| African Bishops Tell Corrupt Officials to 'Repent 'or 'Resign' |
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| by Tom McGregor | Sat, Oct 24, 2009, 01:36 PM |
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The New York Times reports that, "they did not name names, but two of Africa's most prominent Catholic leaders are President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, whose repressive policies and ruling elite are seen to have led this country to economic ruin, and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, whose government is perceived as one of the most corrupt in the world." The bishops wrote in an unusually direct document wrapping up a month-long synod (meeting) at the Vatican on the topics facing the church in Africa, that, "many Catholic in high office have fallen woefully short in their performance in office. The synod calls on such people to repent, or quit the public arena and stop causing havoc to the people and giving the Catholic Church a bad name." According to the NY Times, "with its large Catholic population, estimated at 158 million, Africa in many ways represents the future of the Catholic Church. It is expected that by 2025, one-sixth of the world's Catholics, or about 230 million, will be African, and Africa produces a large percentage of the world's priests. Pope Benedict XVI., who visited Cameroon and Angola in March, has often spoken out against the poverty, disease, corruption and violence that threaten African countries, and he said he sees the church as a force for democracy and social justice." On Friday, the document singled out the crises in northern Uganda, South Sudan and Darfur; and claimed that "those who control the affairs of those nations must take full responsibility for their woeful performance." The document added, "whatever may be the responsibility of foreign interests, there is always the shameful and tragic collusion of the local leaders" politicians who betray and sell out their nations, dirty businesspeople who collude with rapacious multinationals, African arms dealers and trafficers who thrive on small arms that cause great havoc on human lives." To read the entire article from the New York Times, link here: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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written by Percy St. Clair , October 24, 2009 My. My. My....... We know where the U. N. will end up in this dialogue : siding with every corrupt and ornery politician, and castigating the Bishops. But that would make sense for the U. N. As corrupt as it is, the U. N. will realize that if a new and more honorable group of politicians take power anywhere in the world, then those "newbies" are not too likely to sympathize with the U. N. Certainly, the behavior of the U. N. in Africa has not been free of blemish ....... Write comment
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On Friday, the African bishops issued a stern statement calling on corrupt Catholic politicians on that continent to "repent" or leave office, declaring that African needed more "saints" in public life.
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