Nigeria's Spiritual Rainmaker is Eyed at Vatican (A Diocese with 1,000 Seminarians!!!)

The Washington Post ^ | 17 April 2005 | Craig Timberg

[watsonfellow]

ONITSHA, Nigeria -- The legend of Cardinal Francis Arinze, a contender to become the first pope from Africa in 1,500 years, stems from a moment of crisis in Nigeria's Catholic heartland. It was the early 1970s, and the government had ordered all European and American priests -- most of the Catholic leadership at the time -- out of the country.

The political purge left Arinze and a handful of Nigerian priests with a massive job and few resources to do it, church leaders here said. But Arinze, the first African-born archbishop in this grubby trading center on the Niger River, acted swiftly to replace the departed Westerners with Nigerians.

snip

He moved lay people, including women, into key jobs, the church leaders said. He traveled the region in his battered white Peugeot, recruiting young men into the priesthood through urgent, plain-spoken appeals. With their grasp of the area's language and culture, these new priests eventually proved more adept than the foreigners at attracting new believers.

[watsonfellow]

Arinze's old diocese has over a thousand seminarians! Can you imagine that? Some people knock Arinze saying he has no pastoral experience. I think this article clearly shoots down that theory.

[watsonfellow]

Arinze really is the right guy for the job.

He's orthodox.

He's very personable and charming.

He speaks all the right languages, English, French, Italian, Spanish, and a few African ones....he also knows Latin and Ancient Greek.

He's well travelled and has spent a good deal of time in America.

He was Archbishop during the Biafra War and so knows what its like to lead a Church during a time of persecution.

He knows how to appoint good people (Bishops) and get vocations up (his old diocese now has one thousand seminarians).

He has a good mix of pastoral and curial experience.

His election would electrify the world.

Arinze for Pope!

[Duke Wayne]

I was watching EWTN the other night and two Cardinals from Africa gave interviews. What they have to deal with on a everyday basis is far more difficult than most of us will ever have to deal with. They need our support. I would welcome a Pope such as him. God bless the conclave and may the Holy Spirit be with them.

[watsonfellow]

But you get the feeling that even though the Church in Africa does not have the money or resources that we have in America or Europe, they are far happier in many respects. They are true to the faith, they don't complain about how "hard" it is to live a Catholic life, and they're not trying to change the Church.

They are the future, not our Godless, hedonistic AmChurch.

[Blake#1]

The World Wide Anglican Communion is also looking to the 3rd World for leadership. This "leadership" is the force that has demanded that the American and Canadian Anglican Churches explell "homos' and return to Biblical teaching, or get out of the Communion. Has your Church done this?

[Carolinamom]

They are the future, not our Godless, hedonistic AmChurch.

Godless? You paint w/too broad a brush, my friend.

[watsonfellow]

Well not entirely Godless, but let's be frank here, the AmChurch is pretty much devoted to the worship of "self" and not the worship of God.

I think this is a fair and accurate statement.

This doesn't mean everyone or every diocese, but I think its pretty accurate for most of the bishops, universities, and "Catholic" leaders in America.

[Ravens70]

"Arinze really is the right guy for the job."

I agree...and I would hope his first official visit as Pope would be to Georgetown University to b!tch slap the administration and faculty who turned their backs/walked out on his address at the school a couple of years ago...

[Redmen4ever]

During this time of worlwide martydom, it would be good for the Catholics to elevate a man such as Cardinal Arinze who has seen and continues to see so many Christians in his native land murdered in the name of Christ, who responded by reviving the church, recruiting many religious and lay ministers, and spreading the Gospel not only in his home country but also throughout the world through missionaries. Nigeria and India are the sources of the most Catholic missionaries nowadays. Praise be to Jesus!

[cyborg]

I would agree. Girls being altar servers, married priest discussion, women being priests... My mother said if women became priests, she'd leave! :(

[TheGeezer]

Married priests is not that big a deal. My pastor is a former Lutheran priest who received a papal dispensation to be ordained in the Roman Catholic church, and he was married before his conversion to Catholicism. The beauty of the arrangement is that he more orthodox than our Archbishop!!!

