Word: churchful
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When midnight at last arrived on March 6, 1957, church bells sounded across Accra. The crowds, who had filled the city streets with the hum of celebration and hope, pushed into the square outside Parliament and cheered as Britain's Union Flag was lowered, and the green, gold and red colors of the new nation of Ghana were hoisted in a light breeze. In a nearby polo ground, Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah broke into dance and then spoke of a dream finally realized. "Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world," he declared. "At long last...
...live next to the Dutch Reformed Church dominee [minister]," says Evita's alter ego and creator, Pieter-Dirk Uys (pronounced ace). "He always warmly embraces Evita whenever she meets him. We respect each other's theaters." And the clergyman isn't Evita's only admirer. The walls of the foyer are plastered with thank-you letters penned by the apartheid era's superstars. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a regular visitor to Darling (he takes his wife there for their anniversary), writes: "We need you to continue to hold a mirror to our human condition." Alongside are affectionate faxes from the debonair...
...Both born in 1927, Martini and Ratzinger were already acclaimed Catholic scholars when Pope John Paul II promoted them to two of the top spots in the Church hierarchy: Martini to Milan in 1979 as Archbishop of Europe's largest diocese, and Ratzinger to Rome in 1981 as head of the Vatican's doctrinal office. Over the years, the two soft-spoken Cardinals became seen as intellectual and institutional titans, practically alter egos, and the undeclared leaders of opposing theological camps battling for the soul of the Church. Like Ratzinger's backers, Martini fans once hoped their man might succeed...
...Father Keith Pecklers, a Rome-based Jesuit professor of liturgy, says the gray-haired Cardinal continues to embody the religious order's approach. "Martini exhibits the best Jesuit qualities of unwavering loyalty to the church, and courageous leadership in reading the signs of the times and addressing contemporary issues with credibility," says Pecklers. "Most bishops retire into the shade. But Martini is as present as ever, and still a real prophetic voice within the Church hierarchy." His active role is even more notable in light of Martini's suffering - as John Paul did - from Parkinson's disease...
...Church traditionalists, Martini remains a bete noire of liberal leadership. One conservative website described his recent remarks about an Italian euthanasia case as "another subversive blow." L'Espresso's veteran Vatican correspondent Sandro Magister, a supporter of the Pope's clear doctrinal lines, acknowledged Martini's continued weight. His dissent on moral issues, Magister wrote, "pits the highest leaders of the worldwide Church against each other with conflicting positions...