Pope presents paper on the role of the Church in Africa

posted on: Nov 20 2011 13:36 by RDugey. Viewed 32 times.


In a Basilica in the native region of the religion Voodoo in Africa, Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday presented a paper on the role of the Church on the continent and explained how Catholicism can help put an end to the chronic wars and interact with indigenous practices.

One of the messages of the Pope is that Catholicism has evolved from the time they arrived the missionaries to this coastal town in Benin, where Voodoo is a religion of State together with Christianity and islam.

Islam and traditional practices must be respected by Catholics, said the Pope in the document, but also told the bishops that they must carefully discern which practices conflict with the doctrine of the Church to "separate the good seed of weed".

"The Church is open to cooperation with all components of society, in particular with representatives of churches and ecclesial communities not yet in" u000a"full communion with the Catholic Church", said the Pope against priests and nuns Africans raised cameras and cell phones in the packed Basilica.

"Also with representatives of non-Christian religions, especially those of traditional religions," he added.

While he signed the Treaty of 87 pages, dozens of practitioners of Voodoo they occupied plastic chairs in the Temple of the Pitons, on the other side of the square and less than 100 metres from the Basilica.

The high priest, who supported the foot in a bottle of Geneva, offering traditional Voodoo spirits, said that they had gathered to listen to the message from the Pontiff, broadcast from the Basilica by huge loudspeakers.

"This is a positive message that will bring peace to Africa," said Houkpon II Houawamenod. "I am a baptized Catholic, but I can not turn its back to my roots." As a kid, if attending a Voodoo ceremony, I raged a day u000a"next in school".

Houawamenod, who just as many of his countrymen practiced a combination of Voodoo and Catholicism, said that "simply we follow a different path to get to the same place".

Benedict, 84-year-old made his second trip to Africa, the region of greater growth of the Catholic Church. While congregations ageing in Europe and lack of priestly vocations, the seminars in Africa lack sufficient capacity to accommodate all applicants.

"Africae munus", the "commitment of Africa" in Latin, is an attempt to bring the faith to the needs of a continent plagued by wars and corruption. The Pope proposes a reconciliation based on the doctrine of the forgiveness to cut the cycle of retaliation which has given rise to many recent conflicts in the region

One of the proposed ideas is to study in depth the ceremonies that are used to resolve conflicts, although he clarified that u000athey cannot replace the sacrament of penance.