My argument here is that Africa
will never produce the next pope not that an African will never be a pope
sometime in the future. That dream is still possible but then Africans must
have to dream less, pray less and work harder like mafias. Being a pope has
nothing to do with prayer and dream (Africans dream and pray too much, even
more than the pope), it has more to do with machinations, politicking and Darwinian
and Machiavellian principles. To refresh
your knowledge the Darwin principle is all about the survival of the fittest
while that of Machiavelli is simple: the end justifies the means! For an
African to be the next pope he must learn to live with these two principles!
The reason behind my argument is obvious.
It is not because Euro-Americans have anything against Africa but because a lot
of things are involved in being elected as a pope. The above mentioned points
are some of them but then one must also appreciate the fact that half of the
120 cardinals that will elect the next pope are Europeans and I so much doubt
these cardinals will be willing to give a go at an African pope. And if you
follow this logic very dearly, it has an implication. The implication is that
any pope who does not want an African succeeding him could easily do that. All
he has to do is to appoint less number of young African cardinals or large
number of old African cardinals. The reason behind this is that less number of
young African cardinals will never have enough vote to support each other or to
ensure an election of an African pope while a majority of old African cardinals
are always likely to get old and go beyond the age of entering a conclave that
elects a new pope.
But there are also other
arguments too. The first is the thinking pattern of Africans in general. It is
a fact that the environment plays a huge part in the way people think. For this
reason, the thinking pattern of two six year olds would be different if they
come from different parts of the world and if they don’t travel out of their
various places of birth it will still be the same. Travelling will make a huge
difference in their thinking pattern. This is in line with the theory that
travel is part of an experience and of course the level of development in a
given place plays a part in the thinking pattern of the inhabitants. For this
reason while most Africans would like to settle scores with war, ethnic
cleansing, fighting, smacking etc. most Euro-Americans would prefer dialogue
and resort to war and fighting as a last resort. This differences lies with their
environment.
In line with the above view, the
thinking pattern of an African is quite different from the way Euro-Americans
think. Often, Africans are very aggressive and violent in the way they think
but Euro-Americans even though they exhibit same trait often moderate it along
the line of public opinion, learning and discoveries. Ever wondered why
Ugandans would want to kill all homosexuals in their country while
Euro-Americans talk of their human rights? It lies with the fact that Euro-Americans
have a space to accommodate changing environments and views, Africans often
cannot because that will go contrary to what their fathers and forefathers told
them. The meaning is quite obvious; their forefathers and traditions are better
learned than they are. For this reason Euro-Americans cardinals are less likely
to vote for an African cardinal. They would not like to be led by a cardinal
from dark ages. Yes Pope Benedict XVI is a conservative but he never had it
good with his Euro-American followers and the major reason he resigned is still
far from the truth! Do not believe everything the Vatican tells you love!
Akin to the above point is that
Euro-Americans would not like to be led by a person who is more holy than the
pope. African cardinals come across as more holy than the pope. While
Euro-Americans believe that they are sinners in need of God's grace, most
Africans would not agree; they are holy indeed and it is of people like them
that the kingdom of God was made. They are ever ready to point to the west as
the reason for decline in faith noticed in the world today especially in the
west. Euro-Americans so much hate this holier-than-thou attitude and little
wonder two English Anglican bishops vehemently opposed John Sentamu, the
Archbishop of York being the next Archbishop of Canterbury because 'he has a temperament
of an African chief'.
And by the way, a friend told me
that another reason Euro-Americans may not entertain an African pope is because
most of the African cardinals had not played a vital role in opposing
injustice, poverty, discrimination, corruption and mismanagement in their own
countries and therefore may not be useful to the global church especially this
time the church needs reform like yesterday. Same friend asked me to name one
Oscar Romero in Africa and I named Anthony Cardinal Okogie of Lagos, Nigeria
and he said he may not be enough to convince Euro-Americans that Africans can
do it.
But on a very progressive note,
this is not a time for a conservative pope. What the Church of Rome needs now
is a progressive who can bring all the factions, side-lined, ostracised and
forgotten under one roof. I am not quite sure an African pope can do that at
the moment. The African church and culture is deeply immersed in
discrimination, hatred, unhealthy competition and support for regimes infamous
for human rights abuses. For instance, in Nigeria it would be hard for a Roman
Catholic Church to take it lightly that one of them is going to marry an
Anglican. This type of conservatism is very unhealthy for the region that wants
to produce the next pope. I am very sure that Euro-Americans have seen loads of
hatred to have more time for hatred and discrimination made in Africa.
I therefore do not see the
possibility of an African pope now and stands to be proved wrong anyway!
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