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Seventeen months ago, Léger, an urbane and scholarly prelate who was among the leaders of the progressives at the Second Vatican Council, gave up his see to work as a missionary in Africa (although he retained his personal title of Cardinal and can vote in papal elections). In a rare interview, he talked about his austere life to TIME Correspondent James Wilde. "I am alone here," he said, "completely dependent on others, trying to make them all forget what I am. Yes, I am alone, and many people are slightly afraid of me. I don't belong...
...ger first thought of working in Africa in 1960, when he came across a newspaper story about conditions of life in the leper colonies. Three years later, between sessions of Vatican II, he spent a month touring the continent. "Africa was a revelation to me," he recalled. "All those crowds, all those children. I was moved to think of the words of Christ, 'You must love each other as I love my Father and as I am loved by my Father.' " Four years later, during the Synod of Bishops in Rome, Léger kept thinking about...
Outranking Diplomats. Unfortunately, Léger's dramatic gesture has not worked out quite as well as might have been expected. Although he originally lived full-time at the leprosarium, Léger now maintains a modest home at Nsimalen, 70 miles away, and his visits to the hospital are less frequent than they used to be. That may be just as well. "His Eminence says prayers for the lepers," dryly notes the prelate responsible for Nyamsong, French-born Bishop André Loucheur of Mbam. "He conducts services and says Mass. But he doesn't do anything medical...
...come. The well-staffed leprosarium was founded by Bishop Loucheur and Sister Fran?oise Romaine 15 years ago, and now treats 3,000 patients at four clinics. Loucheur has also built a cathedral, numerous schools and 186 miles of roads, and has baptized 43,000 Africans. Léger's position is also ambiguous in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde, where he poses a protocol problem. "As a Cardinal," explains one official, "he outranks every diplomat in the country...
These days, Léger spends most of his time traveling through Cameroon to preside at confirmation ceremonies. He is also laying plans for a new center for all kinds of handicapped Africans. This fall, Leger will return briefly to Montreal to receive Canada's $50,000 Royal Bank Award for humanitarian achievement. Léger has earmarked the money for his center, for which he hopes to raise an additional $1,000,000 in Canada. He regards the center as a kind of beau geste that will inspire others to help Africa help itself. "I have always believed...