They don't have to select a new name. They are given a choice when elected to select a new name. They don't have to, but most follow the tradition.
Uh, what's the big deal? Cardinal Agre is black. I'm not sure what he meant, but the way you quoted it made it seem like he was saying God doesn't think much of Africans. I think he was saying that the white catholic world isn't at the point that they'd pick a black Pope, but if God made it so the next Pope is black (I guess he sees the choosing of the Pope as being God's will), it would be ironic.
I have to agree with Max here. He was talking theology, not politics, so Gutierrez's LT is not relevant at all. Catholic churches in Africa, Latin America, and SE Asia have more in common with the medieval Church than they do with the contemporary Western Church. I have read a number of articles from theologians and religion historians talking about the inevitable clash of this century between the Christianity of the North and that of the South. The more conservative approach to Catholocism (a more strict adherance to the message of the original missionaries that came with colonization) combined with the mysticism inherent in their native cultures has fostered a very different animal.
I grew up Catholic but I find it quite ironic calling saying the pope walks in Peter's shoes. Peter was married, would never live in luxury, would refuse to let someone bow down before him, and would certainly not let someone kiss his ring.
was Peter married??? guess i never read that. where'd you learn that? agreed...the pomp and circumstance doesn't seem to match with walking in the shoes of a fisherman.
Matthew 8:14 14 ¶ And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
