Among the messages contained in the pope's road map for Africa is an attempt to show how Catholicism has evolved from the rigid religion that missionaries first brought to Ouidah, considered the cradle of Voodoo, a state religion in Benin alongside Christianity and Islam.
Catholics need to cultivate respect for Islam and for traditional practices, the pope said in the document. He also encouraged the study of indigenous beliefs to determine what aspects are helpful to the human condition. But he told bishops they must nevertheless discern which traditional practices clash with church doctrine so they can "separate the good seed from the weeds."
"The church is open to cooperation with all the components of society, particularly with the representatives of the churches and ecclesial communities not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church," the pope said as African priests and nuns held up camera phones in the pews of the packed basilica to record his message. "As well as with the representatives of the non-Christian religions, above all those of traditional religions."
As he signed the papal treatise, several dozen Voodoo practitioners sat in plastic chairs in the Temple of the Pythons at the opposite end of the basilica's square. The high priest, who sat with his foot on a bottle of gin, a traditional Voodoo spirit offering, said they listened carefully as the pope's message was projected outside through massive speakers mounted on the basilica.
"This is a positive message which will bring peace to Africa," said Houkpon II Houawamenod. "I am a baptized Catholic, but I can't turn my back on where I come from. When I was a child, if I attended a Voodoo ceremony, I used to get flogged at school the next day," he said.
