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PDF versionHard questions about Pope Benedict in Africa
by John L Allen Jr on Nov. 23, 2011
Benedict XVI said he came to Benin, a country of eight million in West Africa, to deliver a message of hope. Throughout the Nov. 18-20 trip, he repeatedly invoked the image of Africa as a "spiritual lung" for humanity, praising its deeply religious worldview and stressing that the joy, resilience and traditional moral values of Africa are precious gifts to the world.
It may seem counterintuitive that an 84-year-old German intellectual should be the Western leader most enthusiastic about Africa, yet it actually makes all the sense in the world. Spiritually speaking, Africa is a superpower -- both the world's largest manufacturer and consumer of religion. For a pope who has spent a lifetime lamenting the "death of God" in Europe, Africa can't help but seem an oasis of vibrant faith.
Africans seemed to return the sentiment.
Vast crowds, including large numbers of children and young people, thronged the streets of Cotonou, Benin's capital, and Ouidah, on the Atlantic coast, to see the pope. For Benedict's open-air Mass in a Cotonou soccer stadium Sunday, there were at least as many people outside as the 40,000 who made their way inside, spending several hours dancing and singing before the main event. Observers compared the turnout (which also drew people from neighboring countries such as Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger) to papal outings to Poland and Mexico.
Perhaps the most eloquent tribute came Saturday morning at Benin's presidential palace. Chancellor Koubourath Osseni, a Muslim woman, hailed Benedict XVI as "an authentic friend of Africa."
The aging pontiff certainly passed the stamina test. The temperature over the weekend was consistently in the high 80s, with extremely strong humidity, and Benedict often had to face that climate in heavy liturgical garb. He held up well, perhaps another testament to his fondness for the venue.
Yet popes don't travel just to be a cheerleader. The three-day trip to Benin, the pope's second outing to Africa and the 22nd overseas journey of his papacy, was also meant to get some business done.
The official motive was to present the conclusions from a 2009 Synod of Bishops for Africa, which Benedict did in the form of a 138-page document titled Africae Munus, or "Africa's Commitment," sort of a game plan for the faith on the continent. Benedict also delivered a series of speeches, including a highly anticipated address to political and religious leaders gathered in Benin's presidential palace, touted as the pope's most developed thinking on the social and political life of the continent.
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Given all that, it's important to ask a few hard questions about what Benedict XVI intended to accomplish, and how well he pulled it off.
1. Did Benedict avoid the condoms trap?
The pope's last outing to Africa in 2009 was utterly dominated by debate over his suggestion, made to reporters aboard the papal plane, that condoms make the problem of HIV/AIDS worse. That triggered round one of "condom-gate." Round two came last year, when Benedict seemed to suggest in a book-length interview that condoms, while far from ideal, may nevertheless be a "first step" toward morality if they express a desire to save someone's life.
Despite a subsequent Vatican clarification and oceans of commentary, the key question appeared to be left hanging: Does that mean the church could quietly tolerate, if not approve, of the use of condoms to resist the spread of the disease -- even if it falls short of what Catholicism would regard as a fully moral solution?
There was no repeat of "condom-gate," for the simple reason that Benedict avoided the subject altogether. He briefly touched on AIDS in Africae Munus, stressing abstinence outside marriage and fidelity inside it as the best approach to prevention, and also called for aggressive research and wider availability of anti-AIDS medicines at lower costs.
(There was a brief ferment around Benedict's opening line on AIDS in Africae Munus, in which he writes that "the problem of AIDS clearly calls for a medical and pharmaceutical response." Some wondered if the term "medical" could be an oblique reference to condoms, but Vatican officials quietly made clear it meant anti-retroviral treatments and research directed at a cure.)
Those inclined to a glass-half-empty view might say that Benedict missed an opportunity to clarify his thinking -- in effect, that he ducked the condoms question in the region of the world where it's most burning. The glass-half-full view would be that by avoiding the condoms trap, Benedict at least ensured that other storylines about Africa stood a fighting chance to see the light of day.
2. Could a Eurocentric pope connect with Africa?
The charge of being "Eurocentric" continues to dog Benedict, despite the fact that he's now traveled outside Europe seven times, visiting every continent so far except Asia. Just days before he left for Benin, veteran Italian journalist Marco Politi published a book analyzing the "crisis" of his papacy, arguing that Benedict is insufficiently attentive to the "global and geopolitical" dimensions of his role.
In truth, the question of Benedict's ability to connect with Africa should have been settled two years ago. In Yaounde, Cameroon, in March 2009, he stood next to longtime President Paul Biya, whose regime was once rated the most corrupt on earth, and bluntly said that "Christians must never remain silent in the face of corruption and the abuse of power." That iconic moment was perceived by most Africans as one of the most relevant things they'd heard in a long time.
Alas, condom-gate meant few people outside Africa paid attention, so we're asking the same questions about Benin. For the record, Benedict seemed to connect just fine this time around, too.
If you were to poll African Catholic bishops, theologians, and lay activists about their most pressing social concerns, the two themes that would probably finish at the top would be the struggle against corruption and interreligious tolerance. Those were precisely the notes Benedict struck in his Nov. 19 speech at the presidential palace in Cotonou.
On the social justice front, Benedict's language was almost plaintive.
"Human beings aspire to liberty," he said, "then to live in dignity; they want good schools and food for their children, dignified hospitals to take care of the sick; they want to be respected; they demand transparent governance which does not confuse private and public interests; and above all, they desire peace and justice."
"At this time, there are too many scandals and injustices, too much corruption and greed, too many errors and lies, too much violence which leads to misery and to death," the pope said, calling political and economic leaders to face choices "they can no longer avoid."
Corruption is an especially topical theme. The pope's words carried local resonance in Benin, a country rocked last year by its own Bernie Madoff scandal in the form of a ponzi scheme perpetrated by one of the country's major investment houses. The "ICC Services" meltdown drained 5 percent of Benin's GDP, costing thousands of small investors more than $330 million.
