'African pope a pipedream'
2005-04-04 22:59
Johannesburg - Chances of Pope John Paul II's successor hailing from the world's poorest continent are slim as Africans are not deemed fit for any high office and seen as "pagan", said the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference on Monday.
"In Rome, the cardinals enjoy a huge number of Africans becoming Christians, but they don't think we are ready for high positions... they fear paganism might come through the back door," said SACBC spokesperson Archbishop Buti Tlhagale.
Sapa news agency quoted him as saying that, after a Polish pontiff, the Italians "want the crown back", adding that the Roman Catholic Church was "like a train that will not take a sharp turn".
"Africans fight for what they want, but I don't think we have a strong lobby to elect an African as a pope," he added.
Former Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Sunday he hoped the Catholic cardinals would appoint the first African pope in its history.
Nigerian is a contender
Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, said: "We hope the cardinals, when they meet, will follow the first non-Italian pope by electing the first African pope."
Nigeria's Cardinal Francis Arinze, a 72-year-old archconservative and No 4 in the Vatican hierarchy, is widely seen in South Africa as the wider world's best candidate to oppose an Italian comeback in the leadership of the Holy See.
On Monday, the Johannesburg-based Sowetan, rooted for an African pontiff, saying Catholicism was in decline in the developed world but growing in poorer nations.
Call for a break with tradition
"Many within the church believe the time has come for the church to break from tradition and demonstrate its openness by appointing someone from the Third World as pontiff," it said.
"Africa has a right to demand a place at the head of the Catholic table.
"While membership has decreased in the West, the numbers of faithful in Africa, Asia and Latin America have grown.
"The three continents boast a total of 44 cardinals compared to 58 from Europe and 11 from the United States," it added.