Archbishop of Johannesburg on the main challenges faced by the Catholic Church

(Vatican Radio) At this historic time on change in the Church, just as the Cardinals did when they gathered first in their General Congregations and then in the Conclave, we look to the realities, the challenges, the hopes and the needs of the Catholic Church across the globe.

To do this Vatican Radio has asked Church leaders and experts to express their thoughts and give their own perspectives, according to their own areas of concern or expertise.

Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni spoke to the Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Thlagale about what he sees as the main challenges facing the Catholic Church today.

Listen to the interview…

Archbishop Buti says that not to be underestimated are the challenges regarding clergy. So he says: “the behavior and integrity of clergy is one of the main issues to be looked at. The more scandals we have in the church the more its reputation and the credibility of the Church and of the Church leadership suffers”. This is an internal matter he says,” but it does have an impact on how the Church is being looked at by both those who are inside the Church and those who are outside the Church”.
Secondly, says Archbishop Buti, “one of the major challenges in our times is the fact that the Catholic Church is hemorrhaging – we are losing numbers – and perhaps we need a new way of presenting the Gospel, of maintaining the Catholics we have, and certainly getting more to join the Catholic Church and hence this New Evangelization theme that is being promoted”.
Certainly, Archbishop Buti continues: “we are facing a very virulent attack by secularism; we are living in an age where people emphasize individual choice, in an age where people do not think that morality matters, where people think that one can blindly follow their own individual conscience”. These – says the Archbishop – “are challenges of our times that have to be looked at in as much as moral issues and secular beliefs have an impact on traditional values such as marriage and family life”. That – he says – “becomes one of the major challenges for the Church because the family, the very basic unit of society is being challenged in many parts of the world because the Church has always preached that the family is the building block of society but the rest of the world seems to think differently. So that becomes a major challenge for the Church”.
And then Archbishop Buti goes on: “we talk about unity. A united world. And yet that doesn’t seem to be the case in reality. If you look at the Arab Spring, if you look at the Arab countries how they are rebelling against traditionalism and wanting to establish democracy”. That – Archbishop Buti points out - is a major challenge for the Catholic Church for their sensitivity “if you think about Islam etc. – their sensitivity towards any kind of criticism”. So, he says: “interfaith is a major issue if we are going to have peace in this world. Interfaith relationships, dialogue with those who do not belong to the Christian family, and who are so sensitive about any criticism. If we are going to have a peaceful world, a reconciled world, a dialogue with them is extremely important”.