Upon the discovery of the New World, King Ferdinand asked the then Pope, Leo X, to establish a patriarchate for the ecclesiastical governance of the lands of America conquered by the Spanish. Eventually, in 1524, the title of Patriarch of the West Indies was created, but it remained merely honorific – the Papacy not being keen on setting up an entirely new autonomous jurisdiction. King Philip II again pushed for it to become an actual and not merely titular dignity, but Rome refused. Eventually, it was merged with the Military Vicariate of Spain, until the latter was abolished; the last holder of the title of Patriarch, after the Vicariate's end, was the Bishop of Madrid (1946-1963). The title remains in abeyance, never having been officially suppressed.
Considering that the reform of the Curia, and thus of Church governance in general, is a matter of current concern, I make bold to propose that the Papacy, overburdened by decision-making, ought make a strategic decision, and establish several new Latin patriarchates, with jurisdictional autonomy – not in any way to endanger the Faith or Catholic morals, of course, but so as to relieve the Holy See of matters better delegated to other bodies. The Pope would thereafter relate to these new Latin Patriarchates in the same way as he deals with the Eastern Catholic Patriarchates and the like; they would be autonomous, but subject to his Petrine authority as Vicar of Christ.
The obvious first step would be to elevate CELAM (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano), the Latin American Episcopal Conference (or Council), currently a federation as it were of 21 national and 1 international (the Caribbean) episcopal conferences, into a synod for a new Latin Patriarchate: that of Latin America. The old titular Patriarchate of the West Indies would be revived and made into what it was in the first place proposed to be – an autonomous Catholic jurisdiction for the New World (excluding Canada and the USA). Since the title was never attached to any one diocese, it could be conferred by the Pope upon a worthy bishop in some part of Latin America, who would have patriarchal jurisdiction, assisted by CELAM (renamed or reconstituted or not), over that vast region of the globe, which contains over 40% of all Catholics, the vast majority of whom are united by either Spanish or Portuguese culture and by the Holy Faith (for over three-quarters of Latin Americans are Catholic, despite the inroads of secularism and Protestantism). The 798 dioceses and the like (vicariates apostolic, military ordinariates, and so forth) that govern the present territories of CELAM would be presided over by the new Patriarch, with real and not merely titular jurisdiction.
If it seemed timely, the same erection of a new Latin Patriarchate with jurisdictional autonomy could be carried out for South and East Asia combined, with the courtesy title of Patriarch of the East Indies to be transferred from Goa to Manila (the obvious choice, seeing as Catholic Filipinos constitute nearly two-thirds of all Catholics in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and East Asia). This Patriarchate would contain perhaps one-tenth or more of all Catholics worldwide, spread throughout 405 dioceses and the like. However, since unlike Latin America this is still a region in which the Faith is in a minority in nearly all places, the Philippines aside, perhaps it ought remain under the jurisdiction of Propaganda Fide...
In the same manner and for the same reason (and subject to the same caveat), Sub-Saharan Africa could be erected into a new Latin Patriarchate, whose 495 dioceses and so forth would contain more than 12% of all Catholics, and which is the most dynamic and flourishing part of the Universal Church in terms of conversions to the Faith. The title of Latin Patriarch of Alexandria, suppressed in 1963, could be revived and transformed into the title for some worthy prelate, to be appointed from among the ranks of African bishops by the Pope. UPDATE: The primatial see of North Africa was not fixed in any one place, but allotted by seniority; some analogous arrangement could be made for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Pope, meanwhile, would revive and make meaningful his recently-suppressed title of Patriarch of the West – which would be redefined as encompassing Western Europe, Canada, the US, Australia, NZ, and various satellite regions such as Oceania, and the Catholics of Latin Rite in more than one thousand dioceses and other administrative divisions throughout Eastern Europe, Russia, North Africa and the Middle East (unless the last two were united to the rest of Africa and Asia respectively*). This Patriarchate of the West, whose administration could be made more clearly separate from the purely Petrine jurisdiction of the Pope over all, would still contain more than a third of all Catholics worldwide.
*UPDATE: I now think that the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ought have its jurisdiction extended over North Africa and the Middle East.
*UPDATE: I now think that the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ought have its jurisdiction extended over North Africa and the Middle East.
Rather than the centralization of matters in the Roman Curia resulting in administrative paralysis in the heart of the Church, and lack of responsiveness in the periphery, this devolution of jurisdiction to new Latin Patriarchates, parallel to the Eastern Catholic patriarchates and the like, could result in more vigour and action in the cause of the Gospel. Then again, it may be persuasively argued that in point of fact dioceses are already extraordinarily independent of each other and of Rome!
Is this a mad notion, or not? (For the sake of argument, focus not on any alleged low quality nor potential heterodoxy of bishops, but assume they are Catholic and possessed of the necessary qualities by nature and grace to teach, rule and sanctify.)
I leave it to the musing of readers as to whether, should Pope Francis implement this scheme, he ought appoint himself first Patriarch of Latin America and return thereto, resigning the Papacy – and calling yet another Conclave!
