The Roman Catholic Church in Benin hosts Pope Benedict XVI on Friday as it seeks to put a string of scandals behind it, including those involving corruption and exorcism.
Two bishops, including the archbishop of Cotonou, were dismissed last year over issues of morality and financial mismanagement in the small West African nation of nine million people, traditionally a Catholic stronghold.
The Benin church has been left in a position where it “has never been so shaken,” said Roger Gbegnonvi, a professor and former minister.
The pontiff will “return order and reassure the faithful” during the three-day visit, he said.
A Benin observer in Rome also said that the pope “is eagerly expected to put the house in order.”
Controversy has grown from various types of allegations, including cases of priests having wives or engaging in scandalous affairs with underage girls.
There have been reported cases of local parish churches being turned to car marts or business meeting places, as well as a scandal involving exorcism, which led to the suspension of a priest last month in the southern town of Baname.
Since 2009, Father Mathias Vigan has associated with and aided a young woman who claims to incarnate the Holy Spirit. She claims to be the “Living God on Earth” and has organised exorcism sessions.
Sociologist Bertin Affognon said that the church in Benin is in “crisis.”
“The main internal reasons are linked to the behaviour of priests, their relationship with money and sex,” he said.
But the biggest worry may be external, with the growth of evangelical churches and their lively services that many feel relate more directly to their lives.
Hundreds of thousands in Africa have cast their lot with such new generation churches.
Emmanuel Francisco, a 26-year-old Benin student, said that he left the Catholic fold to do just that.
“I no longer found love, justice and equity in the church,” he said, speaking in front of the Pentecostal Church Missionary in Cotonou.
For Isabelle de Gaulmyn, head of religious coverage for France-based newspaper La Croix, there are “flaws” in the Catholic Church in Benin - but such flaws are also found elsewhere, including outside of Africa.
“Certainly, there is a lack of sound judgment involving a number of priests - priests who become so for social status or for financial reasons ...,” she said.
But despite that, the church in Benin is also particularly “solid” with well-trained priests and seminarians, she said..
Ouidah, a coastal town about 40 kilometres from the economic capital Cotonou and a centre of voodoo, hosts West Africa's largest Catholic seminary.
“There exists in Benin a serious Catholic tradition that is still very active,” added De Gaulmyn.
Pope Benedict XVI has asked African churches to put their houses in order, she said.
“This is being done in Benin ... The message was understood,” she said. - Sapa-AFP