- I predict that Peter Turkson will not be elected Pope;
- How Muslim Africans will figure into Turkson’s future;
- How about a Latino Pope?
There’s a lot of buzz
encouraging the College of Cardinals to elect Peter Turkson of Ghana as the
next Pope. However, there is one
very good reason why the College should hesitate. If Turkson is elected, he will serve as a lightning rod to encourage the growth
of radical Islamic opposition in Africa.
And the reason is quite simple: Christianity, especially Catholicism, is closely identified
with the European powers which, having ignored all claims concerning the love of
Jesus Christ for all humanity, saw fit to colonize that continent and treat the
majority of its inhabitants like animals.
Yes, Africans - especially
Black ones - have not quite forgotten their bitter colonial past. And many Africans are painfully aware of
their position of increasingly exploitable weakness today - an awareness which embraces
the rise of neo-colonialism.
Here are some numbers worthy
of note:
QUOTE:
According to Britannica Online, the Muslim
population of Africa in 2010, was…(40.84%), while Christians were 488,880,000 (47.32%),
African traditional religions (ethnoreligionists) were…(10.6%), and all other
remaining beliefs were…(1.22%)...[2]
QUOTE:
In 2009, when Pope Benedict XVI visited Africa,
[the number of Catholics in Africa] was estimated at 158 million.[1]
Even though these
quotes cite two different years, it’s safe to assume that the ratio of non-Catholic
Christians to Catholics is roughly 3 to 1. So that translates to a ratio of 2.7
Muslims per Catholic. I believe that elevating a Black African to Pope will
galvanize the more radical among those Muslims against their Catholic neighbors.
And Muslims not already radicalized will become so after such an elevation.
Of course, it would
remain to be seen how Protestant Africans would react to any campaign against
native Catholics. If the campaign
were to be strictly against Catholics and were conducted under a battle cry
against that most exploitative and most European of churches, African
Protestants might opt to stay out of this struggle.
I am especially
intrigued by the fact, as cited above, that “…African traditional
religions (ethnoreligionists) were…(10.6%), and all other remaining beliefs
were…(1.22%)…” Somehow, these
(especially the ethnoreligionists) were able to maintain their scriptureless beliefs
in spite of the onslaught of agents of the Abrahamic faiths. For that reason
alone, I dub them true Africans. While these 11.82% might not dislike Catholic
influence in Africa enough to take up arms in opposition, they might find grim
satisfaction in seeing someone finally take long overdue action against those
who had so profoundly disrespected and persecuted their native beliefs.
A Latino Pope is far more likely
Given the very long
tradition of Catholicism among the Iberian-descendants in Central and South
America, if there is to be a non-European Pope, he will most probably come from
that area of the world. That kind of recognition, especially should the new
Pope turn out to be charismatic, would go a long way toward countering the
influence of leftists which has become bothersome to the modern Church of St.
Peter. The poor and downtrodden
might be more willing to accept their political lot as long as they could have
the consolation of being able to connect spiritually (or at least ethnically) to
one of their own. I can only hope that this new Pope won’t turn an entirely
blind eye to the needs of his most destitute and abused congregants.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Steven Searle, former candidate for US
President (in 2008 and 2012)
Founder of The
Independent Contractors’ Party
“In my view, it
doesn’t matter who the new Pope will be, since he will be burdened with an
impossible task: Making this archaic and corrupt Church relevant to the modern
world.”
Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com
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