Interview with Cardinal Francis Arinze
Faith Drives His Zeal for Liturgy
by Sabrina Arena Ferrisi
(Page: 4 of 4)
You have the good fortune of being able to spend time with our
Holy Father. How and when did he ask you to come to Rome? What personal testimony can you
give us about him?
The Holy Father in 1984 asked me through the archbishop who was
his assistant secretary that he had in mind to bring a few bishops to work in Vatican offices.
How did I feel about it? My reaction was: Wherever the Holy Father wants me to work, I am
ready and willing. I do not ask for this or that. I am happy to stay, happy to go.
After two months, the Holy Father finally decided and assigned me
to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Looking back, I am happy, because I left
myself in the hands of Divine Providence. I did not decide where to work. God looks after that
and tells me. The Pope is his representative. I do not need an apparition of six angels to know
the will of God.
How do I see the Holy Father? Of course, everyone has his or her
own angle. I see him as a person of great faith. He really believes in God. He is a man of
prayer. He really prays, whether privately or even in a big grand celebration in St. Peter's
Square or in a papal visit to a country. You can see him in link with God. He also sacrifices
himself. I have never seen him complaining. Even when the temperature was 38 degrees Centigrade,
when he beatified my hero in Nigeria. It was very hot for us Nigerians. For the Pope, it must
have been boiling!
The Holy Father believes in the promotion of the Gospel. And he takes
the human being seriously: whether the unborn child, a child of 4 years or a sick person of 90
years. It is a privilege to work near this great Pope.
What are the greatest challenges to the Church in the third millennium?
I am not a prophet. The Church has the same assignment in every millennium:
preach the Gospel, be witnesses of Christ to the ends of the earth. Help people believe that God loves
them. In this millennium, we must think of the Church being present to the family and marriage,
which is so fundamental to society.
The Church must be present in the area of work, relations between
employee and employer, companies, globalization in all its ramifications, the area of sharing
the good things of this world. A few should not become an oasis of enjoyment while the majority
remain a desert of misery and want.
Also, the Church must be present in the whole area of science and
culture. Science is a good thing. God gave us intelligence, but not all that is scientifically
possible is morally acceptable - like the cloning of a human being. The whole area of the mass
media - TV, radio, the press, computer, derivatives. They have wonderful powers to do good, but
they can also do harm.
The Church helps promote justice and peace. Everyone is concerned
about terrorism and war. Even a child understands what is meant by lack
of peace.
In summary, the Church has to be a witness of Christ in the world
today. When we say Church, we mean all the baptized-you should not think of the Vatican: All
the baptized have a duty.
This story was originally printed in the
National Catholic Register (May 2-8, 2004).
Sabrina Arena Ferrisi writes from
Jersey City, New Jersey.
Return to start of article
to top of page |
