On the ‘Cobra Effect’ and Congo’s Ambongo as an emerging papal candidate

[Michie]

ROME – Though it’s likely apocryphal, the story goes that during British rule of India, colonial officials became concerned about poisonous cobras in the city of Delhi and decided to offer a bounty for every dead snake. Enterprising locals, naturally, began to breed cobras in order to collect the reward. When the British discovered the ruse and withdrew the offer, breeders set their now-worthless cobras free, thereby making the problem significantly worse.

The so-called “Cobra Effect” is a classic illustration of what’s come to be known as the “Law of Unintended Consequences.” Quite often, actions designed to accomplish one outcome actually generate a cascade of other effects, most of which the actor never envisioned or desired.

Right now, Pope Francis may feel trapped in his own version of the “Cobra Effect” vis-à-vis the Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans on the blessing of persons in same-sex unions.

One principal consequence of the controversy surrounding the document, ironically enough, would appear to be to have given conservative critics of the pope a chance to kick the tires on possible candidates in a future conclave, meaning contenders who might steer the church in a different direction.

Continued below.

On the ‘Cobra Effect’ and Congo’s Ambongo as an emerging papal candidate

A recent headline in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero says it all: “The profile of Cardinal Ambongo advances among the future papabili: He led the African blockade of the blessing of gay couples.”

cruxnow.com

 

[Bob Crowley]

Without going into speculation as to the future of Cardinal Ambonga, it's interesting to see how the Church is growing in Africa while it appears to be withering in its original European home. A century ago the idea of an African Pope would have been laughable.

We've just got a new Nigerian priest, so for us it's a case in point.

Catholic Church in Africa - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Catholic Church membership rose from 2 million in 1900 to 140 million in 2000.[2] In 2005, the Catholic Church in Africa, including Eastern Catholic Churches, embraced approximately 135 million of the 809 million people in Africa. In 2009, when Pope Benedict XVI visited Africa, it was estimated at 158 million.[3] Most belong to the Latin Church, but there are also millions of members of the Eastern Catholic Churches. By 2025, one-sixth (230 million) of the world's Catholics are expected to be Africans.[4][5]

The world's largest seminary is in Nigeria, which borders on Cameroon in western Africa, and Africa produces a large percentage of the world's priests. As of 26 June 2020, there are also 29 Cardinals from Africa, out of 222,[6] and 400,000 catechists. Cardinal Peter Turkson, formerly Archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, was once Africa's youngest cardinal at 64 years old,[3][7] and was also one of several prelates from Africa estimated as papabile for the Papacy in the papal conclave of 2013.

 

[Gnarwhal]

It may also be a bit of a Streisand Effect. Whether it's Fiducia Supplicans or Traditionis Custodes, in his attacking of these things he may inadvertently be causing more Catholics of good will to investigate and educate themselves on Church teaching and historic proclamations about these issues and practices to come to their own conclusions.