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Cardinal Francis Arinze: Championing Roman Catholic faith
Cardinal Francis Arinze is sharing his Easter weekend and the early week of April with African and American Catholics. He is visiting Houston and Atlanta where special services will be held. Who is this special servant of God and the Christian faith? Who is this community builder who in this seasoned eyes of a Houston Hispanic insurance specialist William Flores as a "a holy man"? In this special report reprinted by USAfrica The Newspaper and USAfricaonline.com with permission from the January 20, 1999, Vol. 10, no. 13 issue of the Daily Catholic, the profile and remarkable work of Arinze is evident: The 67 year-old Cardinal Francis Arinze has become a viable force in the blossoming African Church, specifically in Nigeria where he hails from and served as Archbishop for seventeen years. Presently he is very involved in the Nigerian Bishops Conference and African Bishops Conference as well as multiple curial appointments in Rome, which includes his heading up the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He was assigned professorial duties at Bigard Memorial Seminary and then appointed Regional Secretary for Catholic Education in Eastern Nigeria. On August 29, 1965 he was ordained titular bishop of Fissiana and auxiliary bishop of Onitsha. He became Archbishop of Onitsha in 1967 where he served until 1984. In 1979, Pope John Paul II could see the potential in this enterprising Nigerian bishop and asked him to become pro-president of the Holy See's Secretariat for Non-Christians, an office originally instituted by Pope Paul VI on May 19,1964. Arinze was also unanimously chosen President of the Nigerian Bishops' Conference and in the Consistory called on May 25, 1985 the Holy Father bestowed the red-hat on him, naming him a Cardinal deacon and assigning him as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the same office he held before the Holy Father changed the name on June 28, 1988 through his Apostolic Constitution "Pastor Bonus." In this capacity he oversees the promotion of studies and dialogue for the purpose of increasing mutual understanding and respect between Christians and non-Christians. This office also incorporates the Commission for Religious Relations with MusliMs. On January 29, 1996 he was named a Cardinal priest. Not only is Cardinal Arinze one of the leading prelates of Africa, but quite possibly one of the more influential in the entire College of Cardinals and his name has been bandied about as papal material, especially in light of the tremendous growth of the Church in Africa. Add to this his active participation in the Roman curia with membership in the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, and the Committee for the Grand Jubilee of the Holy Year 2000. Despite the fact the hierarchy wasn't established until 1950, Nigeria leads all Catholic nations in Africa with 12,777,000 Catholics and has shown tremendous growth under the leadership of Cardinal Francis Arinze, adding ten new dioceses within the last five years. To our Brother,
The Cardinal
USAfrica Harvest of Views about the Cardinal
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