By Adonis Byemelwa*
Tanzanians must have reasons to smile broadly after marking a history with the third Cardinal, since the inception of Catholicism in the country.
The newly created and proclaimed cardinal said he has received with humility the appointment to the new role as he has been doing in the past.
Tanzania’s Vice President Philp Mpango hailed Cardinal Rugambwa for his steadfastness in placing much emphasis on Tanzania’s peace and stability.
“I noted with joy the speech you delivered in the Vatican in which you particularly placed much emphasis on ensuring peace and stability prevail in Tanzania. The government feels honored to have you assuming this new and noble position,” said the Vice President adding…… “We have reasons to stand tall before others after recording three cardinals in Tanzania’s history of Catholicism. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is abroad but I think upon his arrival she will have a special means of having a talk with you about this new appointment. Receive some showers of congratulations.”
Some catholic songs and razzmatazz were hot after the new cardinal landed at Tanzania’s Mwalimu Nyerere Airport, with critics reminiscing the August 18 event that saw thirty-seven Catholic Bishops in Tanzania issuing a joint statement patching holes in the controversial Tanzania-Dubai intergovernmental agreement.
The only Evangelical Lutheran Church, Karagwe Bishop-cum-human rights activist, Benson Bagonza, who attended the cardinal’s proclamation ceremony in Rome said: “Cardinal Protase Rugambwa commands the highest level of humility but he is not a coward. He looks affable but tough as well when it comes to passing on decisions. He is a man of the people and approachable. His intellectual ability is beyond reproach.”
Tabora Regional Commissioner, Batilda Burian assured Cardinal Rugambwa of the government’s cooperation in the execution of his duties.
She challenged the cardinal to strengthen the present relationships between the two sides, commending the church for complementing the government in the provision of social services in the country.
Protase Rugambwa is the third cardinal in Tanzania’s history after Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa (1912-1997) and Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, who retired in 2019 and will celebrate his 80th birthday on August 5, 2024.
Pope John Paul II during his visit to Tanzania ordained him for the priesthood on September 2, 1990, for the Diocese of Rulenge. After four years of pastoral work in the diocese as a parochial vicar and hospital chaplain, he was sent to Rome.
While in Rome, he obtained a doctorate in pastoral theology at the Pontifical Lateran University from 1994 to 1998. After returning to his diocese, he served as formator, vocations director, secretary of the pastoral departments, and finally vicar general of the Diocese of Rulenge.
Cardinal Rugambwa then went back to Rome from 2002 to 2008 to work for the Dicastery for Evangelization on January 18, 2008, he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Kigoma, and consecrated bishop on April 13 of the same year.
Four years later he was called to Rome once again. On June 26, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him deputy secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of the People and president of the Pontifical Mission societies with the rank of archbishop.
On November 9, 2017, Pope Francis confirmed him as secretary—number 2—of the congregation. During his years of service, the archbishop distinguished himself in particular for his defense of African youth faced with the challenges of migration.
In one of the July 2022 catholic reports, Cardinal Rugambwa urged members of the Association Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERAC) to “help the youth of Central Africa not to waste, but rather to shape an identity that values their origins, their culture and their religiosity in the encounter with new cultural and religious schemes and models.”
The new cardinal represents Rome in East African countries marked by religious pluralism consisting of Christians and Muslims as well as animist communities and Hindus and Sikh minorities. The local catholic church is relatively well developed with 34 dioceses.
Long considered the “princes” of the Roman Catholic Church, cardinals serve as top administrators and advisers to the pope.
Some lead departments within the Roman Curia, the government of the Holy See, but most work from their home countries.
Among the new group of cardinals are clergy from two geopolitically sensitive areas: the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who is the Holy Land’s top Catholic, and the bishop of Hong Kong, who will be key in improving the Church’s fraught ties with communist China. Some of the future cardinals already hold top positions in the Curia, namely the prefect for the Dicastery of the Eastern Churches, the head of the powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the head of the Dicastery for Bishops.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, as Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals from around the world on 30th September, most of whom would one day be eligible to elect their successor — or become pontiff, it is important to take a wealth the consistory. The ceremony called a consistory, is the ninth of Francis’ pontificate since his election in 2013.
It was closely watched for clues as to the future direction of the Church, especially since the 86-year-old pope said he would not be averse to stepping down — as did his predecessor Benedict XVI — should his declining health warrant it.
The ceremony was held on 30th September at 10:00 a.m. (08:00 GMT) in St Peter’s Square.
Of the 21 cardinals, 18 were under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote as “cardinal electors” in the next conclave, when Francis’ successor will be determined.
As is customary, the cardinals knelt before the pope to receive their biretta, or four-cornered scarlet cap, whose color recalls the blood of Christ shed on the cross. Francis was also present each with the cardinal’s ring, which replaced the episcopal ring they received as bishops.
The ceremony was followed by the traditional “courtesy visit” in which the general public was invited inside the gilded halls of the Apostolic Palace to greet the newly made cardinals.
Following the consistory, there were 137 cardinal electors. About three-quarters of these or 99 cardinals, were appointed by Francis, the former Jorge Bergoglio.
That had increased scrutiny of Francis’ picks, with some Vatican observers viewing the list as an indication of the future spiritual roadmap of the Church.
During his papacy, Francis — the first pope from the Americas — sought to elevate to the highest ranks of the Church clergy from developing nations far from Rome, part of his philosophy of diversity and inclusion.
That has sparked speculation that the next pope may well be cast in the same mold as Francis, preaching a more tolerant Church with a greater focus on the poor and marginalized.
Of the cardinal electors, 21 percent were created by Benedict XVI and six percent by John Paul II.
The Jesuit pontiff, who has championed the faithful from “peripheries” far from Rome, also wanted cardinals to reflect the “universality of the Church”, looking to areas where Christianity is growing, such as Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
From the Americas, Francis has chosen archbishops from Venezuela and Argentina for Saturday’s consistory, as well as a 96-year-old Capuchin priest from Buenos Aires. From Africa come archbishops from South Sudan, South Africa, and Tanzania, while the clergy from Asia hail from Malaysia and Hong Kong, including the city’s current bishop Stephen Chow.
Earlier this month, Chow traveled to Mongolia during a papal visit by Francis in which the pope sought to reassure China’s communist government that the Church had “no political agenda to advance”.
Clergy from Europe, where Catholicism is steadily declining, were represented, however.
New cardinals include the Swiss prelate serving as the Holy See’s apostolic nuncio to Italy, equivalent to an ambassador, and the archbishops of Lodz in Poland and Madrid, Spain, and the bishop of Ajaccio, Corsica.
The Bishop of Setubal, Portugal is the youngest, 49-year-old, who most recently organized World Youth Day in Lisbon. Americo Aguiar will be the College of Cardinals’ second-youngest member, just behind the apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Giorgio Marengo.
According to the Journal of Catholics and Culture, approximately 30% of Tanzania’s population identifies as Catholics, making Catholicism the most prominent Christian religion practiced in the country.
Catholics coexist and at times compete with their religious brethren from a variety of Christian traditions, including historical Lutherans and Anglican missions burgeoning Pentecostal churches.
Catholics also practice their faith in the midst of a large number of other believers. Tanzania has some of the largest populations of Muslims and practices of traditional religion in East Africa.
*Culled from November Issue of PAV Magazine
