Un catholicisme diasporique: Réflexions sociologiques sur un propos théologique

When Karl Rahner announced in his renowned article of 1954 that profound changes were awaiting the Catholic Church, he showed both remarkable theological courage and, above all, great analytical originality. Instead of deploring secularisation and attempting to counter it, he recognised it as the current condition of the presence of Christianity in contemporary Occidental societies. This article evaluates the sociological impact of this “diasporic” form that Karl Rahner presents as the obligatory means of Catholic communalisation in response to its minority status in the world as it is.