Francis Cardinal Arinze

His eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze (born November 1, 1932) is a leading cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Roman Curia under Pope John Paul II. Arinze was one of the principal advisors to John Paul, and was considered papabile (a possible pope) before the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

Early life

Francis Arinze was born in Eziowelle, Anambra, Nigeria. A convert from West African animism who became the youngest bishop in the world at the age of thirty-two, he was baptized at the age of 9 by Michael Tansi , who was beatified by John Paul II in 1998. At the age of 15, he entered All Hallows Seminary Ognissanti of Nuewi from which he graduated in 1956. He stayed until 1959 to teach. Arinze entered the Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu where he studied philosophy. In 1961, he went to Rome to study theology at the Pontifical Urban University . On November 23, 1964, at the chapel of the university, Arinze was formally ordained into the priesthood.

As priest

From 1967 to 1968, Arinze was professor of liturgy, logic and basic philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary . From there, he was appointed regional secretary for Catholic education for the eastern part of Nigeria. Eventually, Arinze was transferred to London, where he attended the Institute of Pedagogy and graduated in 1970. On July 6, 1971, Arinze was appointed to the titular church of Fissiana in Nigeria and named coadjutor to the Archbishop of Onitsha .

As archbishop

Cardinal Arinze has worked extensively in the United States. Here, he presides over a dedication of the St. Vincent Archabbey Basilica in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

It was as coadjutor that Father Arinze proved himself a highly intelligent and able leader. After great consideration of his successes throughout his early pastoral career, Arinze was consecrated Bishop on 29 August 1971. Only two years later, he was asked to take over the pastoral government of the archdiocese and on 26 June 1973 was named Archbishop.

In 1985, Archbishop Arinze continued to rise in the ranks of the hierarchy. His peers elected him President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria where he served until 1990.

As cardinal

In 1985, Pope John Paul II requested his services to become President of the Secretariat for Non-Christians. Today the organization is called the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Before assuming the position, Pope John Paul II named him a cardinal in a 25 May consistory. Cardinal Arinze served as president of the council until 1 October 2002

World dignitary

His service on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue thrust Cardinal Arinze to a position of increased visibility to the world public. On 8 May 1994, he presided at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter's Basilica as President of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. On 24 October 1999 he received a gold medallion from the International Council of Christians and Jews for his outstanding achievements in inter-faith relations. He traveled extensively and became a popular speaker in the United States, where he cultivated many devotees of his pastoral leadership.

Cardinal Arinze became even more visible to the world public as a member of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. In that capacity, he worked closely with individual bishops and priests throughout the world in preparation for the rare celebration of the Church. Pope John Paul II was greatly impressed with the leadership of Cardinal Arinze and on 1 October 2002, he became Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

He is considered a conservative on issues related to gay rights, abortion, contraception, and the family.

Quotations

• "In many parts of the world, the family is under siege. It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalized by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."

External links

• [1] Texts of dicours
• White Smoke for a Black Pope?
• catholic-hierarchy.org
• Cardinal Arinze's pro-life, pro-family comments anger Georgetown faculty members, spark protest
• Profile: Cardinal Francis Arinze (The Guardian, October 3, 2003)