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Condemned by pope, witchcraft a reality in Africa
African converts often keep one foot in traditional spirituality
Mar. 21, 2009
Angolans await the pope (CNS photo)
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PDF versionIn Angola yesterday, Benedict XVI stressed social issues readily familiar to Western audiences, such as poverty, war, and human rights. Today, however, the pope turned to another burning concern across much of Africa, albeit one that can seem exotic to foreign ears: Witchcraft.
Many Africans, the pope said, “are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment, they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers.”
Benedict called upon Catholics to “to proclaim that Christ has triumphed over death and all those occult powers.”
The pope made the remarks during a Mass for bishops, priests, religious and catechists at São Paulo Church in Luanda, the Angolan capital.
For many in the Western world, “witchcraft” may seem a benign form of New Age spirituality; the chaplain’s handbook for the U.S. military recognizes “Wicca,” a modern form of witchcraft, as a legitimate religious practice.
Across Africa, however, things look very different. The working assumption is that magical powers are real, but they’re demonic – a conviction that can have devastating consequences.
In Angola, children suffering from diseases such as malaria and AIDS, or street children, are sometimes accused of practicing witchcraft and subjected to abuse. In 2006, a three-year-old HIV-positive child was suspected of placing a curse on his parents, so neighbors abandoned the child in a coop, where chickens pecked out one of his eyes. Between 2001 and 2005, 423 children accused of witchcraft sought refuge at the Santa Child Centre run by the Catholic Church in M'banza Congo, the capital of Zaire Province, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Similar ferment happens in other countries.
In Nigeria, for example, an elderly woman was beheaded in 2007 after she was accused of placing a member of another tribe under a curse. In turn, her murder triggered a spate of inter-ethnic killing that left 80 dead. Secretive cults on Nigeria’s 100 university campuses, with names such as “Black Axes” and “Pyrates,” often practice juju, or black magic, to terrify their rivals, and violent struggles between these cults have left hundreds dead in recent years.
Also in 2007, a gang of villagers in Kenya beat an 81-year-old man to death, suspecting him of having murdered his three grandsons through witchcraft.
Even after converting to Christianity, many Africans keep one foot in this cluster of beliefs and practices rooted in traditional African spirituality.
Fr. Patrick Lafon, former secretary general of the bishops’ conference in Cameroon, said many Catholics may show up for Mass on Sunday, but if there’s sickness in the family, they’ll also consult their tribal medicine man to find out who placed the curse and what they need to do to lift it. He called that evidence of “insufficient catechesis and insufficient inculturation.”
Some critics say the Catholic church in Africa has yet to work out an effective pastoral response.
In February 2007, the Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, held a three-day symposium on witchcraft. Experts warned that witchcraft is “destroying” the Catholic Church in Africa, in part because skeptical, Western-educated clergy don’t take the beliefs behind it seriously.
“It is important for the Church to understand the fears of the people, and not to attribute them to superstition,” said Michael Katola, a lecturer in pastoral theology. “Witchcraft is a reality; it is not a superstition. Many communities know these powers exist.”
Katola warned that inadequate pastoral responses are driving some Africans into Pentecostalism.
“Many of our Christians seek deliverance, healing and exorcism from other denominations because priests do not realize they have redemptive powers,” he said. “If we don’t believe in the existence of witchcraft as Satanism, then we cannot deal with it.”
Sr. Bibiana Munini Ngundo said that the Catholic Church has not paid sufficient attention to “integral healing,” leading people to put their trust in diviners and magicians. Fr. Clement Majawa of Malawi listed 14 categories of witchcraft practiced in Africa, and argued that the Church’s denial “only escalates the problem.”
“Since Christ in the gospels encountered the devil, it is proper for Christians to accept the reality of witchcraft,” Majawa said.
In his remarks today, Benedict XVI alluded to one reason why the church has sometimes been reluctant to challenge witchcraft: an exaggerated “live and let live” spirit of tolerance.
“Someone may object: ‘Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours,’” the pope said.
In the end, Benedict said, such timidity does no one any favors.
“If we are convinced that, without Christ, life lacks something, that something real – indeed, the most real thing of all – is missing, we must also be convinced that we do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them,” the pope said. “Indeed, we must do this. It is our duty to offer everyone this possibility of attaining eternal life.”
