Religious leaders all over the world do not come more charismatic than our very own Francis Cardinal Arinze. In virtually all continents of the world, Cardinal Arinze’s name is a household noun based on his groundbreaking work as President of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican from 1985 to 2002. The ever feisty Cardinal Arinze was in town, in Lagos, on September 30 for the presentation of the book on him, Cardinal Francis Arinze: The Church Pathfinder of Dialogue and Communion written by Monsignor Dennis Isizoh.
Cardinal Arinze was his usual humorous self, telling the book presenters at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Lagos that he had no need for the money being donated because “the Pope gives me enough money for spaghetti!” He then capped his speech with the witticism that he did not want to sound like a speaker of whom the audience said: “He has finished but has not stopped!”
It is indeed remarkable that the guest speaker at the occasion, His Grace Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, delivered an impassioned expose on Christians/Muslims relations in Nigeria, given that Cardinal Arinze had played the pivotal role of getting late Pope John Paul II into a mosque as part of worldwide religious dialogue. Dr ABC Orjiakor, who spoke on behalf of the Committee of Friends that put up the function, describes Cardinal Arinze as “a profound prelate and apostle of the Christian faith, an ambassador of global peace, the world’s youngest Bishop in 1965, the first African Cardinal to head a Vatican Department, the people’s reverend, an accomplished clergy, a good shepherd…”
On a personal note, I have known Arinze since my childhood days after the Biafra War at the compound of Christ the King College (CKC), Onitsha where he then lived in the Principal’s house and I lived with my uncle JO Aginam in the tutors’ quarters. The Archbishop’s house at Holy Trinity Cathedral had been destroyed during the war, and Arinze had to make do with living in the CKC quarters. As children, we always walked about with Arinze during his evening strolls and he always told us funny stories laden with morality. As an altar boy I won a gold medal as the torch-bearer when then Archbishop Arinze inaugurated Christ the King Parish, Onitsha.
Professor Mike Kwanashie in his insightful review of Cardinal Francis Arinze: The Church Pathfinder of Dialogue and Communion pointed out the great irony that Nigeria is blessed with a man respected as one of the holiest of religious leaders all over the world even as the country wallows in sin and corruption.
Cardinal Arinze literally moved mountains in striving to bring unity of purpose amongst the world’s religions made up of Christianity (33%), Islam (21%), Hinduism (14%), Buddhism (6%), Chinese traditional (6%), African traditional (6%), Sikhism (0.36%), Judaism (0.22%), and the Atheists (16%).
Written By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