It's also worth noting that in his remarks to the pope, President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin referred to completing his "second and final" term. While the constitution of Benin limits the president to two terms, there's been speculation that Boni might follow the lead of other African strongmen and try to jury-rig an amendment to extend his stay in power.
Boni's comments Saturday seem to suggest that's not the case. As a reporter for a local paper put it, "He said it, and he said it in the presence of the Holy Father. Now he's stuck with it."
One thus could consider Boni's statement as a sort of "first fruit" of the pope's call for good government.
Benedict was equally forceful on interreligious relations.
"Everyone of good sense understands that a serene and respectful dialogue about cultural and religious differences must be promoted," he said. "No religion, and no culture may justify appeal or recourse to intolerance and violence."
"Aggression," the pope said, "is an outmoded relational form which appeals to superficial and ignoble instincts."
Strikingly, in Africae Munus, Benedict called upon the church "in every situation, to persist in esteem for Muslims." That's especially relevant in light of two bits of context: First, growing resentment in church circles over anti-Christian persecution in some Muslim societies; and second, the fact that many African Catholic leaders don't approve of what they see as the overly deferential approach to Islam of the church in the Middle East, and want a feistier, more assertive dialogue.
Yet there was also a notable omission from Benedict's interreligious agenda.
On Saturday, he traveled to Ouidah on Benin's Atlantic coast, more or less the Vatican of voodoo. Historically, Benin has been the cradle of voodoo in West Africa, and it remains a huge presence. A famed python temple is right across the street from Ouidah's Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, a reminder of how Catholicism and voodoo live cheek by jowl.
One might think the trip afforded a chance to open lines of communication with a religious movement that enjoys a vast following, estimated at between 30 million and 60 million people worldwide -- comparable to the global footprint of, say, Methodism.
Yet Benedict never made any reference to voodoo, and didn't meet a priest or other exponent. His rhetoric in Ouidah, asserting that Christianity represents a triumph over "occultism and evil spirits," was taken by some as a swipe. That produced some resentment in a country that's proud of its unique religious heritage -- Jan. 10, for instance, is marked as "voodoo day."
What happened? I suspect that in subtle fashion, the ghost of Pope John Paul II's 1993 trip to Benin hung over this weekend.
That 1993 outing coincided with a major national reawakening of voodoo in Benin, expressed in a movement called "Ouidah 92." John Paul met with leaders of traditional African religions and shook hands with a voodoo priest, with a picture of the meeting published on the front page of L'Osservatore Romano. To this day, that photo circulates in traditional Catholic circles as evidence of the late pope's alleged heterodoxy (along with images of him in an Assisi prayer circle, and kissing a Qur'an).
My hunch is that memories of that controversy almost two decades ago had a chilling effect on this trip, especially at a time when the Vatican is attempting to heal a schism with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X. One can appreciate the concern, but the lack of any engagement with voodoo still represents a missed opportunity.
3. Will the pope's plan for Africa make any difference?
If the heart of this trip was to present Africae Munus, the conclusions from the 2009 Synod for Africa, then it's reasonable to ask if the document seems poised to actually make any difference in the African church. That's an especially compelling question given that the massive growth of Catholicism in Africa has led many experts to predict an "African moment" in the global church in the 21st century.
Boiled down to the essentials, Benedict XVI's message in Africae Munus can be expressed in two basic points:
- "Stay spiritual" -- in the sense of not allowing the church to become an explicitly political movement or party.
- "Stay Catholic" -- in the sense of not succumbing to an excessively "African" form of inculturation, one that ends up baptizing nationalism, tribalism, or heterodox religious beliefs and practices.
How well the church responds to those pleas remains to be seen, but Benedict at least seems to be reading the situation accurately. Africa is a place where religious leaders are often drawn into explicitly political activity because they're seen as moral leaders who enjoy far more public trust than most politicians. It's also a place where the tug of indigenous cultures, including their spiritual practices, remains strong.
As one application of the second point, about "staying Catholic," Benedict asked the bishops to conduct a study of traditional Africa reconciliation practices, rooted in tribal religion -- in part to learn from them, but also in part to stress that they cannot replace individual confession. If the bishops can figure out a way to honor traditional cultural beliefs while still upholding the character of the sacrament, it would be an indication that Benedict's vision is taking root.
Here's another possible acid test: Benedict stressed that if the Catholic church is to preach good governance and the fight against corruption to Africa's political and economic leaders, it must practice good government itself in the way it manages its own resources. The question is, will Catholic leaders in Africa actually take that to heart?
Speaking to Africa's bishops, Benedict writes: "To make your message credible, see to it that your dioceses become models in the conduct of personnel, in transparency and good financial management."
"Do not hesitate to seek help from experts in auditing, so as to give a good example to the faithful and to society at large," the pope writes.
At another point, Benedict insists that church employees must receive "just remuneration ... in order to strengthen the church's credibility." He also directs a similar message to church-affiliated health care institutions, insisting that "the management of grant monies must aim at transparency."
I spoke on Nov. 19 to one leading African prelate, Archbishop John Oaniyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, who seemed optimistic that the bishops would act on the pope's injunction.
"Many bishops already take this very seriously, and because it's in the pope's exhortation, many more will do so," he said.
4. Did Benedict break any new ground?
In some ways, it may be unfair to expect an octogenarian who's been in the public eye his entire adult life, and who's been to Africa before, to come up with some breathtaking new declaration or initiative. That said, there were a few new touches worth noting.
Africae Munus contains perhaps the strongest papal rhetoric ever recorded on the problem of illiteracy, which Benedict compared to the pandemics afflicting Africa and called a form of "social death." His language on the empowerment of women was also striking, insisting that the church has a duty to promote a social role for women "equal to that of men."
Benedict also included a special meeting with children on his itinerary, reflecting the continent's overwhelmingly youthful demographics. Almost half of Africa's total population is under the age of 14.
At the big-picture level, however, perhaps the most novel feature of the trip wasn't anything Benedict said or did, but how the African context threw a striking feature of his thought into sharp relief: what I've termed his "lonely liberation theology."
