Alexis Abril
Aldana
26th
February 2012
Professor
Labarge
English 102
The Vatican
Dear To Whom It
May Concern,
Enclosed is a proposal for choosing
the next Pope as well as why a particular candidate should be chosen for the
position. Not only does this proposal elaborate on why one of the Cardinals
should be chosen as Pope, but it also points out that this one individual can
be a part of history and also make small communities like Catholic churches or
all around the world a better place.
The following proposal will
hopefully make people around the world see in a different light. Not everyone
is in this category, but there are a large number of people that determine the
color of one’s skin as the trash to the world. People still believe that
someone’s skin color matters and those people do everything in their power to
make the “minority” feel inferior to them. Throughout time people have made
African Americans, Hispanics, and many more people feel like they are not
worthy enough because they just happen to be born with darker skin. Across the
world, skin color was and in some places still is a major racial problem. My
proposal to the men in charge of electing the newest Pope would be that they
should elect either Cardinal Peter
Turkson from Ghana or Cardinal Francis Arinze from Nigeria. These two men stand
out not only because of their high positions as Cardinals, but because they are
African. Or to add to my previous statement, they are Black. Now of course
there have been men of color holding the position of
Cardinal, but there has never been one holding the glorious title of Pope. By
having one of these men become the Pope, there will be more acceptance in the
world; whatever the color of one skin is.
There are forty-two countries around the world that
practice Catholicism. There are one
hundred and ninety-six countries in total and about one fourth of its
population consists of Catholics. By
electing one of these African Cardinals as Pope, people’s faith in God would
not only be an important issue being taken care of, but it would show the
non-Catholics that race is not an issue.
There has never been a pope of color. Sure there has
been men coming from Africa, but there are no actual facts that say that they
are men of color. For whatever reason, racism is still a part of this world and
the hatred is just horrible. People claim to be so religious and yet hatred is
still in the world. No matter where someone goes, hatred over another race or a
different religion is present. If the people in charge of the election elect
one of these men the world would be a lot more positive on other religions and
other races.
Cardinal Peter Turkson is from
Ghana, Africa. His position in the Catholic Church is the President of the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Out of the two Cardinals that I have
selected is more likely to get the position as the Holy Father because he is
younger than the other man that I have chosen. “In 2008, Pope Benedict said
that the election of a black pontiff would "send a
splendid signal to the world" about the universal nature of the
Catholic Church.” The portion about it being a signal to the world is very
true. Even the current Pope, now retired could see the benefit of there being a
man of color in the position as the head of the Catholic Church. Another reason
why he would make a great Pope is that he speaks six different languages and he
has a very likeable personality. His odds are three to one.
Cardinal Francis Arinze is from Nigeria, Africa. His position is the
Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
the Sacraments. Out of the two men he is older but is not likely to get the
spot because of his age. He is eighty and it is not foreseeable when his
untimely death will come and the process of picking another pope would have to
happen again. Peter Arinze is a high-profile African cardinal and was on the
short list after Pope John Paul II's death. His odds are nine to two.
These
two men are the candidates I would like to see in the position of Pope. People
would benefit from an African Pope because people’s faith would rise and faith
in humanity as a whole would elevate to be more positive.
The Pope has two major jobs. The Holy Father is the
bishop of Rome and he is the head of the entire Catholic Church. As the bishop
of Rome he has full and immediate control all over the world, the Catholic
Church. The head of the entire Catholic Church entails that the Pope oversees
all of the churches around the world and he can raise bishops to the rank of
cardinal as he sees fit. His job is to
make the people of the church and whoever wants to listen follow the Catholic
rules and whatever other rules he sees fit. People are inspired by the pope and
want to follow in his footsteps.
He has to go from country to country making sure that the
laws are being met and that everything is going smoothly. He has to be powerful
and make sure that everyone one and everything is great within the church. He
deals with the problem and instills positive influence in the world. It becomes
a huge spectacle when the pope visits a different country. Not only does that
specific country prepare for the pope, but the whole world makes preparations
as well. It is important when the pope travels and he uses a popemoble to
travel. Since he is very important, he has to be protected heavily. This is a
bullet proof car that transports the pope from place to place while he is in a
specific country. He is important and just by him being in a specific country
he creates joy and hope in that country and even all over the world. An
interesting fact is that there has only been male pope’s and there is a fact
that there will never be a female pope. The Bible says that people were made in
God’s image so it would be impossible for a woman to become pope.
If
in the upcoming elections they happen to choose either Cardinal Turkson or
Cardinal Arinze for the position of Papal, the world as a whole
would be better. I know that it is a far cry from changing the world as a whole,
but people have a strong belief in their faiths and if anything can move a
nation and/or world as a whole it is a religion. Catholicism is just one of the
religions that move people to do anything. People will move mountains just to
follow whatever religion they care so deeply about. By having something to believe in can be very
powerful and it can motivate people to do good things and honorable things in
the world. For some people religion is all that matters. Just walk up to someone
and more often than not will that person affiliate with a specific religion. It
is a way of life and a way of being for most people. It does not matter which religion
one believes in, but the fact that there is always a God shows that
To all of the cardinals that
are able to vote, you should pick one of these candidates because racism
towards people of color is very annoying and hurtful. No one should be judged
based on how they were born. They could not choose how they were born or where
they were born. If anyone could be a beneficial factor to decrease the number
of racism in the world having a pope of color would should the world that the
color of one’s skin does not matter and that it is about what one does with
their minds is what should matter and how they should be judged.
Thank
you for your time and I hope that you take my proposal into consideration. Sooner
or later we will be one race and it will not matter of skin but what will people
chose to judge others on next. With all the mixed races coming together to have
children, in a few hundred or more years the color of one’s skin will not matter,
so would it not be amazing if we could quicken that timeline and start off by making
one of these men from Africa pope. They could change the world and it may be a small
thing, but the greater outlook will have a positive effect on the world and the
future of the world and its inhabitants.
Works
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