The Cardinal and the Lepers

A major event in the grim routine of the leprosarium at Nyamsong in Cameroon is a visit by a tall, burly priest in a limp white cassock. As he approaches the swampy hamlet, with its hospital, schools and workshops, the lepers come out of their huts to greet him: in wheelchairs, on crutches, on their knees. Some have only stumps in place of hands and feet; others are completely covered with ugly open sores. Smiling gravely, the priest greets them all, clasping some to his breast, kissing others, lifting the children high in the air until they giggle with delight. Thus begins a day in the life of Paul-Emile Cardinal Leger, 65, prince of the Roman Catholic Church, confidant of three Popes and 14 years the Archbishop of Montreal.

Seventeen months ago, Leger, an urbane and scholarly prelate who was among the leaders of the progressives at the Second Vatican Council, gave up his see to work as a missionary in Africa (although he retained his personal title of Cardinal and can vote in papal elections). In a rare interview, he talked about his austere life to TIME Correspondent James Wilde. "I am alone here," he said, "completely dependent on others, trying to make them all forget what I am. Yes, I am alone, and many people are slightly afraid of me. I don't belong to any specific religious community. I have no real home, I have nothing. But I have great faith in the divine structure of the church, and I want to be just a priest in Africa. And if, despite my wishes, my presence here seems extraordinary to the outside world, then I want to profit from this to help the people here."

Leger first thought of working in Africa in 1960, when he came across a newspaper story about conditions of life in the leper colonies. Three years later, between sessions of Vatican II, he spent a month touring the continent. "Africa was a revelation to me," he recalled. "All those crowds, all those children. I was moved to think of the words of Christ, 'You must love each other as I love my Father and as I am loved by my Father.' " Four years later, during the Synod of Bishops in Rome, Leger kept thinking about how the church could testify to the presence of God in a world "divided between haves and have-nots." After three weeks of prayer, he asked for, and was given, Pope Paul's reluctant permission to go to Africa.

Outranking Diplomats. Unfortunately, Leger's dramatic gesture has not worked out quite as well as might have been expected. Although he originally lived full-time at the leprosarium, Leger now maintains a modest home at Nsimalen, 70 miles away, and his visits to the hospital are less frequent than they used to be. That may be just as well. "His Eminence says prayers for the lepers," dryly notes the prelate responsible for Nyamsong, French-born Bishop Andre Loucheur of Mbam. "He conducts services and says Mass. But he doesn't do anything medical. The lepers don't really understand what he is, or was."

In fact, some clerics in the diocese openly wonder why Leger bothered to come. The well-staffed leprosarium was founded by Bishop Loucheur and Sister Fran?oise Romaine 15 years ago, and now treats 3,000 patients at four clinics. Loucheur has also built a cathedral, numerous schools and 186 miles of roads, and has baptized 43,000 Africans. Leger's position is also ambiguous in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde, where he poses a protocol problem. "As a Cardinal," explains one official, "he outranks every diplomat in the country."

These days, Leger spends most of his time traveling through Cameroon to preside at confirmation ceremonies. He is also laying plans for a new center for all kinds of handicapped Africans. This fall, Leger will return briefly to Montreal to receive Canada's $50,000 Royal Bank Award for humanitarian achievement. Leger has earmarked the money for his center, for which he hopes to raise an additional $1,000,000 in Canada. He regards the center as a kind of beau geste that will inspire others to help Africa help itself. "I have always believed in symbolic action," says Leger. "One man cannot accomplish everything, but by symbolic action he can incite others to do things."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.