HODEE
04-05-2005, 04:41 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050404/ap_on_re_af/african_pope_2
Africa Asks if Time Right for African Pope
Mon Apr 4, 5:56 PM ET World - AP Africa
By DANIEL BALINT-KURTI, Associated Press Writer
LAGOS, Nigeria - Many Africans think it's time for an African pope.
They say having a black at the top would anchor the Roman Catholic Church among the world's poor — signaling that the Vatican aims to lead the fight against inequality and disease, offering a hope of salvation in this world as well as the next.
And, they add, it would recognize that the church is gravitating away from the ailing parishes and empty pews of Europe to focus on vibrant congregations to the south.
Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria is among those mentioned most often around the Vatican as potential successors to John Paul II, although he is considered a long shot by most accounts, even among Africans.
"It would show that God has a sense of humor to give the people a black pope, but are Westerners ready to accept that?" asked Cardinal Bernard Agre of Ivory Coast, one of Africa's 12 cardinals.
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Why would someone make a request such as this, and then make a silly comment like "It would show that God has a sense of humor to give the people a black pope. " ?
Africa Asks if Time Right for African Pope
Mon Apr 4, 5:56 PM ET World - AP Africa
By DANIEL BALINT-KURTI, Associated Press Writer
LAGOS, Nigeria - Many Africans think it's time for an African pope.
They say having a black at the top would anchor the Roman Catholic Church among the world's poor — signaling that the Vatican aims to lead the fight against inequality and disease, offering a hope of salvation in this world as well as the next.
And, they add, it would recognize that the church is gravitating away from the ailing parishes and empty pews of Europe to focus on vibrant congregations to the south.
Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria is among those mentioned most often around the Vatican as potential successors to John Paul II, although he is considered a long shot by most accounts, even among Africans.
"It would show that God has a sense of humor to give the people a black pope, but are Westerners ready to accept that?" asked Cardinal Bernard Agre of Ivory Coast, one of Africa's 12 cardinals.
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Why would someone make a request such as this, and then make a silly comment like "It would show that God has a sense of humor to give the people a black pope. " ?