I published a piece on this subject Sunday, but here are the highlights.
Benedict's two Africa trips have occasioned some of his sharpest social commentary. Both in 2009 and this time, the pontiff decried poverty and injustice, denounced corruption, and clearly aligned the church with hopes for political change. (His most biting sound bite came Friday in Benin, when he rejected "unconditional surrender to the laws of the market and finance.") At the same time, he's also told local clergy to stay out of politics and insisted that the church has no political solutions to propose.
What renders those two positions coherent is that Benedict is operating out of his own version of liberation theology. (That's a reference to the theological movement pioneered in Latin America in the 1960s and '70s, which sought to place the church on the side of the poor.)
Benedict's twist on liberation theology is rooted in three basic convictions:
- The supernatural realm is the deepest and most "real" level of existence. Material forms of reality, including economic and political structures, are fundamentally conditioned by the quality of humanity's relationship with God.
- Individual transformation must precede social transformation. Systems and structures cannot be liberated if the individual human heart doesn't change first.
- Attempts by the church to dictate concrete political solutions end in disaster, among other things performing a disservice to the poor by reducing the social appetite for God. Anyone as preoccupied with secularism as Benedict XVI can't help but realize that the widespread rejection of religious faith in parts of the West today is , at least in part, a reaction against centuries of theocracy and clerical privilege.
Add it up, and what you get is this: Benedict XVI is genuinely scandalized by poverty and injustice, and he wants the church to be a change agent. In terms of how the church promotes transformation, however, it's not by lobbying or electoral strategy, but by inviting people into relationship with Christ -- the Christ whose "preferential love for the poor" Benedict has repeatedly confirmed.
If the old slogan was, "If you want peace, work for justice," Benedict's version might be "If you want justice, go to church."
This doesn't mean, of course, that new political solutions aren't urgently necessary. What it means is that the particular contribution of the church is to lay the spiritual and moral foundations for those solutions by forming people of real faith and moral conviction, and constantly speaking out when the realities of the world don't correspond to the vision of the gospel.
I call this a "lonely" position because in some ways it doesn't fully satisfy anybody. It doesn't embrace the zeal of the Catholic left for direct political activism, nor does it reflect the laissez-faire ideological instincts of at least part of the Catholic right.
To what extent this "Benedictine" version of liberation theology will penetrate the African church -- and to what extent it might then transform the social and political life of the continent -- is unclear. If you're looking for something to chew on from the Benin journey, however, there it is.
[John L. Allen Jr. is NCR senior correspondent. His e-mail address is jallen@ncronline.org.]
"If the old slogan was, "If
"If the old slogan was, "If you want peace, work for justice," Benedict's version might be "If you want justice, go to church."
Tell that to the kids!
You will not find justice by
You will not find justice by going to church, you will find justice by going to Christ. Do Not Confuse the two.
In many ways the church is
In many ways the church is the antithesis of so many things Jesus told us to do. EG Love thy neighbor as thyself. And Jesus didnt write the bible, eg the abomination thing.
Try this one - the church calls gays "intrinsically evil" and other nasty things.
Contributing its share to creating depression and giving us a repeating 9-11 of gay kids who commit suicide every year. Estimated to be about 2000, and that doesn't include some who we don't ever know were gay.
30 years ago a cousins adopted son committed suicide at age 29. I knew he was depressed lots of the time, he never went to college (we were all college educated). We kind of attributed it to "bad blood", eg who knew who his real parents were.
My cousin btw died of cancer about 10 years ago. Discussing his death with another cousin - our family historian on that side - she told me "he never wanted to date girls"
The conclusion is obvious. the question is whether the church bears/shares guilt for driving him(and many others) to suicide, by poisoning our society.
BTW I saw somewhere that Benedict said there was no need for eg even basic civil rights laws protecting gays from eg employment and housing discrimination. All they need to do is keep quiet about their sexuality.
In effect he wants to put them into a virtual ghetto.
that was what the maniac Hitler did with the Jews. They were then not only demonized but not seen. It's so easy to get people to hate those they dont know and to reject hatred of those they respect.
And that is the other part of ending DADT. Not only does it help our gay soldiers who are willing to give their life for a country that in many ways does demonize them. EG they can talks with a psychologist eg about their partners.
But it also helps two million in our military, most of whom dont know gays, to respect them.
Once again , in some ways Benedict goes back to the lessons of his early life. And regardless of the fact he was drafted into the German army, he learned authoritarianism etc.
The Church DOES NOT call gays
The Church DOES NOT call gays "intrinsically evil"! Stop spreading falsehoods about Holy Mother Church. The Church says homosexual ACTS are sinful.
How can i expecte my kids to
How can i expecte my kids to want to go to church, given the problem with it that they see.
The child molestation. the situation reminds me - I hope the analogy is worthwhile - American car companies built pure junk per our own experience. And perpetrated gas hogs on us right after we got the wake up call re the first oil shocks in 73 and 78.
With my kids we've discussed this situation. It explains why we have 8 cars in our families - all of them HOndas, and all but 1 4 cylinder high efficiency vehicles.
Bottom line - the car companies have lost our generation and our childrens generation. They deserve it.
The church has done similar.
Re another posters comment - "Benedict XVI is genuinely scandalized by poverty and injustice, and he wants the church to be a change agent."
Where was he when the molestation thing blew up. The church is still obfuscating etc.
Including having sent out secret letters telling the bishops to hide these crimes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/17/religion.childprotection (about letter from Vatican telling bishops to hide the molestation.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8601-201_162-57318760.html (more on same subject)
Yes. telling the africans to
Yes. telling the africans to not use condoms. Give me a break. The outcry was so total he for the first time had to back down.
its a lousy way to protect life.
BTW re abstinence - Mississippi only teaches abstinence in their schools. they have almost the highest rate of abortions and unwanted pregnancies.
Here's for all the good catholic people - reported to be about 95%, who use artificial birth control.
LOST OPPORTUNITY ? ..........
