PHILIP PULLELLA/REUTERS Cardinal Leonardo Sandri talks during an interview with Reuters in Rome, March 2 (Reuters/Tony Gentile)The Roman Catholic Church must open itself up to women in the next pontificate, giving them more leadership positions in the Vatican and beyond, according to a senior cardinal who will be influential in electing the next pope.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, an Argentine, also said the next pope should not be chosen according to a geographic area but must be a "saintly man" qualified to lead the Church in a time of crisis.
He said one of the greatest challenges facing the Church was trying to win back those suffering from a "loss of faith" who had "turned their back on God" and the Church of their fathers.
A new book says that in the post-war era, Gen. Douglas MacArthur perceived a “spiritual vacuum” in Japan and tried to fill it with spiritual beliefs, including Christianity and Freemasonry. In the book, 1945 Under the Shadow of the Occupation: The Ashlar and The Cross, authored by Eiichiro Tokumoto, the Japanese investigative journalist said that MacArthur, who then held absolute authority over Japan, believed that faith would help to offset communism, which in the early days of the cold war was gaining popularity, ENI News said.
Tokumoto based his contention on documents that were recently released to the public, that indicate that MacArthur tried to convince missionaries to intensify efforts in Japan, and even suggested mass conversions of the Japanese people to the Roman Catholic faith, according to ENI News.