The pope returned to more familiar ground for Westerners later in the day, in a massive session for Angolan youth in Luanda’s Dos Coquieros Stadium. Among other things, Benedict alluded to the legacy of Angola’s bloody civil war from 1975 to 2002, which left an estimated 500,000 dead, hundreds of thousands more injured and maimed, and a vast population of refugees and displaced persons.
“Even in our midst, I see some of the many thousands of young Angolans who have been maimed or disabled as a result of the war and the landmines,” the pope said.
“I think of the countless tears that have been shed for the loss of your relatives and friends. It is not hard to imagine the dark clouds that still veil the horizon of your fondest hopes and dreams.”
Facing those “dark clouds,” Benedict told Angolan youth that “the power to shape the future is within you.”
Tomorrow, Benedict will celebrate an open-air Mass in Luanda before meeting in the afternoon with movements involved in fighting for women’s rights. On Monday, Benedict XVI will return to Rome. His next foreign voyage will come in May, when he travels to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
(Allen is NCR senior correspondent. His e-mail address is jallen@ncronline.org.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Allen is in Africa covering Pope Benedict XVI’s March 17-23 trip to Cameroon and Angola. Watch the NCR web site for his daily reports.
Reports he has already filed include:
- Condemned by pope, witchcraft a reality in Africa
- Accent on 'peace, fraternity' sets tone for Angola
- Benedict in Cameroon a tale of two trips
- Pope: African Catholics can transform society
- Pope unveils African Synod preparation paper
- Pope to Muslims: 'Religion rejects all violence'
- Pope demands halt to sexual, financial scandals
- Pope's condom message resonates with many
- Pope addresses corruption, conflict in Africa
- 'Africa in miniature,' warts and all, awaits Benedict
- Five reasons the papal trip to Africa is important
- Cameroon journalist warns of 'cheap political points' from pope’s visit
- Benedict needs to show that he 'gets' Africa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Very appropriate article on
Very appropriate article on this day, St Benedict Abbot. St Benedict pray for us all in Jesus Christ! Grace and peace with prayers always...
Nothing changes. The Pope
Nothing changes. The Pope has missed the issue completely.
It is not the practice of "witchcraft" that is the problem. It is the fanatical reaction of the people against those who they believe are practicing witchcraft. As in the inquisition, or the salem witch hunts, guilt was irrelevant, all that was needed was one person, a person with a grudge to accuse, and those accused were tortured and murdered. All done in the name of god.
Interesting, we see the very same scenario unfolding in Wisconsin. Bishop Morlino took the word of a person with a grudge, fired the employee, without even reading the work, a work that for 6 years was not a problem, (witch hunt) to see if what the person with the grudge said was true. Again, done in the name of protecting the faith of the catholic church, done in the name of god.
It is the same scenario unfolding in South Africa where gangs of men are gang raping lesbians to "cure" them. Whether they are lesbian or not is irrelevant. All that they need is to be accused. I suspect that since 60% of South Africa is catholic, odds are that half of those committing the rapes are catholics, odds are they will say they are doing gods will, trying to save the souls of the lesbians they gang rape.
South Africa gangs using rape to 'cure' lesbians
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29676829/
This is what Pope Benedict is creating with his rhetoric. Another salem witch hunt in Africa. Another inquisition, this time in Africa. More hate, more violence, all in the name of god.
One has to wonder when it will be the "liberal protestant heretics", anyone who does not agree with the Magisterial Authorities that will be the targets. We already see the seeds of it in the hateful responses from the "truly faithful catholics" who post here.
Pope Benedict is setting the stage for it to happen again. Instead of condemning the violence, he is condemning the practice of witchcraft, offering implied consent to violence as an appropriate way of dealing with the issue. In his rhetoric he is also accusing anyone who believes in New Age spirituality as practicing witchcraft, setting the stage for violence against anyone who does not adhere to catholic doctrine.
This is a dangerous thing he is doing, one guaranteed to produce more violence unless it is stopped immediately.
The Pope condemns witchcraft,
The Pope condemns witchcraft, therefore, the Pope supports gang rape of lesbians and witch doctors? Pretty weak logic there.