LOST OPPORTUNITY ? .......... Thanks, John, but despite your talented creative efforts, the pope's African trip hardly seems to have been worth the effort, unless you add to this report that you got to ask the pope the very relevant questions raised in response to your earlier piece about the papal "press conference" on the flight to Africa.
The challenges that were indicated earlier were more than the pope could overcome.
For relevant questions unanswered by the pope in his purported press conference, please note the NCR comment and related cross links under the comment heading, "Is That All There Is?" , accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/transcript-papal-plane
For more on the signifigance of the HIV/condom issue to the pope's African visit, please note the NCR comment and rellated cross links under the comment heading, "Power and Condoms", accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/avoiding-condom-gate-africa
For more information on the current continuing conflict between liberation theology and the current overall papal strategy, please see the NCR comment and related cross links under the comment heading,"Liberation Struggles", accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/news/global/conference-looks-future-liberation-theo...
Please note also the relative silence on concrete details about a possible papal trip to Mexico lends support to the pope's rumored retirement in five months when he reaches his 85th birthday.
I am certainly not a fan of
I am certainly not a fan of Benedict's predecessor, but the one time I was genuinely impressed by him in my year in Rome (1979-80) was when I was sitting on the steps of Saint Peter's eating lunch with my baby daughter and heard some commotion and saw JP II standing about fifty feet from me speaking from the heart about his recent trip to Africa. I've wondered over the years if the loss of the freedom to do things like that was a major factor in the failure of his papacy.
I had a similiar experiment,
I had a similiar experiment, when I went to Rome to take part in the canonization of one of the greatest African missionaries, Daniel Comboni. The most moving part of the celebration were the African dances of the Sudanese - Comboni was the first bishop of Sudan -, who performed just behind JPII. What happened to this kind of spirit? And, also, to the missionary approach of Comboni: "According to the Islamic witnesses that testified, in 1929, at the process to verify the sanctity of Daniel Comboni, he was chosen by Allah, a “prophet” like Jesus, kind and charitable towards all, Blacks and Arabs, Christians and Muslims alike. Moreover, the miracle which opened the way to the canonization of Comboni, happened to a person of Muslim faith, Lubna Abdel Aziz. This is the only miracle of its kind which has ever come before the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints. What was God trying to tell us through this choice of a Muslim woman?"
Isn't it amazing what deep
Isn't it amazing what deep goodness, kindness and holiness does?
"Add it up, and what you get
"Add it up, and what you get is this: Benedict XVI is genuinely scandalized by poverty and injustice, and he wants the church to be a change agent. In terms of how the church promotes transformation, however, it's not by lobbying or electoral strategy, but by inviting people into relationship with Christ -- the Christ whose "preferential love for the poor" Benedict has repeatedly confirmed."
May I suggest a way to focus on this liberation theology?
The key to the "New Evangelization" is: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH. Or, to use the words of Pope Paul V1: "Modern people listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they are Witnesses."
For an example, the following should apply to our Catholic Schools:
A "preferential option for the poor" should be maintained in our Catholic
Schools. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the
poor, the schools should be closed and the resources used for something else which can be kept open to the poor. We cannot allow our Church to become a church primarily for the middle-class and rich while throwing a bone to the poor. The priority should be given to the poor even if we have to let the middle-class and rich fend for themselves.
Practically speaking, the Catholic Schools must close and the resources used for "Confraternity of Christian Doctrine" and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic Schools for centuries. We can get along without them today. The essential factor is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition. THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. But the poor come first.
William Horan on Nov. 23,
William Horan on Nov. 23, 2011.
You stated:
("Add it up, and what you get is this: Benedict XVI is genuinely scandalized by poverty and injustice, and he wants the church to be a change agent. In terms of how the church promotes transformation, however, it's not by lobbying or electoral strategy, but by inviting people into relationship with Christ -- the Christ whose "preferential love for the poor" Benedict has repeatedly confirmed."
May I suggest a way to focus on this liberation theology?
The key to the "New Evangelization" is: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH. Or, to use the words of Pope Paul V1: "Modern people listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they are Witnesses."
For an example, the following should apply to our Catholic Schools:
A "preferential option for the poor" should be maintained in our Catholic
Schools. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the
poor, the schools should be closed and the resources used for something else which can be kept open to the poor. We cannot allow our Church to become a church primarily for the middle-class and rich while throwing a bone to the poor. The priority should be given to the poor even if we have to let the middle-class and rich fend for themselves.
Practically speaking, the Catholic Schools must close and the resources used for "Confraternity of Christian Doctrine" and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic Schools for centuries. We can get along without them today. The essential factor is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition. THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. But the poor come first.)
-------------------------------------------------------------
The problem, William, is that the rich and the middle class are the first ones to reach out to the gospel message---not the poor. Read the biographies of the saints. None of the Apostles were 'poor'. They had jobs, families, and homes---and they followed after Christ. Many of the saints were of the upper middle class or well-to-do---and they gave it up to follow Christ.
But one does not often find the really poor following after Christ. They really want the material things of this world. They don't want to be poor.
And that is the reason why the Church supports Catholic schools in middle class, upper middle class and well-to-do neighborhoods. These are the ones who will reach out to others IF the Gospel Message is REAL for them.
"The problem, William, is
"The problem, William, is that the rich and the middle class are the first ones to reach out to the gospel message---not the poor. Read the biographies of the saints. None of the Apostles were 'poor'. They had jobs, families, and homes---and they followed after Christ. Many of the saints were of the upper middle class or well-to-do---and they gave it up to follow Christ."
Little Bear since you're clearly not poor I wonder what you mean by material things: housing, food, healthcare...boy what a tragedy, how selfish - how dare they ask for such things. Perhaps try reading the gospels some day or maybe even the catechism...something old like the corporal works of mercy.
And BTW - since advertisers of the big corporations prey on the poor - perhaps criticizing them in your evangelical zeal would be a great place to start...and they would fall under the spiritual works of mercy
Why the hostile tone in your
Why the hostile tone in your response? Was there no other way you could find to express your views?
Define poor............
