Pope redeems self in Africa by taking on corrupt leaders

After sparking global condemnation for his rejection of the use of condoms in the fight against the AIDS epidemic in Africa, Pope Benedict XVI hit perfect notes during the rest of his seven-day pilgrimage to the largely impoverished continent, most notably with his public denunciation of corrupt leaders — of which there are many.

While the pope’s comments about condoms triggered widespread criticism because they ignored the very real progress being made in controlling an epidemic that has claimed millions of lives, he is just as deserving of praise for confronting head-on the issue of deep rooted government corruption.

“Our hearts cannot be at peace as long as there are brothers and sisters that suffer the lack of food, work, a house and other fundamental goods,” the 81-year-old pontiff said in his farewell speech Monday at the airport in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. He had spent the week visiting Cameroon and Angola, two countries with large Catholic populations and Catholic presidents.

Indeed, his comments about corrupt leaders who have caused a majority of their citizens to be mired in poverty while a small elite continues to be enriched hit close to home.

Bishops in Angola and Cameroon have accused the authoritarian regimes of perpetrating a humanitarian crisis that in the Catholic faith would be considered a mortal sin.

Angolan President Eduardo dos Santo, who joined the pope at the airport, chose to ignore the criticism obviously aimed at him and, instead, offered this comment: “We are very happy we had this opportunity to welcome you to our country and we are very grateful for all the advice that you have given to our people.”

Huge crowds

But the hundreds of thousands of people who turned out in both countries to see and hear the leader of the Roman Catholic Church were inspired by his words. There is new hope today that the deaths of millions of Africans as a result of wars, tribalism and ethnic rivalries will prompt the Vatican to follow up on the pope’s visit with action plans.

Benedict decried the “clouds of evil” over Africa that have “reduced the poor to slavery and deprived future generations of the resources needed to create a more solid and just society.”

But that won’t happen unless the corrupt leaders are forced to give up the reins of power.

We are reminded of the late Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba during which he harshly criticized the communist regime of Fidel Castro and demanded an end to human rights violations. Yet, there was no follow-up from the Vatican and Castro clamped down even harder on demonstrations and other challenges to his dictatorial regime.

John Paul II’s failure to bolster his words in Cuba with action emboldened Castro.

Likewise, Pope Benedict’s failure demonstrate that he wasn’t simply paying lip service to the people of Angola and Cameroon will cause the corrupt leaders to be even more brazen in their governance.

The pope should urge the United Nations to undertake the task of bringing about political change in a part of the world where hope is in very short supply.