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Catholic Church, Roman

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History

Catholic Church, Roman The largest Christian denomination, comprising around 800 million members, which looks to the infallible authority of the Pope in matters of doctrine, and his supreme guidance in all spiritual affairs. Its structure and teaching have been drawn from two sources, the Scriptures on the one hand and on the other the tradition of the Church Fathers, as it developed from the early Christian communities under the guidance of St Paul and St Peter (the first ‘Pope’), the latter being appointed by Christ as his representative on earth.

The history of modern Catholicism goes back to 1860/70, when it faced two major threats. The first was the challenge of industrialization and demographic change, which uprooted many communities and alienated many people from the Church. The second, more immediate, challenge was the loss of the Papal States to a unified Italy. The loss of the Pope's secular powers turned out to be a blessing in disguise, however. Following the First Vatican Council (1869–70), the Church emphasized papal spiritual authority throughout the worldwide Church (ultramontanism). In particular, the Pope's role was strengthened through the declaration of papal infallibility. This claim to worldwide authority, even if it was restricted to spiritual matters, brought about the hostility of liberalism, with its emphasis on the supremacy of state institutions, as well as socialism.

Ultimately, this new centralism strengthened the authority of the Church, while the revival of popular forms of religious practice (such as the veneration of saints) further increased its appeal. In contrast to other Christian Churches, Roman Catholics were also relatively quick to respond to the new problems caused by industrialization and urbanization through the establishment of new parishes in working-class areas, and the organization of workers in Catholic trade unions, clubs, and societies. At the same time, Roman Catholics were active in missionary work in Africa and Asia, so that during the first half of the twentieth century the Church did not experience the same decline as many Protestant Churches after World War I.

During World War II, under Pope Pius XII the Church was torn between its own mission to be a universal Church and the need to condemn the atrocities of Nazi Germany. In the end, it was heavily criticized for taking the former stance, so that it was left to individual priests and bishops in Germany and Austria and occupied countries to speak out against Hitler, at the risk of their own lives. After World War II, the Church was confronted with the Cold War, and took a confrontational stance with the newly established Communist regimes of Eastern Europe, which led to discrimination against Catholics in most Communist countries except in Poland, where religious observance was so strong as to force the Communist government there to come to an accommodation with the Church.

Perhaps the most important event for the Catholic Church in the postwar era was the election of Pope John XXIII, a compromise candidate elected only after twelve electoral rounds. Through his charity and humanity he infused the Catholic Church with a greater desire for unity and harmony, which was institutionalized in the Second Vatican Council (1962–5). Under his successor, Paul VI, the reforms to make the Church more up to date continued, while Pope John Paul II continued to emphasize the Church's progressive and radical positions on social issues and international relations (e.g. through condemning the Gulf War). This was accompanied by a decidedly conservative stance on issues of morality (e.g. on birth control) and theology (rejection of liberation theology). Finally, the Church took a more liberal stance on ecumenism, as it sought reconciliation with Judaism and the Orthodox Churches of Eastern Europe. Since the 1960s, religious observance in Europe, North America, and, more recently, Latin America has declined, while growing in Africa and, especially, Asia. The Church adjusted to its world role only slowly. Under John Paul II the most influential positions in the Vatican were held by cardinals from Europe and North America.

Table 3. Popes of the Roman Catholic Church in the twentieth century

Leo XIII	1878–1903
Pius X	1903–14
Benedict XV	1914–22
Pius XI	1922–39
Pius XII	1939–58
John XXIII	1958–63
Paul VI	1963–78
John Paul I	1978
John Paul II	1978–

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© A Dictionary of Contemporary World History 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004.