Define poor............
John, Thanks for trying to
John,
Thanks for trying to cut through prejudices. It cannot be repeated enough that there is more to Africa than this endless condom rant.
This week you commented again on how the Holy Father has not spoken about Voodoo. In his 2000 book "Truth and Tolerance" he had some very positive remarks about Voodoo. Since he is neither ignorant of nor uninterested in the subject of "primitive" religion, could it be that he does not feel that the theological reflection on the subject is not mature enough for official comment?
Even in 2011, some 70% of the
Even in 2011, some 70% of the world's human population is still at the pre-rational mythical level of human consciousness (myths understood literally, reliance upon authority re what to think, favoring monarchy and other authoritarian systems over democracy, rigid adherence to gender and other traditional social norms, etc.) In Africa it is over 95%. Christianity began as a mythic religion, the Creed asserting one opaque myth after another. It has been said that Vatican II finally ushered the Church into the rational level of consciousness and Pope Benedict helped work at this result. But in 1968, with the emergence of post-modern consciousness with its emphasis on such things as multiculturalism, then Fr. Ratzinger lost his nerve. Now, in Benin, he sees "the future." He'll be very disappointed though he won't live long enough to see Africa too gradually forsake mythology for such things as "the law of the markets" which Benedict told the Africans to avoid.
I think you misunderstand the
I think you misunderstand the nature of mythology. Mythical/primitive religion does not assert the historical truth of its stories, they are more a symbolic commentary on the nature of things. The myths take place outside of history, in a time before time. People who practice mythological religion are not stupid: the great, ancient mythological systems, like ancient greco/roman religion or Hinduism, are quite aware of symbolic nature of their stories, which is why they contain myths that can be blended one into another, or even contradict one another without causing any problems. The story is only a limited symbol, the important thing is the religious experience it leads to. This explains why mythological religion tends to be hostile to Jewish and Christian claims that God actually intervened in history. Most Hindus have no problem with the Christian story, it is the Christian claim that it the story is historically true that they object to. Judaism, and by extension Christianity have mythological elements, but their claim to be based in historical events like the Exodus or the Resurrection puts them in another category from myth.
You will not find a formula like this in myths: "He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he died and was buried. He rose again on the third day." This the core of the creed and it is an historical, not mythological claim. It is admittedly strange, but not opaque: it is perfectly clear what it is trying to say.
Now, you may not believe the historical claims of Judaisim or Christianity, but the claims should be debunked historically.
"Stay Catholic" -- in the
"Stay Catholic" -- in the sense of not succumbing to an excessively "African" form of inculturation, one that ends up baptizing nationalism, tribalism, or heterodox religious beliefs and practices.
===========================================================================
This "Stay Catholic" has the odor of African inculturation as something inferior, or less desirable than the renaissance and medieval importations, and liturgical scenery Benedict may have in mind for Benin and elsewhere. It sounds just like Europeans in the 19th century, Protestant and Catholic alike, concerned that the Dark Continent could be a threat to the Christian message. So, we'll take the TLM with lace dresses and fiddleback chasuables celebrated in the Latin with us to Africa? How about the TLMass in English first?
We're seeing the first signs of a new papal colonization. A papal colony in the making? As Urban II preached the First Crusade in the 11th century, do we see the opening shot of the Benedictine Crusade into a land ready to embrace HIS vision of the Catholic Church?
The pope needs encouragement and new ground for his Church to grow, and Africa gives it to him. At a time when Catholicism is rapidly becoming equated with a quaint museum exhibit in Europe and America. Africa is a new theater of operations to which Benedict is going to transplant the relics of a dead or dying Church?
the top concerns of
the top concerns of Africans?????????? are not corruption and religious intolerance. Where did this come from? Do people go to Africa, and just make a few stops at clean digs, and ignore the real picture?
The top concerns of Africa are adequate food and food distribution, enough work to feed an often huge family, disease that kills children by the hoards and adults, people who prey upon children and women, abuse of elders, and being ignored utterly in famine, flood, nonpotable water, disease and unlivable conditions moneywise per family-- ignored and ignored but for the few who are faithful to mission to help the poor... but the world, including the church is absent in these matters as a huge force with huge assets.
I just really dont even know what to say about the pope or these reports from Benin. They are so completely out of touch with the poor that I dont even know what to say. The Church is a MOTHER and a mother is not concerned with all this ceremony and drive by visits. The Church is not to be concerned with religiousity first when the people are murdered, tortured, unjustly jailed, stolen, sold into slavery, predated upon, given bad water and have no options except poisoned food or no food at all. How can anyone miss these facts.
This ceremonialism is just that 'standing on ceremony', but it doesnt make the water cleaner, it doesnt feed a literally STARVING baby and his/her mother. It doesnt clean the infected wounds, it doesnt make a decent hospital in every village, it doesnt keep men from predating on women and children. Even if one billion people came out to see the pope, or only one person came to see the pope, doesnt matter if another billion are living in hell made not better by talk and talk and talk.
It is hard to believe that we are supposed to be impressed by the number of people who come to look at the pope, rather than the number of people the pope looks at in depth and really truly sees and really truly responds to, not just for a day, but committed daily in ways that matter, make visible, measurable inroads to help the daily struggles beyond the beyond.
Most Africans have no clean robes, have no food provided to them, do not eat off china plates, are not waited on, have no secretaries... but remain in need, in such great need for the most simple basic things elemental to being able to remain alive.
I just really dont know what to say.
dr.cpe
THE REAL AFRICA .......
THE REAL AFRICA ....... Thank you, anonymous, for reminding us of what is really happening in Africa. Papal speeches, encyclicals and spectacles impress few. What the hierarchy is really doing to help the least of my brethren is what matters to Jesus. When will the hierarchy truly understand and practice this? How can we get them to understand and practice this better?
Look at all the Catholic aid
Look at all the Catholic aid agencies and the work of the local Churches in Africa and I'm afraid the picture on the ground might force you to amend your narrative.
