Catholic Church in Africa
Archaeological and scholarly research has shown that Christianity existed after the Muslim conquests, though the Catholic church gradually declined along with local Latin dialect.
In addition, calendrical reforms adopted in Europe at this time were disseminated amongst the indigenous Christians of Tunis, which would have not been possible had there been an absence of contact with Rome.
Celestine III had told Toledo's archbishop Martin to dispatch a priest for Christians in Morocco.
Innocent III in 1198 requested the Almohads to allow the Trinitarian Order to perform its duties and in 1200 wrote a letter to the Christians enslaved there.
[17] In June 1225, Honorius III issued the bull Vineae Domini custodes that permitted two friars of the Dominican Order named Dominic and Martin to establish a mission in Morocco and look after the affairs of Christians there.
[17] Honorius III on 20 February 1226 told Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada to dispatch Franciscans to convert the Moroccan Muslims.
Lope Fernandez de Ain was appointed as the bishop of Morocco but wasn't able to establish himself before the Marinids captured Fez in 1248.
[19] The medieval Moroccan historian Ibn Abi Zar stated that the Almohad caliph Abu al-Ala Idris al-Ma'mun had built a church in Marrakech for the Christians to freely practice their faith at Fernando III's insistence.
Innocent IV asked emirs of Tunis, Ceuta and Bugia to permit Lope and Franciscian friars to look after the Christians in those regions.
Despite prevalent republican governments in contemporary time, Africa has a tradition of Catholic monarchs, such as in the kingdoms of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.
By deliberate policy, John Paul II selected many Cardinals from Third World nations, and by 2001 they made up over 40 percent of the body.
[25] Francis Arinze, a Nigerian Cardinal and adviser to Pope John Paul II, was considered papabile before the 2005 papal conclave, which elected Benedict XVI.
[27] As Arinze was considered theologically conservative, Jenkins suggests he would have brought African "notions of authority and charisma" to the office, rather than democracy.
[25] Jenkins states, "The prospect of a Black African pope understandably excites Christians of all political persuasions.
"[26] According to Financial Times, an African such as Arinze would "boost the popularity" of the church, which is facing strong competition in Africa from Pentecostal, Baptist, and Evangelical denominations.
"[26] In the papal conclave of 2013, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana was called "the most likely" candidate from Africa and was considered the favorite to win the papacy before the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 2013.
[30][31][32] Persecution of Christians by Islamists, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, remains one of the hardest issues to solve for the Catholic Church in Africa.
