Glocalization of the political doctrine of modern Catholicism: a comparative analysis of the travels of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis

Abstract: 
Under conditions of globalization, Catholicism is forced to maintain its “universal” status and at the same time adapt to the local contexts of presence. As a consequence, there is a need to glocalize the church’s political doctrine – a part of Catholic social teaching focused on the issues of a political nature. One of the tools for solving this problem are papal travels, which ensure the spread of the Catholicism’s doctrine through the personal presence of the Vicar of the Holy See in various world regions. The pontiffs’ mobility provides meaningful information about the (re)configuration of the global and local dimensions of church teaching. In this regard, the article provides a comparative analysis of the percentage distribution and dynamics of the travels of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis (for the 1st half of 2022) in their relationship with the world Catholic population’s statistics. The result is a partial confirmation of the hypothesis about the expansion and shift of the travels’ geography to the global South.

Keywords:

doi: 

10.25990/socinstras.pss-18.kbhg-1d48

edn: 
YKKOSI

For citation: Dmitrieva V.D. Glocalization of the political doctrine of modern Catholicism: a comparative analysis of the travels of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. St. Petersburg Sociology Today. 2022. N. 18. P. 101-118. DOI:10.25990/socinstras.pss-18.kbhg-1d48

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