Pope in western Africa to outline church's future

[November 18, 2011]  COTONOU, Benin (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI is making his second trip to Africa, where he plans to outline the church's future for the continent with the fastest growing number of faithful.

Even in Benin, the heartland of the voodoo tradition, the number of Catholics has grown by nearly half in the past decade, adding more than half-a-million converts.

The pope is arriving in West Africa on Friday with a document that will attempt to use church doctrine as a kind of pastoral guide for the faithful.

Benedict's last visit to Africa in 2009 was overshadowed by his controversial comments on condoms. On the plane to Africa, Benedict said that the problem of AIDS was being aggravated by the distribution of condoms, provoking criticism.

[Associated Press; By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI]

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