And you are aware that the Inquisition courts required multiple witnesses against the accused before conviction, barred witnesses that had a conflict of interest (as chosen by the accused), and that the Inquisitioners were NOT permitted to and did not practice capital punishment?
Your response makes no sense.
Your response makes no sense. The very first sentence in my post was:
"It is not the practice of "witchcraft" that is the problem. It is the fanatical reaction of the people against those who they believe are practicing witchcraft. ... Instead of condemning the violence, he is condemning the practice of witchcraft"
Your response however is a beautiful example of what we see so often from those who call themselves "truly faithful catholic defenders of the faith". Twisting the truth, distorting the facts, in a vain attempt to discredit those who dare to diagree.
I didnt have the material I needed before, but now I do. To expand on my pervious post:
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates hate, hostility, or violence towards members of a racial group, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society [ie. THOSE WITH DIFFERENT BELIEFS].
Hate groups usually assert that the targets of their attacks are harmful to a society [OR TO THEIR GROUP]. Hate groups generally propagate myths, [TWISTING THE TRUTH, DISTORTING THE FACTS] narratives and rumors, playing upon fear, xenophobia,[HOMOPHOBIA] blame or jealousy, with the aim of harming individuals and groups they target, and inciting others to distrust or hate them. The ultimate aim of a hate group is commonly the delegitimization, elimination, and exclusion of groups, or the harm, deportation, [EXCOMMUNICATION] or death of individuals. Hate groups often use their victims as scapegoats.
According to a report published in 2003 in the FBI Law Enforcement bulletin, a hate group, if unimpeded, passes through seven successive stages. In the first four stages, hate groups vocalize their beliefs and in the last three stages, they act on their beliefs. [GANG RAPES OF LESBIANS IN AFRICA ARE THE LAST THREE STAGES] The report points to a transition period that exists between verbal violence and acting that violence out, separating hardcore haters from rhetorical haters. Thus, hate speech is seen as prerequisites of hate crimes and as a condition of their possibility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_groups
Below are some groups that have been targeted by the "truly faithful catholic defenders of the faith" and the RCC Leadership. I am sure there are more that could be added:
--- gays and lesbians
--- new thought practitioners (witchcraft)
--- democrats (party of death)
--- anyone who is not antiabortion
--- anyone who is protestant (heretics)
--- anyone who is not “truly faithful catholic” (their definition)
--- women who do not know their true place in the church
--- anyone who disagrees
Once hate takes hold, it becomes a runaway freight train, that is extremely difficult to stop. As I said in the original post, this is a dangerous path he is leading the church into.
That is totally untrue. The
That is totally untrue. The Inquisition accused who they wanted, tortured who they wanted, and murdered who they wanted. I am currently doing research on witchcraft so that a book I am writing will be accurate.
The “Malleus Maleficarum”
The “Malleus Maleficarum” (Hammer of Witches) was published in 1487 by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger. They were Dominican Inquisitors commissioned by Pope Innocent VIII, after he issued his Papal Bull, “Summis desiderantes affectibus” in 1484, that gave these two authority to hunt down, prosecute and burn at the stake witches they believed were interfering with conjugal relations of married couples. They mostly zeroed in on mid-wives they believed were passing on contraceptive information to married women. The persecution took place primarily in Germany. The country was pretty much destitute of mid-wives by the time the pope and these two Dominicans got through with their “witch hunts.” Contraception at the time was considered murder, consequently, the penalty for murder was murder. These women were subject to the most hideous of tortures in order to wring confessions from them, after which they were burned at the stake. Incidentally, Sprenger was a great proponent of the Rosary.
Maybe the Holy Father in his crusade against witchcraft might want to now condemn his predecessor, Innocent VIII and his heinous Bull and the two Dominicans for their belief in witchcraft and their joint “crimes against humanity’s women.” It would be a start in his effort to show his deep sincerity. He also, might want to ask for forgiveness because of the way the Papacy treated these women.
Yes, the Pope clearly needs
Yes, the Pope clearly needs to apologize for the actions of people that died in the 15th century. Because it's clearly his fault. Because he was alive at the time and could have stopped it.
Salem trials were done by
Salem trials were done by Protestants my friend...
and yes, none of us are perfect, but come on, stop the hate
Why the beef about
Why the beef about apologizing? The Connecticut legislature is about to apologize for slavery. See the AP story here:
http://mycentraljersey.com/article/20090323/NATIONWORLD/903230354
I agree. Papa Ratzi must be
I agree. Papa Ratzi must be stopped immediately.
