Cardinal Francis Arinze, a highly placed Vatican official from Nigeria, is one of the most often-named papabili: men who have the qualifications to hold the top office in the Catholic church. Although Arinze is quick to dismiss the idea, at least in public, observers say the increasing prominence of the church in Africa, combined with his inter-religious credentials, make him a strong contender. Since 1985, Arinze has headed the Vatican's office for inter-religious affairs, traveling extensively around the world and reaching out to members of other faiths. Whether or not he is elected to succeed John Paul II, Arinze's moment in the spotlight is serving as a reality check for western Catholics, who have been compelled to recognize that the population center of the church has shifted dramatically south.
In the first few Christian centuries, North Africa produced notable Christian leaders. St. Augustine was from North Africa. So was Pope Gelasius I, who led the church from 492 to 496. He was the last pope from Africa, prior to its decline as a major Christian center after the advance of Islam in the seventh century. But during the past 20 years, the number of African Catholics has nearly doubled, from 50 million to more than 90 million. An estimated 13 million of those are in Nigeria.
Rev Clarence Williams, director for Black Catholic ministries for the Archdiocese of Detroit, estimates there are about 200 million black Catholics around the world, most of them living in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. With two thirds of the world's 1 billion Catholics living below the equator, the world's largest Christian denomination is no longer a European institution", he said. "Talk of a pope from Africa is very significant. Black Catholics are coming of age."
Arinze has been a strong proponent of efforts to develop a style of Christianity in Africa that reflects African culture rather than the culture of a historically dominant West. This push goes hand in hand with anti-colonial sentiment driving political change in the continent. "Since the next religious war on the African continent could be a religious war between Christians and Muslims", Williams said, "I think Cardinal Arinze is often mentioned as a pope because he has the skills needed for reconciliation."
Arinze, 68, was first noted as a papal candidate in 1992 by the late Peter Hebblethwaite, a former Vatican correspondent for the National catholic Reporter. Since then, Arinze's name has appeared on virtually every list of possible successors to John Paul II. He has earned a reputation as a forceful and articulate speaker. He is often described as charming and media-savvy, a diplomat's diplomat. "But he has also been called a dictator, in the African style, and an unoriginal thinker," and he routinely declines to be interviewed. He is said to be uncompromising on doctrine, and a conservative in the mode of John Paul II.
However, all the talk about a black pope doesn't mean that Arinze actually has a good chance to become pope. Some black Catholic leader say while they are enjoying the speculation they aren't holding out a lot of hop. For on thing, they note, cardinals in the limelight before/prior to the papal conclave are rarely the ones elected.
