RELIGION: Kerry and the Cardinal

I may on some other day deal with the issue of whether the Catholic Church should deny Communion to John Kerry. The interesting subtext: the controversy was touched off by statements by Cardinal Francis Arinze, a prominent conservative Nigerian Cardinal. Why is that interesting? Because the Church in Africa is more conservative and faster-growing than most anywhere else in the world, and Cardinal Arinze is sometimes mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II. A black African pope, of course, would be a huge cultural moment – for Africa, which for more than 4,000 years has taken a back seat to civilizations on the surrounding continents; for the Church, which has not had a non-European pope in well over a thousand years; in the war on terror, where it would not be unnoticed if the Church is led by a man from a nation where Christians still fear persecution by Muslims in some parts of the country; and here in the United States, where there would be tremendous symbolism to seeing a black man elevated to what may well be the world’s second-most-influential job.

4 thoughts on “RELIGION: Kerry and the Cardinal”

  1. Now I’m not the best Catholic in the world, but these “new Catholics” really get me riled up. Obviously there are certain areas where the church is WAY behind the times, but when you reject the basic respect for human life that is the foundation of what the church stands for you are rejecting the church itself. Besides, if you reject almost every Catholic teaching, doesn�t that make you a Protestant?

  2. Richard, I think that respect for human life extends to Protestantism as well. But I agree that it gets me riled up as well. “A la Carte Christianity” just bugs me.
    As far as the Cardinal is concerned, I’d be curious to see how Catholics would react if he became Pope.

  3. When I said basic respect for human life I was referring to the church�s steadfast opposition of abortion. I was trying to keep this post about how much I dislike Kerry separate from the abortion issue. I understand that every faith respects human life, and I apologize if it seemed as though I was implying otherwise.

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