Strider
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Posts: 1409
Why would anyone shave a cow like that?
Broussard, Louisiana
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« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2009, 05:07:39 AM » |
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Pope Benedict XVI, midway through his first trip to Africa, arrived in oil-rich Angola and admonished those enjoying the nation's newfound wealth not to ignore the justifiable demands of the poor.
"The multitude of Angolans who live below the threshold of absolute poverty will not be forgotten," he said in a speech Friday, moments after getting off his airplane. "Do not disappoint their expectations!"
In a second address, this one delivered hours later at the residence of President José Eduardo dos Santos, he challenged Angola and other African countries to free their people "from the scourges of greed, violence and unrest" through "modern civic democracy."
He defined this civic liberation as one respectful of human rights with transparent governance, an independent judiciary, a free press, properly functioning schools and hospitals, "and — most pressing — a determination born from the conversion of hearts to excise corruption."
These antidotes to kleptocratic government are commonly prescribed for Africa in general and this nation in particular. But if the message was difficult to swallow, President dos Santos showed no signs of discomfort as he stood only feet away from Benedict. The pope is a prestigious visitor for a man who has held power for 29 years while running for election only once.
"If I were the president and I heard what the pope said, I would conclude that he thought the real issue in my country was my own leadership," said Fernando Macedo, a professor of constitutional law here in Luanda, the capital, and a frequent critic of Mr. dos Santos.
But in companion speeches, Mr. dos Santos seemed to agree with the pope's every exhortation. "Yes, there is a necessity to help those in need," he said, ruing a national unemployment rate he put at 48 percent and the lack of water and electricity in 60 percent of all homes. He said Angola was devoting billions of dollars to solving its substantial problems.
Seven years ago, Angola emerged from a civil war that dated back nearly three decades to some of the most chilling times of the Cold War, when conflict here was thought vital to the interests of the United States, the Soviet Union, Cuba and apartheid-era South Africa.
The fighting laid waste to most of the infrastructure that dated back to the days of Portuguese colonizers and left the land so seeded with explosives that the accumulation of land mines roughly equaled the number of people.
But peace finally allowed the government to exploit Angola's natural wealth of diamonds and petroleum. This soon seemed a nation poised to lift much of its population — variously estimated at 14 million to 20 million — from penury.
And yet so far, revenues have mostly supported the ostentatious consumption of a free-spending elite. Two-thirds of the country's people still live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank.
Angolans, if lacking in purse, are rich in faith. "This is a very religious country, and though not all of it is Catholic, almost all is religious," said the Rev. Mauricio Camuto, the director of Radio Ecclesia, a Catholic radio station and one of the few independent voices in the Angolan news media. "Go anywhere in the provinces, even among 20 huts, you will find a church."
Pope Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, made 42 visits to Africa during his nearly 27-year papacy.
There are an estimated 158 million Catholics on the continent, and the huge growth of the church in Africa during the past century is widely seen as one of its greatest missionary feats — as well as its likely future, with church attendance in deep decline in Europe.
Some 70 percent of Angola is Catholic, President dos Santos said Friday. Other estimates put the number at 55 to 65 percent.
Cameroon was the first stop in Africa for Benedict. He spent three days there, and his trip to Angola will end Monday morning.
For the government, the pope's visit is a geopolitical coming of age. "The Angolans see themselves as a continental power, and the pope's visit is a further reaffirmation of that," said the U.S. ambassador, Dan Mozena.
For the masses, the papal visit is an unprecedented thrill. Friday was declared a national holiday, and in the morning, the main street from the airport was well lined with thousands of people hours before the pope arrived.
Churches had bused in the faithful, most of them already wearing T-shirts that commemorated the occasion. "I want to be reborn in heaven," some chanted in Kimbundu, one of the local languages. Others sang in Portuguese, "Pope, our friend, Angola is with you!"
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