First Black Pope?
The Washington Times has an article entitled “Francis Arinize: First Black Pope?”
If Cardinal Francis Arinze were to be elected the first black pope, this would simply reflect a Christian reality, Roman Catholic or otherwise. Africa has become Christianity’s powerhouse. It is on that continent that the body of Christ grows most robustly, while it ails in the secularized Northern Hemisphere.
Washington Times: Francis Arinize: First Black Pope?
While I agree that Arinze is a great candidate, and has been my pick for about 7 or 8 years, he wouldn’t be the first African Pope. He would be the fourth. Although there are no official portraits of the first three African Popes, according to the National Black Catholic Congress, “there are drawings and references in the Catholic Encyclopedia as to their being of African background” (meaning that they were black).
Of course, there hasn’t been a black Pope for 1500 years, so I guess we’re due.