Papa Ratzi is losing support
Papa Ratzi is losing support at breathtaking speed, even among faithful, regular church-going Catholics.
He is being scorned because of his pathetic comments on the condom and now witchcraft.
55 % of French Catholics now view him negatively. Among regular church-goers only 52 % support him compared to 86 % in September.
His condom and witchcraft comments have seriously hurt and blunted his image. According to a CSA study released on Saturday March 21 by Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui, 57% of the French polled have a negative opinion of him compared to 25% six months ago. Only regularly-practicing Catholics say they still have a favorable view of him. The survey was conducted by telephone on March 18 and 19 with a sampling of 1,012 people representative of the French population.
I think you are blind to the
I think you are blind to the ultimate truth--speaking the truth will get you crucified and it appears that the very people to whom the Vicar of Christ is sent, Catholics are conspiring against Him, just as the Jews of Jesus day did. They even enlisted the Roman government in their attempt to silence our Lord. Interesting parallels with Christ's vicar in these days leading up to Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Very interesting indeed!
What's that supposed to mean?
What's that supposed to mean? Liars never get 'crucified', i.e. exposed, punished or condemned? Or that everyone ever 'crucified' spoke 'ultimate truth'? Would someone speaking truth seek prompt crucifixion in order to confirm his claims?
Not a very clever response, Anonymous.
Jesus clearly showed us it is
Jesus clearly showed us it is the pharisees and whitewashed tombs of your ilk who are blind and so utterly greedy that you should be kicked out of the temple.
I'm quite sure the Pope
I'm quite sure the Pope doesn't care what non-practicing, hertical "Catholics" that show up for Mass twice a year think of him. I would be concerned if it were the other way around.
It is worth paying attention
It is worth paying attention to DGF’s 3-21-09 response “Nothing Changes,” to John Allen’s “Condemned by pope, witchcraft a reality in Africa.” Here is one more reason lay Catholics and others need to seize the moment and organize for action. Peoples’ primitive fears, ignorance, and inclination towards violence must be supplanted with a general education for everyday living in contemporary times.
An online curriculum including multidisciplinary study should be as available as a public library, i.e. a service to the citizens of the world. Academic study is a related but separate issue. Examples of what this curriculum could include are the study of the origin of religions, and moral issues past, present, and future. What is a post-Axial Age faith? Indicators of where faith and morality issues seem to be going in the twenty-first century are valuable for personal decision-making. What are some personal development knowledge/skills that are useful in becoming better functioning persons who are agents for change, -- more than an antidote for “nothing changes” -- in a new historical age for humanity? Psychology and biology issues related to healthy living are basic. Cognitive-behavioral skills can help suppress undesirable actions and promote desirable actions of many kinds towards the self and others. Critical thinking skills, philosophy’s many branches, other relevant sciences, social sensitivity and diversity training for balanced living in a pluralistic world are equally essential. The curriculum would be an evolving one as further knowledge, necessary changes, and needs become evident.
Parachuting POPES in and out
Parachuting POPES in and out of Africa, in and out of the so-called Holy Land, will have little or no long-lasting positive effects, other than momentarily deflecting attention away from internal problems in Rome with the Society of Pius X and impending international lawsuits finally reaching the Vatican for clergy sexual abuse.
While studying with noted Sorbonne Africanologist Dominique DESJEUX, I learned of the systemic etiology of the witchcraft phenomenon among a disenfranchised, disempowered population which has no other recourse than resorting to a supernatural system of justice as they seek to "regler les comptes" (settle scores). My own high school students in Senegal spent their parents' hard-earned money on PENS blessed by marabouts to write their public exams, and they repeatedly warned me NOT to let anyone pull out a strand of my hair lest someone cast a spell ("jeter un sort") on me. I always showed them the cross around my neck and said: "LET THEM TRY!" Only sustained support from the indigenous Church will raise the masses up and deliver them from the need to believe in witchcraft. Just ask the CHINESE who are currently massively "investing" in African infrastructure, natural and human resources for the long haul, and demonstrating that actions speak louder than pious platitudes and empty ignorance-based condemnations.
