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TheCatholic Church in Afghanistan is part of the worldwideCatholic Church. Prior to August 2021, there were very few Catholics in this overwhelminglyMuslim country—just over 200 attendMass in its only chapel—andfreedom of religion has been difficult to obtain, especially under theTaliban-ledAfghan government.
Earlier Christians in Afghanistan were members of the historicalChurch of the East or theArmenian Apostolic Church, and there had been no sustained Catholic presence in Afghanistan until the 20th century. In 1921, theItalianembassy inKabul was allowed to build thefirst and only legal Catholic chapel to serve foreigners working in the capital, but not open to local nationals.[1] On 16 May 2002,Pope John Paul II established amissionsui iuris forAfghanistan with Giuseppe Moretti as its firstsuperior, presently Giovanni M. Scalese. In 2004, theMissionaries of Charity arrived in Kabul to carry outhumanitarian work. Following the2021 Taliban offensive, the Catholic Church ceased to have a functioning presence in Afghanistan.
Legend from theapocryphalActs of Thomas and other ancient documents suggests thatThomas the Apostle preached inBactria, which is today northern Afghanistan.[2] TheNestorians planted Christianity in the area, and there were historically nine bishops and dioceses in the region, includingHerat (424–1310),Farah (544–1057),Kandahar, andBalkh. This early establishment of Christianity was overcome by theMuslim conquests in the 7th century,[3] though the territory was not substantially controlled by Muslims until the 9th and 10th centuries.[4] In 1581 and 1582 respectively, theJesuits Antonio de Montserrat ofSpain andBento de Góis ofPortugal were warmly welcomed by the IslamicEmperor Akbar, but there was no lasting Jesuit presence in the country.[5][6]
TheKingdom of Italy was the first country to recognise theAnglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919.[7] On January 1, 1933, Egidio Caspani inaugurated the provisional chapel. His appointment was a personal request ofPope Pius XI to the Barnabite Superior General. Caspani had been the Rector of the Barnabite Seminary in Rome. To accompany him on this journey one of his students was ordained and sent with him, not publicly as apriest, but as his Diplomatic Courier and assistant Chancellor at the Embassy. Thus Ernesto Cagnacci also began this new mission in Kabul.[8] "At the time the Catholic residents numbered in the hundreds, the majority of them in the capital, members of embassies or contractors employed by the Government of Afghanistan; others were dispersed throughout the country and were generally technicians and specialized workers, that lent their skills to the construction of variouspublic works that marked the progress of the country."[9] In addition to his pastoral work, Caspani kept detailed notes of the politics, culture and geography of the land. These observations were later published in an Italian volume published in collaboration with Cagnacci entitled, "Afghanistan, crocevie dell'Asia".[10] Over the years a number of Barnabites have served as chaplains. After Caspani there was: Giovanni M. Bernasconi, 1947–1957; Raffaele Nannetti, 1957–1965; and Angelo Panigati, 1965–1990.[11]
During this period,Serge de Beaurecueil was the only Catholic priest engaged in ministry in Afghanistan rather than in the Italian embassy, from 1963 until his 1983 expulsion during theSoviet-Afghan War.[12]
Pope John Paul II called for a "just solution" to theSoviet–Afghan war in the 1980s.[13] Giuseppe Moretti first came to Afghanistan in 1977, and stayed until he was shot when the Italian embassy was attacked in 1994 and was forced to leave the country.[14][15] From 1990 to 1994 he was the only Catholic priest in the country.[16] After 1994, only theLittle Sisters of Jesus were allowed to remain in Afghanistan, as they had been there since 1955 and their work was well known.[17] Following theattacks of September 11, 2001,Catholic Relief Services sent clothing, food and bedding to returningrefugees and internally displaced persons. They also bought school supplies for children returning to school.[18]
