Some remarks on the geopolitics of Catholic Church

The inner geopolitics of the Catholic Church today is guided by the interpretation of eschatological prophesies of Saint Malachy and Fatima messages. According to the famous Prophesy of the Popes attributed to the Saint Malachy – the saint of the XII century from Ireland – the current Pope is the last one. It also says that Rome will be destroyed, and the persecution against Christians will start. The same message is brought by the third part of the “secret” of Fatima where is describes the vision of the Bishop (Pope), priests and many ordinary people becoming martyrs and the City being destroyed.

These apocalyptic visions are embraced by many Catholics, especially conservatives who see the rise of Islamic terrorism, suppression of Christians in the Middle East, and the victory of an anti-Christian way of life in the western world the signs of a coming Doomsday. However, Eschatology in Christian perception has a positive dimension. It is the Second Coming of Christ, preceded by evangelization of humanity.

Pope Jon Paul II was heavily influenced by Fatima miracles and was attracted by Marial eschatology. He embraced the idea to dedicate all the people to the Holy Virgin to accomplish the mission of final evangelization of mankind.  This catholic globalization process was a very smooth strategy. Catholicism was not imposed, rather suggested. To fulfill this mission, the Papacy had to continue to modify the traditional attitude towards other religions (Judaism, Buddhism, pagan cults) and liturgical practices in the spirit of Vatican II. This led to some internal crises in Catholicism in the western world as well as the assurance of its position in other parts of the planet. The word of Catholic geopolitics has divided into different zones, where aims of Rome range from simple survival to gaining dominance.

1.       European space.

All the positions of the Church are almost lost. Europe today is secular, masonic and is leading toward absolute social relativism. Christian faith remains a part of identity in southern backward part of the continent in Italy, Spain and Portugal and in Poland, but the real faith and religiosity becomes marginal.

2.       North American space

In this part of the globe the Positions of the Roman Church are the same as in Europe with two major exclusions. The first is its strong rival – American Protestantism, the second – the growing Hispanic population of the USA. They are a kind of stronghold for Catholicism and will be its main base of support on the continent.

3.      Latin America.

It is a core of Catholic geopolitics today. The Pope being from Argentina is a clear sign of it. Latin America is a region where the position of the Church in the hearts of the people is most strong. In the region the Church has institutional power like nowhere else. However, in this zone the Church has to respond to the rise of Protestantism and pressure from the left and liberal forces both in the governments and on the streets, where LGBT activists attempts to attack the churches.

4.       Middle East and Northern Africa

Nowadays this great space is under full control of Islam. Christians are eliminated and become extinct in every country in this zone. This land today gives only martyrs.

5.       Black Africa

It is a field of the battle where Catholicism and Protestantism, in a tactical alliance with animism, wage a war against Islam that tries to establish its dominance in the east, west and central part of the continent. A clear example of Black African radical Islam is the Boko Haram terrorist gangs. Another challenge for Catholicism on the Black Continent is sectarian and para-Christian militants like the cannibal Army of Lord’s Resistance in Central Africa.

6.       Southern and Eastern Asia and Pacific

This space represents a great hope for the Church of Rome. It is a space where traditional beliefs are losing its ground to Christianity. The problem is that because of the process of Evangelization the leaders are Protestants. However, activity of catholic missions is still considerable.

7.       Eurasian space

It is the zone where Orthodox Church guards all its positions. They are strengthened by close collaboration with the political core of the space – Moscow. The proselyte strategy that is propelled by Moscow has no chance of winning there. In Muslim countries, secular Islam prevents the expansion of Catholicism. The only relative success in this zone is in Western Ukraine, where Uniats (eastern Rite Roman Catholics) traditionally have some popularity.

Summing up all the problems in different parts of the world the Church of Rome is facing today, there are two ways to tackle them. The first is to continue the battle for a world dominance, insisting on the primacy of Catholicism instead of other Christian denominations. This will only aggravate the positions of Christianity in the face of secularism and other religions. Christianity will become the faith of the minority and the Eschatological mission of the Evangelisation that is driving Catholic proselytism will not be accomplished

The second way is to embrace a more Ecumenical Pan-Christian Vision, which can be much easier in front of aggressive Islamisation and more insidious secularization. The Catholic Church should change its strategy towards other Christians, if it wants to salvage Christianity.