This is what I wrote Toby
This is what I wrote Toby that I think you overlooked, I certainly counted the Catholic aid and loyal human helpers, not 'agencies and not churches' as those are not hearts>>> "ignored and ignored but for the few who are faithful to mission to help the poor..." Given the power of the vatican, the financial help it could give, a few words, a ceremony, and again the Africans dancing for the pope... it is not enough from the Vatican. Never ever has been. Never will be.
thanks
dr.cpe
excuse me , the financial
excuse me , the financial help it could bring , the vatican is worth less than harvard , princeton , the university of texas ,
its bureaucrats do bring catholic organizations and local african catholic leaders together , lobby the developed nations for africa , find resources for the african church .
there is always more that could and should be done . the good doctor seems to think shame is a motivator . someone who reasons like that would do well to check his or her self
Sorry "mr. anonymous"... You
Sorry "mr. anonymous"...
You say 'excuse me' and then proceed to name the least of immediate interventions regarding the deep needs of the neediest in Africa RIGHT NOW, and then attempt to shame another commenter by your projecting that he or she should "check his or herself".
Insult all you like. I stand on what I said. My views are based on first witness at the level of dirt and blood.
Go your way with your lobbies and dinners and finding whatever without coming down first person with the most desperate of human beings.
To quote one finer than fine, I'd rather wash another leper.
dr.cpe.
This is an excellent reply to
This is an excellent reply to a thoughtful Allen post. Both are valuable, one for its longer view perspective on the current pope, the other (the reply) for its urgent call for more personal and institutional attention to the endemic poverty and chaos of so much of Africa. Thanks for the post and this eloquent response.
Hoy, you don't seem to
Hoy, you don't seem to understand the effects of corruption in a grand scale in people's lives! Precisely the following items you enumerated in your statement: " The top concerns of Africa are adequate food and food distribution, enough work to feed an often huge family, disease that kills children by the hoards and adults, people who prey upon children and women, abuse of elders, and being ignored utterly in famine, flood, nonpotable water, disease and unlivable conditions moneywise per family-.." happen and continue to happen because of corruption which has become systemic and endemic in most of the poorer countries under corrupt and autocratic leaders in the so-called Third World, not forgetting some of them in Africa! Dole-outs, as you seem to propose the church should do, will not solve the problems you mentioned. Good Governance and equitable distribution of the world's goods and resources: this is the way to go forward, for peoples and nations to get out of extreme poverty, hunger, untold suffering of millions....!
Inter-religious Tolerance?
Inter-religious Tolerance? As if BXVI and his hiearchs are shinning examples. Preached but not practiced.
The readers of this Catholic
The readers of this Catholic "reporter" really seem to be a very negative, cynical lot.
I live in South Africa and the Pope's words and actions in Benin got excellent and ratings from non-Catholic secular reporters. They actually seem surprized at his insight and empathy, and the fact that he is no push over.
He spoke out on typical African "faults" and problems - something not everyone has the guts to do - and at the same time he has a keen eye and appreciation for the strong points and inspirational aspects of African culture.
Perhaps Americans should learn that you would never, ever succeed in forcing Africans to use condoms. Perhaps the angel Gabriel could have a slight chance of success, but I doubt even that.
Many in South Africa region,
Many in South Africa region, in fact the black majority poor of which we know many many, would likely disagree with you Anonymous.
Not even mentioning extensively that South Africa is surrounded by Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland awash in such struggle and challenges that are direct results of being occupied for eons... and not mentioning more than a modicum that "South Africa" the nation, not the region, with all its history and infrastructure is NOTHING like Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Djibouti, Republic of the Congo, the hideous mess in Zimbabwe, and all the other countries that struggle so deeply and desperately from eons of oppression by those who now say, 'pull yourselves up'....
I regret I cannot rest on the "excellent ratings from non-Catholic secular reporters" as you put it... news and facts are far different than "ratings" to my way of thought." I rest only on the factual and sincere reports of how the people's very lives from sunrise to sunrise have been lifted and improved with measurable evidence, and whether they are safe, healthy, encouraged in work and education without limits, treated with true justice.
Critiquing, making suggestions, noticing a few of the problems and overlooking the devastations, even giving inspiration a try... is in no way the same as bread in a child's mouth, safety from brutal warlords, protection from incarcerative injustice and physical torture, protection from being kidnapped to be used sexually, medicine for the so very ill, and clean water that will allow the elderly and the babies to live. Those are just some of the basics. Basics that have nothing to do with journalists' 'ratings' or papal ceremony /words and words without new and huge and measurable evidence-based palliative actions.
dr.cpe
Real courage had Bishop
Real courage had Bishop Desmond Tutu, that has criticized loudly the ANC from ad intra, not ad extra. I've watched the beginning of the post-apartheid inequalities, and I was so sorry for a people who had had the strenght to fight, at the cost of their own lifes, for the "Rainbow Nation" dream. It's a shame, for instance, that Cape Town is now described as more segregated than during apartheid times, with the money takink the place of race. As regarding condoms, you don't need to count with the help of St. Gabriel Archangel: they are not as hard to figure as an Einstein teorem.
If we readers appear to be a
If we readers appear to be a negative and cynical lot, I wonder how we got that way?
Dear Sir, I do not consider
Dear Sir,
I do not consider myself as a cynic. But,knowing Africa and working for African missionaries, I've the right, I think, to express my opinions, based on experience and information. I would add that I subscribe dr.cpe analysis. That is not cynical at all: just realistic.
I would suggest that you may
I would suggest that you may be missing a great deal in the postings here. If you look closely, you will find a very intense sharing of ideas, knowledge, feelings, and faith....mostly faith. Don't confuse expression of belief with unbridled cynicism. There are a few, yes, who attempt to provoke and tear down others. They are well known to all of us. Many of us need to learn to curb the words we use at times, and to find the ones that will express our thoughts rather than vent our feelings. The postings here, along with the articles themselves, are rich sources for thought, reflection, and prayer. That is the beauty of this site. Look for it - you'll see it clearly!
