U.S. President Barack Obama was mentioned three times by two different bishops on the first full day of the special Synod of Bishops for Africa.Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo, told the synod Oct. 5 that Obama's election was of historic importance and could signal a major step forward in peaceful relations between people of different ethnic groups and between the North and the South of the world.
The archbishop's task at the synod was to report on developments -- positive and negative -- since the first Synod of Bishops for Africa was held in 1994.
Looking at the theme of reconciliation, Archbishop Monsengwo Pasinya suggested that the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers, who had sold him into slavery, could be a key for reading the last 500 years of African history, particularly the slave trade.
"Joseph interprets his departure for Egypt as though it were the will of God who sent him ahead of the others (his brothers) to save their lives for a greater deliverance," the archbishop said.
He suggested that people could see the Africans brought to America against their will as the first contributors to building a nation of people who would learn to accept one another and work together.
If people recognize that "the election of a black as head of the United States of America was a 'divine sign' and a sign from the Holy Spirit for the reconciliation of races and ethnic groups for peaceful human relations," he said, the synod and the church "would gain from not ignoring this important event in contemporary history, which is far from a trivial game of political alliances."
Obama also was mentioned twice by Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, the recording secretary of the synod.
The cardinal was asked at the opening day press conference if he had been surprised by Obama's election.
He replied that it was a surprise on some levels, but it was not unthinkable since the United States presents itself as a beacon of equality and freedom around the world.
But even before he was asked about Obama, Cardinal Turkson slipped Obama's name into the synod hall -- and into its official record.
As recording secretary, the cardinal was charged with introducing the themes to be tackled by the synod. His presentation -- 13 single-spaced pages long -- included a footnote citing Obama's July speech to the Parliament of Ghana.
The cardinal told the synod, "In a sense, Africa's emergence from its economic throes should be the work of Africans and be spearheaded by them."
In the footnote, he wrote that Obama made the same point in his speech to Parliament.
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SIC: CNS