Kevin Cua 121096

Th 151 S (Udo, Goebel)

Ten Mega Trends Shaping the Catholic Church Summary
The article talks about various trends or in his word mega-trends that helped change the
Catholic Church to what it is today. John Allen gave ten mega trends. Specifically, these are The
North/South Shift, Quest for Catholic Identity, The Rise of Islam, The movements, The Biotech
Revolution, The Wireless World, The Wojtyla Revolution, Globalization, Polarization and its
Discontents and, lastly, The Sexual Abuse Crisis.
First, John Allen talked about the North South Shift which occurred and rendered the new
Catholic Church to have more Catholics in The South rather than the North, which was the
opposite during the time in 1900. Second he talks about The Quest for Catholic Identity and how
people might not assimilate to the same secular mentality to the Church. Third, The Rise of Islam
which might affect the fate of the Christians in the Arabic World. Fourth, he talked about The
Movements which refer to new groups in the twentieth century. Fifth, The Biotech Revolution
which talks about how the Church is being affected by the debates about contraception, STDs
and genetic manipulation of human beings. Sixth, he talked about The Wireless World and how it
now allows people to be able to read more globally and as such are able to read about Catholic
activism and others. Seventh, The Wojytla Revolution was mentioned and it talked about Pope
John Paul II and his different ways of being the Pope. Eight, he talked about Globalization and
how it is easier to influence another country and how opinions will be easier to be interchanged.
Ninth, he talked about the Polarization and its Discontents which talks about Catholic tribalism.
Lastly, he talked about The Sexual Abuse Crisis that almost made the church bankrupt.