Pope John Paul II Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Animism === In his book-length interview ''[[Crossing the Threshold of Hope]]'' with the Italian journalist [[Vittorio Messori]] published in 1995, John Paul II draws parallels between [[animism]] and Christianity. He wrote: <blockquote>"... it would be helpful to recall ... the animist religions which stress ancestor worship. It seems that those who practise them are particularly close to Christianity, and among them, the Church's missionaries also find it easier to speak a common language. Is there, perhaps, in this veneration of ancestors a kind of preparation for the Christian faith in the Communion of Saints, in which all believers—whether living or dead—form a single community, a single body? ... There is nothing strange, then, that the African and Asian animists would become believers in Christ more easily than followers of the great religions of the Far East."<ref>John Paul II. ''Crossing the Threshold of Hope'', p. 82, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1994 {{ISBN|978-0-307-76457-7}}</ref></blockquote> In 1985, the pope visited the African country of [[Togo]], where 60 per cent of the population espouses animist beliefs. To honour the pope, animist religious leaders met him at a Catholic Marian shrine in the forest, much to the pontiff's delight. John Paul II proceeded to call for the need for religious tolerance, praised nature, and emphasised common elements between animism and Christianity, saying: <blockquote>"Nature, exuberant and splendid in this area of forests and lakes, impregnates spirits and hearts with its mystery and orients them spontaneously toward the mystery of He who is the author of life. It is this religious sentiment that animates you and one can say that animates all of your compatriots."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/10/world/pope-visits-palace-in-togo-then-a-woman-s-mud-hut.html Pope Visits Palace in Togo, Then a Woman's Mud Hut] ''The New York Times'', 10 August 1985</ref></blockquote> During the investiture of President [[Thomas Boni Yayi]] of [[Benin]] as a titled [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] [[Nigerian Chieftaincy|chieftain]] on 20 December 2008, the reigning [[Ooni of Ile-Ife]], [[Nigeria]], [[Olubuse II]], referred to John Paul II as a previous recipient of the same royal honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theooni.org/soko.htm |title=His Imperial Majesty, Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse ll- The Ooni of Ife |publisher=Theooni.org |date=20 December 2008 |access-date=28 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303202401/http://theooni.org/soko.htm |archive-date=3 March 2013 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page