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Pope Opens Unprecedented Dialogue with Afro-Brazilian Religions
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 30 2013 (IPS) - At odds since colonial times, Catholicism and Afro-Brazilian religions have embarked on a process of mutual acceptance. Pope Francis added words and gestures to this reconciliation of two groups that share a common interest: confronting the growth of evangelical and neo-Pentecostal churches.
The photo of Francis wearing a “cocar” headdress given to him by Ubiraí, a Pataxó Indian, went around the world.
Ivanir dos Santos, a “babalawo” or priest of the Afro-Brazilian candomblé religion, was also received by the pope in the Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro as part of the rapprochement between the Catholic Church and other creeds and cultures during his Jul. 22-28 visit to Brazil.
“For the first time, a representative of candomblé was received by a pope. This is unprecedented,” dos Santos, a member of Brazil’s Committee Against Religious Intolerance (CCIR), told IPS.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/07/pope-opens-unprecedented-dialogue-with-afro-brazilian-religions/
I'm glad this is much more than a photo op.