注視したい。
前法王は在位中アジア訪問をせず、日本ではこの３年間枢機卿不在が放置されている。かつて日本赴任を志願したことがある新法王には日本・アジアの重視を、日本のカトリック教会には新法王来日の働きかけをそれぞれ期待したい。
聖職者による性的虐待問題はじめバチカンに山積する組織の疾患の多くは巨大組織特有の隠蔽（いんぺい）体質、自浄能力の欠如などに起因し、カトリックの信用をいたずらに失墜させてきた。「バチカンのアウトサイダー」にあえてかじ取りを任せたのは、カトリックが置かれた状況の厳しさの裏返しでもある。新法王はさっそく「改革のための諮問委員会」の委員８人を選んだが、バチカン官僚は１人にとどめ、改革に前向きな英独語圏から３人を選んでいる。ナンバー２にあたる首相の人選が次の重要なポイントになろう。
全世界へのアピールに熱心に取り組むことも新法王には期待される。かねて手がけているユダヤ教、イスラム教との対話や貧困、環境、人権などのテーマについてのメッセージ発出の面で存在感を世界に示すことになるだろう。
新風を吹かせつつある新法王が、今後、バチカン改革を本格化させる過程でカトリック世界全体の文化・体質の変容をめざすことになるか、興味は尽きない。バチカン官僚や欧州勢による抵抗は必至だが、転換期特有のエネルギーを背景に、権威と絶対的権力が備わった「専制君主」として、ローマ法王は歴史を動かし得る地位にある。
（筆者は文明論考家、前駐バチカン大使。本稿は2013年５月16日毎日新聞朝刊に掲載された。）
３月のコンクラーベが世界を驚かせたのは、カトリック世界がアルゼンチン出身で「最も非バチカン的」人物にその将来を託したためだ。
カトリックには華美なバチカン文化と清貧、謙虚、献身を旨とする修道士（女）の「前線文化」があり、教会が長く尊敬をつなぎとめているのは後者のおかげでもある。イエズス会出身の新法王は後者を体現し、バチカン文化の対極にいる人物であることを再認識すべきだ。
長年、貧しい人たちに寄り添い、質素、謙遜を実践してきた新法王はバチカンでも従来の姿勢を貫き、行事や法王の環境を大幅に簡素化することで「前線文化」を持ち込みつつある。大衆への直接的語りかけを好む人柄とも相まってカトリック世界で共感を呼んでおり、バチカンの体質を変える可能性がある。
欧州中心主義が強いバチカンでは、世界のカトリック人口の４分の３を占める中南米、アジアなど非欧州地域の発言力は弱く、各大陸の声は十分には届いていない。中南米出身の新法王が、各大陸の実情を反映した多元的カトリック世界への脱皮をめざし、ローマ中心の集権体制から分権的構造への転換を試みるか、脱欧州化に対する抵抗にどう立ち向かうか、注視したい。
前法王は在位中アジア訪問をせず、日本ではこの３年間枢機卿不在が放置されている。かつて日本赴任を志願したことがある新法王には日本・アジアの重視を、日本のカトリック教会には新法王来日の働きかけをそれぞれ期待したい。
聖職者による性的虐待問題はじめバチカンに山積する組織の疾患の多くは巨大組織特有の隠蔽（いんぺい）体質、自浄能力の欠如などに起因し、カトリックの信用をいたずらに失墜させてきた。「バチカンのアウトサイダー」にあえてかじ取りを任せたのは、カトリックが置かれた状況の厳しさの裏返しでもある。新法王はさっそく「改革のための諮問委員会」の委員８人を選んだが、バチカン官僚は１人にとどめ、改革に前向きな英独語圏から３人を選んでいる。ナンバー２にあたる首相の人選が次の重要なポイントになろう。
全世界へのアピールに熱心に取り組むことも新法王には期待される。かねて手がけているユダヤ教、イスラム教との対話や貧困、環境、人権などのテーマについてのメッセージ発出の面で存在感を世界に示すことになるだろう。
新風を吹かせつつある新法王が、今後、バチカン改革を本格化させる過程でカトリック世界全体の文化・体質の変容をめざすことになるか、興味は尽きない。バチカン官僚や欧州勢による抵抗は必至だが、転換期特有のエネルギーを背景に、権威と絶対的権力が備わった「専制君主」として、ローマ法王は歴史を動かし得る地位にある。
（筆者は文明論考家、前駐バチカン大使。本稿は2013年５月16日毎日新聞朝刊に掲載された。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