Abstract

This study examines the way in which ecclesial communities within predominantly non-Christian socio-cultural contexts have creatively reworked their internal norms according to the social ethos, as a means of fostering reception of the evangelical ideal in the surrounding environment. Focusing on historical and current experiences of diaspora lived by Christian-Catholic communities, the analysis will provide insight into the relationship between canon law and social culture within the new Catholic diaspora in de-Christianized Western societies.