The Roman Catholic Church in Africa began in the 1st century when the Patriarchate of Alexandria was formed as one of the four original Patriarchs of the East—also including Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Today it is composed of approximately 135,600,000 members of the 809,105,000 residents in Africa, whereas 16.5% of the entire population is a declared Roman Catholic. As a result, Africa has the 3rd largest number of Catholics in the world, behind Latin America and Europe, respectively.
Modern African papabili
According to Philip Jenkins, the 20th century saw major changes for the Catholic Church. In 1920 Hilaire Belloc had proclaimed, "The Church is Europe, and Europe is the Church." By 1960, the College of Cardinals had its first African, Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa. By deliberate policy, John Paul II selected many cardinals from Third World nations, and by 2001 they made up over 40 percent of the body.[1] In 2002, Italian cardinals made up just 15 percent of the College, a drop from 60 percent in the 1950s.[2]
Jenkins sees the conservatism of John Paul II as particularly attractive to Catholics in developing nations and likely to be a dominant force in Catholic politics for some time.[1] Francis Arinze, a Nigerian cardinal and advisor to Pope John Paul II, and was considered papabile before the 2005 papal conclave, which elected Benedict XVI.[3] As Arinze is theologically conservative, Jenkins suggests he would bring African "notions of authority and charisma" to the office, rather than democracy.[1]
Jenkins states, "The prospect of a Black African pope understandably excites Christians of all political persuasions."[1] Even Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, three years before his own selection as Pope, labeled the prospect of an African pope as "entirely plausible" and a "wonderful sign for all Christianity."[2]
Following the death of John Paul II, Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu endorsed calls for the election of a pope from Africa or the developing world, saying that he hoped the cardinals would "follow the first non-Italian pope by electing the first African pope" since Gelasius.[4] According to the Financial Times, an African such as Arinze would "boost the popularity" of the Church, which is facing strong competition in Africa from Pentecostal, Baptist, and Evangelical sects.[5] The Daily Telegraph has said that an "African papacy is the logical outcome" given that the majority of Catholics now live in the developing world, and in particular, the African Catholic church "has grown by 20 times since 1980."[2]
In the next conclave, Peter Cardinal Turkson of Ghana has been called "the most likely" candidate from Africa.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Philip Jenkins (2002). The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195146166. http://books.google.com/books?id=lIg39ywQIPcC&client=firefox-a.
- ^ a b c Bruce Johnston (April 5, 2002). "King-maker cardinal hints at possibility of African pope", Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 20 April 2008.
- ^ Carroll, Rory. 2003, October 3. "The Guardian Profile: Francis Cardinal Arinze." The Guardian.
- ^ "The new pope should be African, says Tutu", The Star (South Africa) (April 4, 2005). Retrieved on 20 April 2008.
- ^ Andrew England (April 4, 2005). "Kenyans pledge to carry on papal projects", The Financial Times. Retrieved on 20 April 2008.
- ^ Greg Watts (November 2, 2007). "A mission to speak out of Africa", The Times. Retrieved on 20 April 2008.
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