As for women priests, that is impossible. John Paul II taught infallibly and so, irrevocably, that women cannot be priests. If the next pope succeeded in reversing that teaching, I would be joining the Orthodox Church the next day, since it would be apparent that the Holy Spirit had abandoned the Roman Catholic church. I do not think the next pope would succeed in that, however, since God will not permit it!

[cyborg]

That's a different situation. He was already married. I can respectfully disagree on married priests but I won't back down on women priests. It is an idea from the pit of hell.

[TheGeezer]

I can respectfully disagree on married priests but I won't back down on women priests.

Same here: it is not a doctrinal matter. Women priests are doctrinally impossible, however.

[A.A. Cunningham]

In receiving the Anglican Dispensation your pastor agreed, prior to ordination, that if his spouse precedes him in death he will then adopt the discipline of celibacy for the remainder of his natural life.

[TheGeezer]

In receiving the Anglican Dispensation your pastor agreed, prior to ordination, that if his spouse precedes him in death he will then adopt the discipline of celibacy for the remainder of his natural life.

Yes, that's true.

[Mark in the Old South]

He is my first choice of those I know about. I hear he is liberal on matters of the liturgy and I distrust the Media's notions of what is is to be "conservative". Still from what I hear of him he sounds better than most.

[Mark in the Old South]

Godless is a fair description. You did not go too far. Your comment was not to all Catholics but to a spirit that is taking over the Church in America. When you have nuns giving sermons "debunking" the miracle of the fishes and loaves. Perhaps some have no trouble with this but would they draw the line at Theologians that doubt the existence of Christ, the Resurrection, the Virgin Birth, the Divinity of Christ and nothing is done about them. They don't even loose their place on the teaching staff at "Catholic" colleges and seminaries. Godless is fair. It doesn't apply to me or to you but is applies to a powerful element in the Church with leadership positions and ties to the Bishops. As long as they are on the inside circle and they are not pushed to the outside the term Godless fits. I do not think you meant me or yourself or any other faithful Catholic who happened to read your post. The phrase fits and the shame should be on those who have responsibility for governance of the Church not on those who notice the crack in the walls.

Carolinamom should be expressing her displeasure to her priest and Bishop and shaming those in power not shooting the messenger. Perhaps you are just an easier target.

[Petronski]

My mother said if women became priests, she'd leave!

So would I.

[Carolinamom]

Carolinamom is a Protestant, not a Catholic. You make my point that painting the whole Catholic church as being Godless is inaccurate.

[Mark in the Old South]

Well as a Catholic I thank you for your defense of the Catholic Church, I never thought your motivation was the problem just the response. Catholics are having many of the same problems other denomination are having. I truly believe a solution in the Catholic Church would go a long way to solving problems in others.

This is a small example, very small but symbolic in nature: Women wearing coverings over their heads in Church. I was small but I remember when every woman in church wore hats and gloves when they went to Church (I was Episcopalian then) The gloves were a cultural norm but the hat had scriptural reasons. It had an effect on others as well, you never saw a man without a jacket and tie either. Now you see women in tube tops and tight hip huggers. Gee that is respectful. Needless to say the men are in sloppy T-shirts and shorts. God should never be force to stare at a man's ugly knees in church. My mother was glad when the trend away from that started, she hated hats but it didn't stop there and it is a shame. I have since heard this was never an issue until Vatican II and the news media was asking Bishops about the issue. Once the (perceived) okay came from the strict and straight laced Catholic Church is it any wonder the other denominations would follow?

I am not emotionally invested in a woman wearing head coverings or not but I have noticed this little matter. I presently go to a very strict Traditional Catholic Church and was talking to a woman on the phone about our Church. She seemed very interested but I warned her about the problematic relationship we have with the local Bishop and accusations of Schism, excommunication etc, none of that seemed to disturb her one jot until she found out about the need for a Chapel veil. Hummmmm? that disturbed her? The Chapel veils we provide are 6 inch of lace and so light people forget they have them on all the time, but we were being oppressive. Possible status as an excommunicate, schismatic no problem; Chapel veil oh the horror,oh the crime against humanity!!! Some faith. It took all my effort not to laugh at her in the phone. Too many put selfish and petty likes and dislikes over instructions from God. It is in the Bible and I bet she didn't care. Godless is pretty fair and not just in the Catholic Church. If we did a little more (all of us) I think we would be able to solve some of these problems. Like water from the rock in the desert, solutions flow from God.