Non-Western Catholicism The Sacred Heart Cathedral of Port Vila, Vanuatu reminded me more of poor downtown Church than the stately seat of the bishop. However, this reflects my Western bias, namely that a cathedral has to be in the Gothic style with lots of ornate carvings and a high altar. In many ways the Sacred Heart Cathedral reflected the local culture (as it well should!): simple (not in a bad way), dignified, and sacred. It had all of the statues of Jesus, the Saints, etc. but with local flavor. For example, the Saint to the right has the string of flowers around his neck, a very island touch (if anyone can identify him for me, please leave a comment). The holy water containers were large shells and one of the crosses had more traditional images from the Vanuatu culture. I like to see these kinds of things. Are they for me? Not really. Give me a Gothic cathedral any day. But, I'm a Western American. I don't want them pushing their style on me, but I won't push mine on them. The One True Faith is not completely joined at the hip with Western Culture. In fact, it is now thriving outside of Western culture, especially as Western culture becomes more secular and immoral. The Good News of Jesus and the Catholic faith can and must exist within the local culture. I saw a good example of that at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Vila, Vanuatu.