Avoidance of another
Avoidance of another "condom-gate" is a cynical misuse of the papal platform, and all the more reprehensible if in fact the RCC oould offer a more nuanced position on the issue. While the pope dithers, many many people continue to have there lives ruined and terminated, all because they didn't use this simple and highly effective device.
Speaking to Africa's bishops,
Speaking to Africa's bishops, Benedict writes: "To make your message credible, see to it that your dioceses become models in the conduct of personnel, in transparency and good financial management."
"Do not hesitate to seek help from experts in auditing, so as to give a good example to the faithful and to society at large," the pope writes.
At another point, Benedict insists that church employees must receive "just remuneration ... in order to strengthen the church's credibility." He also directs a similar message to church-affiliated health care institutions, insisting that "the management of grant monies must aim at transparency."
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Now if only he could ensure that the bishops follow this advice and regain some of their lost credibility....actually he could by giving an example in the dioceses of Rome and the Vatisan, but don't stand around waitng for that to happen!
Unfortunately, this pope's
Unfortunately, this pope's legacy is probably already established: causing deep division in the church, promoting hierarchical authoritatianism, denying the ill effects of clericalism, and reputiating Vatican II's embrace of the real world (his vision is more inward to promoting the traditional church).
Having said that, I must say in fairness the pope did well at Assisi and tried to do better in Africa. For his legacy, however, it is too little, too late.
The world must look to another leader, yet unidentified, for inspiratiion about the future.
Are you willing to be that
Are you willing to be that leader?
"The world must look to
"The world must look to another leader, yet unidentified, for inspiratiion about the future."
Maybe the Anti-Christ?
To Michael in Abu Dhabi,
To Michael in Abu Dhabi, please find something else to do in your boredom.
From the anti-papal remarks
From the anti-papal remarks here, it would seme that the sedevacantists are alive and well.
I noticed that the only
I noticed that the only continent that he wasn't unable to visit is Asia. He's been to the US, to France, his native Germany, Brazil, and now Benin. I hope he will visit Asia soon because he has pointed out in a book interview that while the Catholic Church in Europe was in decline, it has become dynamic in other continents. By visiting Asia, he will REALLY see the dynamic growth of the Church in the continent.
As a Catholic laywoman
As a Catholic laywoman working within various religious organization in West Africa and now southern African for the past 20 years, I am amazed that the Pope and Rome are still not dealing with what I see each day as the realitiy of Catholicism in Africa! They are generally referred to a "rice Christians." There are fewer and fewer prients willing or eager to venture into villages; even fewer local priests who want a car, and office, and office hours. Instead, using the sparcity of priests, go out into vast rural lands, use voluntary "prayer leaders" to host religious services. These prayer leaders are generally non-Catholics who themselves very often suffer from a wide variety of social problems. Then the cathechists, who afew and who are paid, supervise these prayer leaders, call together groups of young peo0ple and pump them full of dogma over a relatively short period of time. In Africa, Christmas and Easter are the times for baptism! So classes are built aroun these dates. Scores of young people and elderly are baptized, receive their first holy communion, and are confirmed all in a matter of minutes! It is not unusual to witness any where from 100 - 150 at a time. These sacraments are conferred within the context of the Mass by the Bishop while the congregation falls asleep, get bored, talk on cell phones or literally leave the service have a beer and return. Children are sent out to fetch water for their mothers, and babys lie all over the floor waiting to be changed. Two hours later the Mass continues....And after?? What is the end result??? high numbers for Rome....visit those churches or quasi-churches the very next Sunday and few to noe of these new Catholics, as it were, are to be found...they have all returned to their villages where the prayer leadeer returns, a couple of times...however, for the Church, for the African Church, a small Christian community has been formed! It is nothing less than a travesty! The Rpman Church is seeking numbers, is seeking quantity!
There are seminaries filled with seminarians...has anyone everasked what percent of seminarians in Africa are ordained? Has anyone asked how many African priests have wives and children? Now, I am not anti-wives and childre, at all, and neither are the Africans...then why do we insist on hiding this reality. The African bishops themselves hide this because it is not politically wise for Rome to know how much of the African culture is already an integral and hidden part of the African Church!!! Wake up people and let the lite shine on the realities of the African Church and its Bishops!
Your commment is so very
Your commment is so very refreshing! You do know indeed what you are talking about. I could add more, but I prefer to let people think about your comment obviously based on experience. Thank you!
I lived in Benin for 6 years
I lived in Benin for 6 years and a total of 20 years in Afrcia! Understand please that African people love music and dance and ritual...this is who they are...this is quite different from saying that this type of fervor can be equated with religious sentiments! this is the reason why evangelicanism is so popular...it respods to the cultural form of self expression! Hear you Catholics! Africa is not Rome or New york.....do not misiterpret and thus give credit to Bendict where it in not necessarily due!
He needs to preach "Stay
He needs to preach "Stay spiritual" to US fanatics of political religion.
I imagine this "Stay spiritual" message was aimed as much at Muslims as Christians.
Many people do practice a spiritual form of Catholicism that includes ignoring Rome on most things and never citing religion or the Bible to justify their political beliefs or to advocate policies they favor. But no doubt that is not what the Pope meant.
" Africa is a superpower --
" Africa is a superpower -- both the world's largest manufacturer and consumer of religion. "
See Angie Gorman's "The Book of Sins", a novel spectulating about one course of the future of "manufactured and consumed" Christianity.
I get CONSTANT reminders
I get CONSTANT reminders about birth control and abortion in my Colorado parish. When the priest complains about the amount of work he has to do (he's responsible for a main parish and 4 "mission" parishes in the mountains)I remind him that the SPIRIT might be pushing the institutional church towards a married priesthood. My priest takes my comments personally and displays disgust with my position. Why didn't the pope raise the issue of condoms? What about the hundreds of African priests married with families? Why should there be a different church because of geography?
You will not find justice by
You will not find justice by going to church. You WILLNPX7U find justice by going to Christ. DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO...
'If you want justice, go to
'If you want justice, go to church'. No wonder why many stop going to church in places where they have justice.
