Selecting the next Pope from an African country would be a "good sign for all Christianity," a Roman Catholic cardinal said in a newspaper interview published yesterday.

Western countries continue to harbour racist sentiments and negative views toward Third World countries, a situation an African Pope could help correct, said German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"Africa, for example, is a place where we have many really strong souls, that one can only admire. They are completely qualified for that position. In that respect, it is quite possible that the next Pope will come from there," Ratzinger told the newspaper Die Welt.

"I personally believe it would be good sign for all of Christianity," he said.

Ratzinger, in the same interview, warned against giving homosexual partnerships the same rights and privileges accorded married heterosexuals.

"The basis of society always has been husband and wife," Ratzinger said.

Treating homosexuals partnerships the same way could sow doubt about fundamental social values, he said.

"Treating homosexual partnerships the same way could sow doubt about fundamental social values", he added.

"As a practical matter, one looks just like the other in terms of what a government offers as legal rights, and then something is created that shakes the foundation," Ratzinger concluded.