With the fall of the Taliban,Pope John Paul II requested that Moretti return to Afghanistan.[14] The firstMass in 9 years was celebrated on January 27, 2002, for members of the International Security Force and various members of foreign agencies.[7] On May 16, 2002, a missionsui iuris was created for all of Afghanistan. There is only one functioning chapel in the country, in the Italian Embassy in Kabul.[19] Projects of the new mission include a "Peace School" for 500 students that began construction in August 2003 and will be to "European standards".[16] Threereligious sisters also work with those who havemental disabilities in the capital city, teaching those withcerebral palsy how to go to the toilet and how to eat on their own.[20] The small community went through a period of crisis during the kidnapping on May 17, 2005, ofClementina Cantoni, a member ofCARE International, by four gunmen in Kabul as she walked to her car.[21] Sisters from theMissionaries of Charity had their house blessed on May 9, 2006, and have already started taking instreet children. There had been fears that their distinctive blue and whitehabit would make them stand out and be harassed by Muslims, but their institute is generally respected.[22] Jesuit Relief Services has also applied to join the growing number of religious institutes in the country.[17] Jesuit Refugee Services has recently opened a technical school inHerat for 500 students including 120 girls.[23]
There have been efforts made to startinter-religious dialogue; theIslamist head of theAfghan Supreme Court Fazul Shinwari attended the inauguration of the mission and expressed a desire to meet with thePope.[24]
The Catholic community in Afghanistan is mainly made of foreigners, especially aid workers, and no Afghans are known to be currently part of the Church, mainly due to great social and legal pressure not toconvert to non-Islamic religions. Some Afghans have converted while overseas, but they keep it secret when they return.[25][26] TwoChristian groups,Church World Service andNorwegian Church Aid, were accused ofproselytizing while doingaid work in Afghanistan, which they denied, and 1,000 Afghans protested inMazar-i-Sharif and burned the popein effigy.[27] Despite this, the community has grown from only a few sisters to a full Sunday Mass of around 100.[19]Church attendance dipped in 2012 due to security concerns and less emphasis on religion among the foreigners in Afghanistan in recent years.[28]
Relations with the new democratic government of Afghanistan have been positive, such asAfghan PresidentHamid Karzai attendingPope John Paul II's funeral and congratulatingPope Benedict XVI on his election.[29]
Thepapal nuncio to neighboringPakistan visited Afghanistan in 2005 and held a Mass in the Italian Embassy Chapel to an overflowing crowd, and Catholic officials hope that official diplomatic ties and a public Catholic church will be possible in the future.[30]
In the wake of the2021 Taliban offensive, the Catholic community in Afghanistan ceased to exist.[31] Father Giovanni Scalese, the head of the Missionsui iuris of Afghanistan, left the country with severalMissionaries of Charity nuns and others who were under the nuns' care during the Taliban takeover.[32] Several Jesuits and other religious were present in Kabul during the collapse of the Republic of Afghanistan, and there is little public information about whether any have remained in the country.[33]
TheMissionsui iuris of Afghanistan (Latin:Missio sui juris Afghanistaniensis) is independent mission and a jurisdiction of theCatholic Church, immediately subject to theHoly See, covering the whole territory of theIslamic Republic of Afghanistan. It is a “particular church”— that is to say, a portion of the people of God – likened to a Diocese (Can. 368). By the law itself, it possesses juridical personality (Can. 373). It was established by the Holy See and entrusted to the care of theOrder of Clerics Regular of Saint Paul – Barnabites (CRSP). It is presided by an Ecclesiastical Superior (Latin:Superior ecclesiasticus), who acts as the Local Ordinary (Can. 134 §2).[34]
Members of foreignmilitaries (notably on NATO mission) are served by chaplains embedded within their units. In 2009, 17,000 soldiers from theUnited States stationed in eastern Afghanistan were served by 6 Catholic priests, including Catholic chaplains from other countries. Some bases had weekly Masses, while remote posts had Mass every 60 to 90 days.[35]
In the 2024 filmConclave, a fictional Archbishop of Kabul, Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), becomes a serious candidate for the papacy in thepapal conclave following the death of a fictional pope. Benitez was named a cardinalin petto (in the heart, meaning in secret), presumably to protect him from the risks of serving in the Taliban-run country.
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