Thursday, April 07, 2005
NPR : The Next Pope
Race, politics, religion. The next Pope has a lot of baggage. NPR, along with every other major news outlet, has created a watchlist of potential successors in Ultimate Piety. For myself -- neither a Catholic, Christian or Religious-with-a-capital-R -- the watch-list is no more than a horserace (though I suspect this is true of Christians as well). What makes it all the more newsworthy is that there is a darkhorse. Pardon the pun.Francis Arinze is a Nigerian-born Cardinal and potential successor. Many people believe that he is the Great Black Hope. That is -- in order for the Church to be seen as more dominant force in global economics and policy -- it needs to have a figurehead with the face of the majority of victims of globalization. True enough. And a laudable thought for any of the other Cardinals whose job it is to elect Arinze.
While that decision may well have good intentions, I'm really not sure that it's a wise idea. Here's why:
AIDS is ravaging Sub-saharan Africa. You simply cannot name a country south of the desert that does not have double-digit growth rates in death and infection from HIV/AIDS. With a conservative (and, yes, he is conservative) African Pope, what vital message will be sent to the swiftly dying populations of Africa, India and South America?
"Don't have sex."
Nothing could be more dangerous to a population already confused and ignorant of the facts surrounding the epidemic. They already have poverty, hunger and ignorance without the church's encouragement.
Nevertheless, I'm still split on the issue. An African Pope could be the beginning of necessary and fundamental policy shift from the first world. An African Pope *could* help eliminate egregious debts. An African Pope *could* help Africans unite against dictatorships. An African Pope *could* help ease tensions between the two Christian paths, Islam and Judaism.
The real question is, are all of these issues, including AIDS, ones a Black, Conservative Catholic could help or harm? Is the Church the best medium for the message?
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