L’America Latina nell’operato della Santa Sede durante il Pontificato di Giovanni Paolo II
Authors: Dupuy Enrique Elias 
Published: October 2014

Latin America as a field of the activity of the Holy See during John Paul II’s pontificate

The first voyage made abroad by John Paul II to Mexico in January 1979 inaugurated the pontificate which had made a profound influence upon the relations between nations for more than a quarter of a century. Latin America became a dear region for the Polish Pope, who brought a great deal of energy and involvement for the development of Catholic life and the work of new evangelization. He considered this continent a place of hope for the Catholic Church: he made eighteen apostolic visits to this continent, and frequently prayed, as a pilgrim in Guadalupe, in front of the Heavenly Mother to which he referred as the Star of the First Evangelization. When the Pope appeared in Latin America for the first time in 1979, almost 43% of the population were Catholic people, after twenty-five years this number increased to over 60%. His final pilgrimage of 2002 ended with a great gift for the inhabitants of the continent: the canonization of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin – the first Indian saint in the history of the Church. John Paul II’s first visit to Latin America took place amid great expectations and appeals for specific solutions which were needed due to the great ideological and religious unrest caused by the clash between the Marxist ideology with the liberal and nationalistic ideology, and the spread of the so-called “liberation theology”. The latter was associated with a one-sided interpretation of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. The crisis of the Church on this continent was accompanied by the lack of a new evangelizational offer and a spiritual apathy which was partly overcome at the end of the 1970s.The III Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) called to the Pueblo in Mexico in January 1979 was supposed to indicate the avenues of further development of the Church on this continent and the perspectives of its social and spiritual development. John Paul II, an active participant of the Second Vatican Council and the Synod of Bishops in 1974 concerning evangelization, was aware of the difficult situation of the Church and of the Catholic communities in Latin America and quickly made the decision to personally participate in this conference. This was the first and at the same time, a groundbreaking papal visit which not only contributed to the cure of the religious situation but also became a source of rebirth of the Catholic church in Latin America. The remarkable significance of this visit is also associated with the fact that during this visit John Paul II imbued the social teaching of the Church with new meaning and vigour. This teaching had been sidelined by this institution and the Holy See for many years before that time. On 27 January 1979, when he addressed the bishops and the participants of the III CELAM Conference, the Pope firmly opposed the ideological involvement of the Church and indicated the errors of the liberation theology. He emphasized the following point: it is wrong to claim that political, economic and social liberation is similar to salvation in Jesus Christ, to claim that the “Regnum Dei” may be identified with the “Regnum hominis”.The Pope’s strategic gesture of 1979 was crucial for the future of Latin America – he came to Mexico as the head of the Vatican State, not as the head of the Church, due to the lack of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and that country and due to the lack of religious freedom. In the late 1980s Mexico became a country of great opportunity for the Church, and the state established contacts with the Vatican anew. The Pope’s positive influence was also marked in the social, spiritual and religious spheres: it brought the strengthening of the Church and of the religious movements, and an energetic preaching of social doctrine which thanks to John Paul II assumed the status of a serious proposition for this continent. We may include the following suggestions of the Pope which played a considerable role in the development of Latin America and the local Church:– the evangelization of people and cultures as the solution of all of the problems faced by mankind;– the promotion of the social teaching of the Church as an effective alternative which encourages the development of mankind and societies in Latin America;– the elaboration of the teaching of christological anthropology as the key element of the cultural presence and the Christian identity in the modern world;– the defense of human dignity and human rights, especially of religious freedom which is considered as the essence of man’s freedom;– the defense and the promotion of the family and the protection of human life since the time of conception until the natural death;– seeking and building peace in the spirit of reconciliation and respect of other people’s rights.