Pope Benedict XVI’s recent visit to Africa has cast an international spotlight on a part of the world that people in this country sometimes have a hard time comprehending. Many of our impressions of the African continent are shaped by nature documentaries we see on television. We may think of Africa as a place of stark desert and vast plains, full of exotic wildlife.
The reality, which Pope Benedict’s March 17-23 visit illustrates, is that Africa is an incredibly diverse area of the world. In some places, the economies are robust or at least growing, freedoms are preserved by law and people live in relative peace and security.
In other parts of Africa, ethnic violence, political unrest and crushing poverty are the lot of the majority of the population.
Although the pope visited only two of the African nations — Cameroon and Angola — his message there was for all the people of the continent. He acknowledged that many African nations are troubled by government corruption, tribalism and ethnic rivalries, and uncontrolled development.
From the first moment of his trip the pope was adamant that there is only one answer to Africa’s many problems: Christianity. Over and over, he preached that solidarity with Christ and with one another is the only way to transform the continent.
Although Pope Benedict’s words were directed to the peoples of Africa, they could just as easily be taken to heart by the peoples of all the continents of the world, including us.
The challenge laid out by the pope to Christians of every continent is to change the world through the power of the Gospel. When society encourages selfishness, he said, we should practice self-giving. When politics promotes divisiveness, we should seek reconciliation. When the culture glamorizes hedonistic values, we should embrace simplicity.
The pope admitted that such Gospel living is countercultural; it is, in fact, possible only through Jesus, who is what the pope called “the measure of true humanism.” Only by embracing the power of God’s love, can we create equitable and just societies, one person at a time.
During the papal Mass in Luanda, Angola, on the last full day of his African visit, the pope urged the creation of a society “truly and authentically African in its genius and values.”
That is good advice for people everywhere — that we become “truly and authentically” American — or European, or Asian, or Australian or South American or … .
In other words, the pope asks us to become “truly and authentically” human, the way we were meant to be by God, who created us in his image.