The election of an African-American President in the US could be leading to more firsts, and not just in the United States, but as far reaching as the Vatican. “The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American US President could pave the way for the election of the first black Pope”, according to Archbishop Wilton Daniel Gregory. Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta believes that the election of Obama will set an example for the Catholic Church that could possibly extend all the way to the Holy See. He also comments on the fact that in recent years, since Pope John XXIII specifically, the Vatican has been bringing in Catholic Priests and Bishops from all across the globe to fill the Curia (Vatican hierarchy) creating a very diverse Holy See. In this way the Vatican has been setting an example for the rest of the Catholic Church to follow in racial acceptance and eliminating racial discrimination. Archbishop Gregory believes that election of an African American President in the United States is a sign that racial discrimination has been eliminated from our great nation. While it is great that we’ve elected a black president, I don’t think it by any means is a sign that racial discrimination has been eliminated. We might be a more tolerant country, and maybe it isn’t African-Americans who are being discriminated against anymore, but there is still racial discrimination in the United States.
Archbishop Gregory thinks that the Catholic Church is likely to follow suit in selecting the next Pope. During the last Conclave after the death of Pope John Paul II, many Cardinals thought that it was a definite possibility that the next Pope would be a Third-World Cardinal, someone from Latin American or Africa. The selection of then Cardinal Ratzinger was seen as selecting someone from the same mold as Pope John Paul II in order to maintain continuity and continue the work of John Paul II in the West to make the Catholic Church strong again. But now that the Catholic Church has been setting an example of racial acceptance for so many years and now the United States has elected an African-American leader it wouldn’t be too far to go to believe that the Catholic Church might be next to elect a Pope from a more diverse background.
What other far reaching affects has the election of an African-American president has on the world? It will be interesting to see in the next few years what impact this historical election has had on different parts of the world.
The article can be found here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5097668.ece
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This is an interesting thought. When we discussed this aspect in class I had a definite opinion. During coverage of the last papal election, many analyst dicussed the idea of an American being elected to the papal office. However, many retorted this notion claiming that because of the United States' dominance in the globe it would be inconceivable that the holy see would give more influence to the Americans. This, I believe, is a case study supporting your argument, and mine as well, that just because the United States elected a minority president, it does not mean that the Roman Catholic Church will follow suit. The Catholic Church has been one of the least discriminatory organizations at least based on race, not that it hasn't had its hinderances. Catholic, means universal. In the Nicean Creed it calls for belief in one, holy, catholic church, one that encompases all. However, I do believe that the Chuch will select a minority pope, whether he be African, Latin American, or even Asian, the motive will not to be to follow suit with the United States, but to show the Churches support for universality.
Although the election of an African American president is quiet significant in its representation of America’s progress in tolerance, I think it is a bit naïve to connect the election of Barack Obama to a possible African American Pope. First, the people who elected Barack Obama are not the same people who appoint the next pope. In fact, they aren’t even the same religion. Catholicism is not the major sect of Christianity in the United States. Additionally, since when does the Catholic Church progress in the same way the American society advances? Did the Catholic Church accept abortion when the US did? If Hillary Clinton were elected president, would the church find a women Pope? I would argue that the Catholic Church will appoint an African American Pope when there is one that is qualified and appropriate regardless of the progress that the United States makes.
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