Father Mbaka, a handsome 38-year-old, says he began his healing ministry in 1996 after discovering he had curative powers. "It is the work of the Holy Spirit," he explains. "I can't heal anyone as a human being. I am open to God as a channel. And the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk. Cancers disappear."
He says those who doubt him will face God's wrath. Three days earlier, a man in a neighboring state vehemently criticized his ministry. As punishment, Father Mbaka says, God struck the man blind. "If he repents, he will see again," he says.
That doesn't sound very "pastoral".
In 2000, a South African archbishop, Buti Tlhagale, advocated adding animal sacrifice to the Catholic Mass as a way of venerating ancestors. "Animal sacrifice has a special place in the scheme of things and is celebrated in almost all African families," he argued. "We have kept it out of the church of God for too long."
Yay! Let's hear it for inculturation!
Forget the animals. I want HUMAN Sacrifice. Just like the ancients Aztecs. It's time for that cultural accretion to gain acceptance in God's house. That and disco.
Very similar to syncretism.. and allowing this sort of thing is why most Catholic dominated colonies never really went anywhere.
Don't worry. I'm told the Church is exporting priests from Africa to ease the priest shortages.