VATICAN
CITY - Joao Braz de Aviz, the sole Latin
American among 22 newly created Catholic cardinals, on Saturday criticised the
Church for being too Euro-centric.
 |
| Joao Braz de Aviz |
"Europe
should go back to showing a more fraternal attitude towards other continents
and stop looking down on the others," Braz de Aviz said in an interview
with the Vatican-watching news agency I.Media.
"How
much longer are we going to be led by Europe and the United States?"
demanded Braz de Aviz, elevated to cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in a solemn
ceremony at Saint Peter's Basilica on Saturday.
"You
can no longer think that Latin America, Asia and Africa haven't changed, that
they are still colonies or the Third World," he said.
The more
universal the College of Cardinals, "the better it will represent the
Church. We've already done a lot in this direction, but we must continue,"
added Braz de Aviz, 64.
The Latin
American region has the world's largest concentration of Catholics.
Some
critics point to the preponderance of Europeans, especially Italians, in the
Church hierarchy, notably the College of Cardinals, as evidence of the pope's
Western bias.
Critics say
the appointments show a strong bias towards Europe, as out of the 125 cardinals
under age 80 -- "elector cardinals" eligible to elect the pope in a
secret conclave -- 67 are from Europe.
A mere 22
are from South America, 15 from North America, 11 from Africa and 10 from Asia
and the Pacific.
Moreover,
the induction of seven Italians in Benedict's fourth consistory brings to 30
the number of Italian elector cardinals -- almost a quarter of the total, far
outweighing any other country.
The new
cardinals include nine other Europeans as well as two Americans, one Canadian,
a Brazilian, an Indian and a Hong Kong Chinese.
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