I appreciate the balance of
I appreciate the balance of John Allen's perspective, but find he may miss the pope's myopia on liberation and justice. "The Church" in Papa Benedict's writing means the hierarchy and the clergy. These groups should remain sidelined from political involvement. What about the millions of Catholics and other Christians? Who will guide them into, rather than away from, the machinery of change? Are Christians to be spectators at the game of shaping the future? Is church-going and prayer their only calling? Christ was not crucified because he said or did nothing that called the powers that be into question. The Church, the whole and integrated Church of workers, parents and policiticans, journalists and professionals, students and young adults, must not kneel through the next generation, or the vibrancy in church life cheered by Benedict and many Western elites will flow downstream like so much foam, and only polution and greed will remain to stop up the hope.
JOSEPH H-T
Thanks John, for a very fine
Thanks John, for a very fine analysis of what happened at Benin. I did not expect anything less. I want to make a number of points about this exhortation. The first is that my first impression of the text is that there is a lot of material for further theological and pastoral reflection. The second is that we must understand that much of the material contained in this text has already appeared in one form or the other as part of the propositions which the synod submitted to the pope. In other words, it is not necessaily the pope "lecturing" African bishops on the need for proper accounting or on the need for repect for Islam,etc, as some media commentatators ( not you) seem to be suggesting. What we have here is rather a papal "stamp" on ideas and issues which African Church leaders have already identified as important during the African synod. A third point is that the section of this text on reconciliation contains eloquent passages and insights which are bound to become standard points of reference for all Christian theology in years to come. Finally, the measure of the success of this trip is the loudness of the silence about this trip in much of Western secular media. This trip and the message of the Exhortation were so good that there was nothing to report. There were no "African" ethnic clashes to report, no sex-related slip-ups to harangue the pope about. Again thanks. I hope that with time we can have more substantive discussions on what appears in many ways to be a ground-breaking "exhortation". Thanks, Paulinus Odozor, C.S.Sp.
And our dearly oblivious pope
And our dearly oblivious pope forgot about the small fact that it IS the HETEROSEXUALS that have AIDS in Africa -- So it's NOT a gay issue in Africa, but a HUMAN issue to get those people condoms!
His Holiness was doing
His Holiness was doing reasonably well until, as John reports, "His language on the empowerment of women was also striking, insisting that the church has a duty to promote a social role for women "equal to that of men."
Yet in June of this year, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei stated that girls are not allowed to serve at the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. See: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/06/08/vatican-girls-are-not-pe...
A clear statement that men are more equal than women.
The Papal message as usual is "Don't do as I do, just be good docile catholics and do as I say."
You can either be Christian, or a Roman Catholic these days, but not both!
". Individual transformation
". Individual transformation must precede social transformation. Systems and structures cannot be liberated if the individual human heart doesn't change first."
I agree with this statement. However, how long and how many human hearts must change before social, political and economic institutions change?
Does it have to be either/or?
Must we retreat into our churches until each and every human heart under goes a metanoia?
Should not the laity be the bridge between the "Eternal" World and the "Temporal" world?
Please, some clarification, some insight.
What struck me in reading
What struck me in reading this piece is a bit of disconnect between the headline and handling of the questions posed. Given the nature of the occasion - to present the Vatican take on the 2009 Second African Synod and how Rome wants it followed up - how could anything Benedict said be taken amiss? Now if we non-Africans superimposed our own worldview on things possibly we could look for missteps. Benedict XVI did what he's been doing right along - using his power to centralize things.
Two other things: 1 A side-by-side analysis of the 54 propositions the 2009 synod participants developed with the Pope's presentation is the mode by which questions and insights ought to be made. It is totally unfair to use a USA or European lens in doing this. 2. We'll see. The audience/site for presentation was very carefully chosen. This happened at a point in time. It has been more than two years since the Synod participants came home; they haven't exactly sat on their haunches waiting for Rome to speak. They've been busy, very busy putting their decisions into practice. It's not a case of "Rome has (now)spoken; the thing is finished." African Catholicism is very much alive and growing in "wisdom, age, and grace" in its own way. Thank God!
"Did Benedict avoid the
"Did Benedict avoid the condoms trap?"
Dear John, this question on "condoms trap" with reference to the Pope's visit to the Republic of Benin prompts me to repeat what I asked you earlier: WHY ARE YOU FIXATED ON THE ISSUE OF CONDOM AND AIDS IN AFRICA? The overwhelming image coming out of the visit of the Pope has nothing to do with that issue. You patronizingly advised the Pope on how to talk about it before his visit and now you return to it. What is going on here?
Three reasons for the visit were officially stated. Did the Pope deliver on those? The answer is loudly YES.
Africans have now received AFRICAE MUNUS. Isn't it fair to give them time to digest the document and use it for evangelisation? Interestingly, you never lack "experts" on this blog giving lectures to Africans on how to THINK and ACT!
Note that the Pope’s overall
Note that the Pope’s overall argument is that condoms will not solve the problem of AIDS. In support of this, he makes several arguments:
1) People can already get condoms, yet it clearly hasn’t solved the problem.
2) The secular realm has proposed the ABC program, where a condom is used only if the first two, truly effective procedures (abstinence and fidelity) have been rejected. Thus even the secular ABC proposal recognizes that condoms are not the unique solution. They don’t work as well as abstinence and fidelity. The first two are better.
3) The fixation on condom use represents a banalization (trivialization) of sexuality that turns the act from being one of love to one of selfishness. For sex to have the positive role it is meant to play, this trivialization of sex—and thus the fixation on condoms—needs to be resisted.
So that’s the background to the statement that the press seized on:
There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality. [EMPHASIS ADDED]
There are several things to note here: First, note that the Pope says that “there may be a basis in the case of some individuals,” not that there is a basis. This is the language of speculation. But what is the Pope speculating about? That condom use is morally justified? No, that’s not what he’s said: that there may be cases “where this [condom use] can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way to recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed.”
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-pope-said-what-about-condoms#ixzz1fEG...
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