And lest one think the
And lest one think the Chinese are engaging in altruistic "missionary activity" to convert the African continent to Buddhism, Taoism or even Communism, it should be noted that their financial and infrastructural assistance does NOT come without strings attached.
Cases in point:
1) The coincidental timing of the China-Africa summit in Beijing in Dec. 2007, only a week before the successful election of a Chinese doctor to head the World Health Organization - quite a useful position to continue China's AIDS coverup. Only 330,000 reported cases in a country of 1.3 billion?
2) The recent denial of a visa to the Dalai Lama to enter South Africa at the request of the Chinese Ambassador who suggested it would "damage" relations. And he was only going to take part in a summit on SOCCER as a remedy for XENOPHOBIA!
3) The impending buy in/bidding war for the Mombasa oil pipeline project - only the most important onshore oil discovery in Africa in the last twenty years.
Any African Synodal Instrumentum Laboris which fails to take into account some of the new realities of 21st century African "socio-economics" will be of little or no help to the 140 million (and growing) African Catholics.
As a Pueblo Indian from the
As a Pueblo Indian from the ancient communities of Taos and Okay oweegeh ( formerly San Juan Pueblo) here in the state of New Mexico.The accusation that any thing not Christian or European can be easily dismissed as irrelevant and pagan or witchcraft was one our ancestors had to face four hundred years ago when the colonial power of Spain entered our homeland.
Our people were forcefully under threat of death,torture made to accept baptism . Our religious leaders were executed our sacred kiva destroyed. But on august 10 1680 the first successful war waged by Native Americans against a European colonial power got rid of this enslaving and destructive presence form our land. Churches were burned and pulled down 23 Franciscan missionaries were killed and the Spanish colonist retreated to what is now El Paso Tx.
After that ugly introduction to Catholicism four hundred years we are nominally meaning in name only Roman catholics. This is the same situation that occurred in Mexico where native deities are still worship under the name of christian saints. A classic case of idols hidden under catholic altars. And the Americans were not any better.Native peoples of this land had their children take at gun point from their parents sent hundreds of miles away from their parents and communities and indoctrinated into Protestants denominations. Can modern white Americans Catholics understand or even know about this shameful history that destroyers the native presence or like this pope blame the victims of European colonialism of witch craft! What arrogance that breeds from an attitude of cultural and religious superiority.
I say let the old man this pope keep talking lets hear more stupid and insensitive words and alienate not only members of his own faith and all other non catholics world wide.
Pueblo native New Mexico
Will the pope resign? When?
Will the pope resign? When? At Easter or at the Trinity? Only a question of time, I humbly submit.
Yesterday, 55% of French Catholics said they had a negative opinion of this pope. Today 43% of them say he must resign.
As if he hadn't committed enough blunders, from the lifting of the excommunication of a Holocaust denying, heretical bishop to the declaration that condoms worsen the AIDS epidemic in Africa, pope Ratzinger went on to condemn therapeutic abortion, thus siding with the Brazilian archbishop supported by a Vatican prefect who anathemized the mother of a girl who, upon medical advice and pursuant to the law of the land, aborted her stepfather's fetuses to survive.
Because clearly, the job of
Because clearly, the job of the pope is NOT about proclaiming the fullness of TRUTH in a world full of deceit and lies. His job is to be as popular as possible by placating people, ESPECIALLY those who protest the teachings of the Church because they simply don't like it, without even bothering to learn and understand the underlying rationale behind it.
Christianity is NOT a popularity contest. If I recall, Jesus wasn't very popular either when he was hanging on the cross for OUR sins.
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found too difficult and left untried." G.K. Chesterton
Because clearly, the job of
Because clearly, the job of the pope is NOT about proclaiming the fullness of TRUTH in a world full of deceit and lies. His job is to be as HATED as possible by placating people, ESPECIALLY those who protest the WRONGFUL teachings of the MAN-MADE ROMAN CANON because they simply don't like THE GOSPEL OF JESUS, without even bothering to learn and understand the underlying rationale behind it.
Christianity is NOT a contest of REPRESSION but of LIBERATION . If I recall, Jesus wasn't very popular either when he was DENOUNCED BY THE PHARISEES AND HIGH PRIESTS.
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