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Luanda: Pope Benedict XVI issued a warning
against witchcraft on March 21, 2009 during his visit to
Angola, after calling on African leaders to battle
corruption and drawing a tough line against abortion.
The pope celebrated a private Mass for Angola's clergy
and laypeople in the modernist Sao Paulo
 church, which
along with much of the surrouding neighbourhood has been
freshly painted and upgraded for his visit.
He praised the work of activists within the Church, and
called on them to work to convert people to Catholicism,
saying evangelizing remains as important today as it was
when Catholics first arrived in this region of Africa
500 years ago.
"Today it is up to you, brothers and sisters, following
in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heralds of
God, to offer the risen Christ to your fellow citizens,"
he said to the invitation only crowd.
“So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of
malign and threatening powers.
In their Bewilderment they end up even condemning street
children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers," he said.
The issue has particular resonance in Angola, where
traditional and home grown faiths are flourishing, even
though some sects have been linked to child abuse and
human sacrifice. Benedict criticised the idea that
seeking to convert people was an affront to believers of
other faiths.
"We do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to
them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding
their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of
finding life," he added.
Local Church leaders hope the pope's visit will push
Angola's government run by the formerly Marxist Movement
for the Popular Liberation of Angola to allow the
station to broadcast nationwide, rather than only in the
capital.
In a speech at President Jose Eduardo dos Santos's
residence, Benedict urged African leaders to allow
greater press freedom, as he made a stern call for the
continent to do more to fight poverty and corruption.
"The multitude of Angolans who live below the threshold
of absolute poverty must not be forgotten. Do not
disappoint their expectations," Benedict said. He called
on Africa to show "a determination born from the
conversion of hearts to excise corruption once and for
all".
“Armed with integrity, magnanimity and compassion, you
can transform this continent, freeing your people from
the scourges of greed, violence and unrest," he said.
Benedict has also sought to reinforce Catholic teachings
on social issues, taking aim at a part of the African
Union's charter that guarantees women a right to an
abortion in cases of rape, incest, or major health risks
to the mother, saying abortion was not a health issue.
Those remarks followed his controversial denunciation of
condoms as a tool to prevent AIDS, which has sparked an
international uproar among activists and some
governments.
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