Cartago Amputanda Est

For the second time in 1,000 years, Roman Catholicism has closed up shop in the land that gave the church such great names as St. Cyprian of Carthage, Tertullian, the heretic Donatus, the virgin martyrs Perpetua and Felicity. Just concluded is a formal agreement between the Vatican and the government of predominantly Moslem Tunisia that calls for the surrender without compensation of all but seven of the country's 109 Catholic churches, including the vast Cathedral of St. Louis in Tunis. The government will have the right to veto appointments to the Archbishopric of Carthage, but in return guarantees freedom of religion for Catholics, including the right to maintain parochial schools.

A Sign of Colonialism. Christianity in North Africa goes back to the 2nd century; great councils of bishops were held in Carthage. In the 7th century, Moorish swordsmen swept unchecked across North Africa, and thriving Christian communities were gradually converted to the law of Mohammed. Pope Pius IX restored the Tunisian hierarchy following the French occupation in 1881, and after World War II the country's Catholic population reached a peak of 300,000, nearly all of them Europeans. Thanks to post-independence emigration, there are 45,000 Catholics left; the empty churches stand as a sign of the old colonialism--and the church's failure in making converts among the Moslem population.

The decision to seek an amicable solution of the Tunisian problem was an outgrowth of the new, flexible Vatican diplomacy inaugurated by Pope John XXIII and carried on by Paul VI in Hungary, where he is still seeking to work out a modus vivendi for the Church. Paul has also established a new Secretariat for Non-Christian Religions, headed by Paolo Cardinal Marella of the Curia. In the past, the church has sometimes preferred noisy and heroic martyrdom rather than graceful surrender of ancient privileges. Now Rome, with Christian and Moslem Lebanon acting as intermediary, is trying to work out a "Tunisian formula" with Moslem-run Sudan, which this year abruptly exiled all of the country's Catholic and Protestant missionaries.

Sad Prospect. The Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano said that the Tunisian settlement would open "a new era of cooperation between the Holy See and the Tunisian government," and that Rome had agreed to certain sacrifices "in a spirit of friendship toward a friendly people, with cordial esteem for the values of a rising nation." There was less joy in Tunisia. "Will we have Mass this Sunday?" one priest at the cathedral asked. "We don't know. But I do know this: the extent of the takeover has shocked Catholics here." They face the prospect of seeing their churches turned into museums, libraries or schools.

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