Polycarp Pengo
His Eminence Polycarp Pengo | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam | |
| Appointed | 22 January 1990 (Coadjutor Bishop) |
| Installed | 22 July 1992 |
| Predecessor | Laurean Rugambwa |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal-Priest of Nostra Signora de La Salette |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 June 1971 by Charles Msakila |
| Consecration | 6 January 1984 by Pope John Paul II |
| Created cardinal | 21 February 1998 |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Polycarp Pengo 5 August 1944 Mwazye, Tanzania |
| Nationality | Tanzanian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post(s) |
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| Motto | Ecce ego domine (Here I am, Lord) |
| Coat of arms |  |
Polycarp Pengo (born 5 August 1944, in the parish of Mwazye, Diocese of Sumbawanga in Tanzania) is the Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; and a Cardinal.
Early life and ordination
Ordained a priest in 1971, he studied Moral Theology in Rome at the Pontifical Lateran University, obtaining a doctorate in 1977. He taught Moral theology in Kipalapala Theological Seminary for a short time, and then became the first Rector of Segerea Theological Seminary in Dar-es-Salaam up to 1983.
Bishop
He was made Bishop of Nachingwea in 1983, and of Tunduru-Masasi in 1986, assuming the post the following year.
In 1990 he was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, and in 1992 he became Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, following the resignation of Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa.
Cardinal
Cardinal Pengo was proclaimed a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of 21 February 1998. Pengo was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI and in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.
He has the following Curial Memberships Evangelization of the Peoples, Doctrine of Faith (congregations). Interreligious Dialogue, Culture (councils) Special Council for Africa of the General of the Synod of Bishops.
On Tuesday, 18 September 2012, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a Synod Father for the upcoming October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.[1]
Views
Homosexuality
In 2000, Cardinal Pengo hit out at the commission of homosexual acts, saying it was one of the most heinous sins on earth.[2]
Clashes in Tanzania
In 2004, he lashed out at the perpetrators of clashes claiming to pursue a religious cause.[3]
Church teaching on AIDS
- Further information: Roman Catholic Church and AIDS
Cardinal Pengo has declared that the AIDS epidemic cannot be overcome by relying exclusively or primarily on the distribution of prophylactics, but only through a strategy based on education to individual responsibility in the framework of a moral view of human sexuality.[4]