African Pope

The Cardinals have spoken and we have a new Pope. Tough to tell if a better choice could have been made. If I were one of the Cardinals voting for a new Pope, perhaps my vote would have been for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as well for one good reason; he comes from a country that opposes the use of force in resolving conflicts. Perhaps this was among the factors that influenced his victory?

Of the different comments about the election of Pope Benedict XVI in the Polish media, I was abashed by the statement of Artur Pruzinski published in Metropol of April 20 (Page 17); ‘It’s a good choice. I am happy that a ‘black-skin’ wasn’t chosen, because there would have been speculations about the end of the world’.

If there is just one God, and he created all men equal, and the Pope is the Pope of Catholics allover the world, what then is the source of such a blasphemous theory that the election of an African Pope signifies the end of the world is at hand? Calling an African Cardinal, priest or whoever for that matter ‘Black-skin’ is more than disrespectful… it is racist. According to Mr. Pruzynski, man is so smart that in his infinite wisdom he is able to halt the ‘end of the world’ by electing a ‘non-black-skin’ Pope.

On May 25, 1985 Pope John Paul II made Francis ARINZE a Cardinal. Was he wrong? I remember the rapturous joy in  Cameroon when Christian Tumi was also made a Cardinal by J. Paul II. Perhaps many aren’t aware that Africa

was very high on Pope John Paul II’s agenda. Records show that of all his foreign trips, Africa was the continent he most visited. And Africa loved him. My father, a ‘fundamentalist Catholic’, wept like a baby when the Pope’s death was announced. The Pope visited Cameroon thrice during his reign.

I hope priests will take up the challenge of teaching worshippers that such a comment is not only morally wrong, but is totally unchristian. We are all bound by history, faith, fate and norms to continue the legacy of Pope John Paul II. For all his efforts, sacrifices and achievements, there is no greater way to honor the Great Pope. We simply owe him this!

As for Pope Benedict XVI, my cogitation was echoed by South African president, Tabo Mbeki— “The new Pope, Benedict XVI, endured being forced into the Nazi army as a teenager in the 1940s. This gave him firsthand knowledge of racist evil, a scourge that is by no means defeated in the world of 2005.”