Future cardinals affirm that Europe is becoming the “new periphery” of the Catholic Church

Cardinals-designate from three continents have indicated that the Church in the global south has many non-material gifts to share with the West, including the wealth of priestly vocations and a joy-filled faith.

“When the Holy Father talks about the peripheries, I think the peripheries are moving… maybe the peripheries are moving towards Europe,” said Archbishop of Tokyo, Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, in response to a question from CNA during a press conference on the Synod of Synodality on October 8.

The Japanese bishop’s comments on the Church’s contributions outside Europe were supported by Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Korhogo, Ivory Coast, and Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, of Porto Alegre, Brazil, who also participated in the press conference

The three men are participants in the Synod and will be named cardinals in a consistory on December 8, Pope Francis announced on Sunday.

Côte d’Ivoire’s cardinal-designate, Bishop Dogbo, said the Synod on Synodality discussed the issue of gift exchange on Tuesday morning.

“We, who come from African dioceses, can say that we seem poor from a material point of view, but spiritually these dioceses are so rich. And faith is lived with joy,” he said. “And this is something we must share with the universal Church.”

He also mentioned the great grace of many priestly vocations in the Church in Africa. Bishop Kikuchi of Tokyo also noted the large number of priestly vocations coming from Asian countries, although he regretted that Japan, unfortunately, is not included in this.

“In the synodal assembly we discussed the exchange of gifts from one Church to another: those who have and those who do not have. Previously, it was understood that rich churches, those with money and resources, supported poor countries, such as in Asia and Africa,” Kikuchi said.

However, with more priestly vocations coming from Asian and African countries, “the exchange of gifts is changing, from developing countries to developed countries,” he added.

Bishop Spengler, president of the Brazilian bishops’ conference and president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) since 2023, said Brazil and other Latin American countries are celebrating the anniversary of the arrival of immigrants from Germany, Italy and other countries to the continent.

“In some way, these immigrants promoted a process of evangelization in Latin America in a historical context different from ours, and they did it so well,” he said. “Today, we do have a Christian tradition that is strong and alive (in Latin America), we owe it to immigrants.”

The archbishop explained that immigrants were brave to leave their own countries and cross the ocean, in some cases more than 200 years ago, to a continent where there was little at the time. But most importantly, he added, they brought the Catholic faith with them.

He said today’s challenge for the Church in traditionally Christian countries is to understand how to present the faith to the next generation.

Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA.