This is interesting.. what do you think could be the implications of a black pope, if any? The Vatican is really political so I think there would be several.
I don’t think it would so much manifest as racism.. but several groups in the West already hold the same sort of disdain for the Catholic papacy as they do the UN. The current pope is really liberal, this one being considered will probably be more so–though it can be reasonably expected that any candidate will be. I think this problem would arise with any pope from a third-world area, black, latino, asian, whatever.. their ethnicity will be seen as a strong reminder of their liberal stance. That’s the bias in the West [generalization!], anyone from a poor country must resent the rich ones.
So, while I don’t think the Catholic community itself will have a problem with a black pope, or even a green one, competing sects (Evangelicals, etc) may play on this to further marginalize the Vatican. Look at the reaction of some folks in America when the pope took a stand against the Iraq war, they resorted to personal attacks. If they could do that to a Pole, what will they come up with for a Nigerian?
When the Vatican involves itself in politics, it is usually only in moral positions. A growing topic in global politics is how to advance poor countries, how to make standards of living better for all. Rich countries are hesitant to confront this issue head-on (ex: Cancun) and the Vatican often plays an amicus role in the debate. With someone from a poor country heading the Vatican it would be easier for rich folk to disregard their opinion and influence as being some personal complex of the pope.
Who knows.. guess all we can do is wait and see.
African touted as Pope’s successor](http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7436416^401,00.html)
THE man tipped to be the first black pope has set out his credentials as the Vatican continues to prepare the public for the death of Pope John Paul II.
Following comments from top Vatican official Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger that the Pope was in “very bad” health, the Pope’s private secretary Georg Gaenswein said yesterday the 83-year-old pontiff could not walk or stand.
“He is a hero for the faithful,” Mr Gaenswein said. “The fact he doesn’t give up despite his illness makes him even more credible … When he is no longer allowed to travel, then dear God will come for him.”
Meanwhile, Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria has become the first possible successor to be publicly promoted.
In a book of interviews published this week called God’s Invisible Hand, Cardinal Arinze presents himself as a man who has risen from humble origins in a Nigerian village to a senior position in the Vatican, and as a conservative capable of reaching other constituencies.
Cardinals do not publicly campaign for advancement, yet an Arinze bandwagon is beginning to roll. This week the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Eusebio Oscar Scheid - one of 31 new cardinals appointed by the Pope last Sunday - said that although a Latin American pope was a possibility, he would vote for an African.
His views were echoed by Claudio Hummes, the Archbishop of Sao Paulo. Even Cardinal Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican’s congregation on doctrine and will play a key role as Dean of the College of Cardinals that will appoint the next pontiff, said he could envisage a black pope.
Cardinal Arinze, 70, is Africa’s only possible papal candidate. He uses God’s Invisible Hand to describe his early life in a village near Onitsha, in British-ruled colonial Nigeria, his conversion to Christianity as a boy and his journey from Lagos to Rome to study for the priesthood.
He became Africa’s youngest bishop, and records his ordeal as a “bishop on the run” during the Biafran War, his studies in London in the 1960s, and his surprise at being made a cardinal in 1985. After 18 years as head of the Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue in Rome, he was put in charge of liturgy and the sacraments last year, giving him vital experience of internal affairs.
He suggests Christianity can learn from other faiths, and calls for greater tolerance and free discussion within the Catholic church.
Speculation about the Pope’s successor will increase this month when cardinals from all over the world converge on Rome for a “pre-conclave” marking the Pope’s 25th anniversary in office.
