Latest news with #PeterTurkson
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Why di cardinals choose Pope Leo XIV instead of African candidate?
As di world bin dey wait to see who dem go choose as di new leader of di Catholic Church, e get one kwesion wey many Vatican watchers bin ask: Wia di new Pope go come from? Wetin dem wonder pass na if e go come from di place wia di Catholic Church dey grow veri fast – Africa. At least three pontiffs don come from di continent in di past, but di last - Pope Gelasius I – die more dan 1,500 years ago and some tok say na time for anoda pope from Africa. Pope Francis bin want di leadership to reflect di global reach of di Church and 18 of di 108 cardinals e create na from Africa. Three of dem dey "papabile", wey mean say dem be strong contenders for di job of di Pope – Fridolin Ambongo Besungu from di Democratic Republic of Congo, Robert Sarah from Guinea, and Peter Turkson from Ghana. Dem bin consider Cardinal Turkson papabile for 2013 too, wen Pope Francis bin dey elected. Wen US-born Robert Francis Prevost dey elected, e take di name Pope Leo XIV. Catholics around di world happy, but some wonder weda dem don overlook Africa. Di papal conclave wia cardinals dey elect di Pope na confidential process, so e no dey possible to know for sure wetin dem discuss. But e possible say one kwesion dey for di top of di minds of di 133 cardinal electors, Father Lawrence Njoroge, one Catholic author and professor for Kenya Jomo Kenyatta University tok. "Make we vote for Pope wey go kontinu wit di agenda of Pope Francis, or get anoda one wey go chart a different path? I imagine say dem go dey divided on dis." Pope Francis na reformer - although e no change Church doctrine, e bring softer tone on issues like make divorced couples dey receive communion, wey effectively allow bishops to make dis decision for local level. For di end, Fr Njoroge say, e be like say while "African cardinals wey dey veri qualified to be pontiff dey, di question wey be di koko na about Pope Francis legacy". E dey possible say oda factors bin dey at play too. Di Pope gatz lead a worldwide Church, e go take on board di needs and issues for evri continent of di world. Africa still dey try to recover from di legacy of colonisation, Father Joseph Nyamunga, wey be di spiritual director of di Catholic order of di Institute of St Anne for Nairobi argue. E say, "na wounded continent". "Wars dey evriwia, for Congo, and Sudan. "You need pesin wey dey calm and stable wen you dey handle a big Church. As Pope, notin suppose dey wey go distract you from di job." Fr Nyamunga say di Catholic Church for Africa need to focus on finding dia own identity, so dat dem go fit serve ordinary pipo beta. "Di kwesion go be, wetin Africa need now? Na to be pope or to get back to our roots and find out wetin dey affect our pipo? Africa, of course, no be di only continent wia kasala dey, wit ongoing wars for di Middle East, and Europe. Di new pontiff go need direct im Church through turbulent waters, e go wit issues ranging from di rise of authoritarian leaders to financial turmoil. E gatz dey able to address di needs of di faithful for di Global South, wia di Catholic Church dey grow. But e go also dey expected to inspire and help grow di Church for Europe – wey di Vatican tok say e dey di least dynamic area. Fr Njoroge say di cardinal electors bin dey look for " candidate wey go serve di Universal Church best, irrespective of im nationality or race". Pipo see Pope Leo XIV as pesin wey dey listen, e go fit make di different factions of di Church feel heard. But perhaps more importantly, e get leg for both di Global North and South. Fr Njoroge point out say although dem born am for US, Pope Leo XIV spend many years for Peru dey do missionary work. "E don visit all di 50 kontris wia im Augustinian Order dey work. E dey for Nairobi last December and e start parishes and projects for almost all di African kontris wia im order serve." Although e no be African, pipo see say Pope Leo XIV dey able to connect wit di needs of di African faithful.
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
The world's holiest wager: Betting on the next pope
The last time a papal conclave convened, in 2013, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was a 25-to-1 long shot. If you were a gambler, they're odds few would take. A far safer bet would have been Cardinal Angelo Scola, then the archbishop of Milan, at 2-to-1 or Peter Turkson from Ghana at 5-to-2.
eNCA
01-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Africa's Cardinal Turkson is continent's papal frontrunner
Cardinal Peter Turkson VATICAN CITY, Holy See - Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson is seen as one of the Church's most influential men from Africa, where Christianity is quickly growing -- and which some believe could be the birthplace of the next pope. The 76-year-old born into a humble family of 10 children is the first clergyman from the West African country to receive a red hat, having been made cardinal in 2003 by John Paul II. Turkson currently serves as chancellor for two pontifical academies, that of sciences and social sciences. Even before former Pope Benedict XVI's surprise resignation in 2013, the cardinal had been considered Africa's frontrunner for papal contender -- generating countless speculative headlines about the first black pope. But Turkson demurred in a 2010 interview: "I wouldn't want to be that first black pope." "I think he'll have a rough time." The possibility of Turkson as pope reflects shifting Church demographics -- from Europe, where membership is dwindling, to Africa, where Christianity is growing the fastest. Born in the southern mining town of Nsuta-Wassa, Turkson was the fourth of 10 children to a Methodist mother who sold vegetables and a Catholic father, a carpenter. He was ordained in 1975 before leaving Ghana to study in Rome and New York. In 1992, then-Pope John Paul II named Turkson the Archbishop of Cape Coast, a diocese of about 300,000 Catholics that grew under his watch. In 2003, the pontiff promoted him to cardinal. Poverty, witchcraft In Ghana in 2008, Turkson acted as mediator on a peace council following close elections that threatened to erupt into violence. A year later, he was chosen by Benedict XVI for a key role within a special assembly for Africa by the Synod of Bishops, weighing in on such topics as reconciliation, poverty, AIDS, the brain drain and witchcraft. Benedict again tapped Turkson in 2009 as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, charged with social justice and human rights. As part of a reform of the Roman Curia -- the government of the Holy See -- Pope Francis in 2016 named Turkson head of a newly created department, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, that merged the justice and peace council with three others. Shepherding the economic and social issues deemed priorities to Francis, including the environment, Turkson -- who speaks six languages -- visited the World Economic Forum in Davos multiple times to convince business leaders of the perils of trickle-down economics. In 2016, he was dispatched as papal special envoy to South Sudan to try to reconcile warring parties, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he headed a task force to study the crisis' economic and social fallout. But Turkson resigned as prefect of the dicastery in a 2021 shakeup following an external review and rumoured internal tensions within the division, leaving no Africans among the Vatican's top posts. Lively prayer Although Turkson has criticised anti-gay legislation in Uganda, he defends Catholic sexual morality and has denied that homosexuality is a human rights issue. On the key issue in Africa of condoms, he has suggested they could be useful for monogamous couples in which one partner is HIV-positive, but also that money would be better spent on anti-retroviral drugs for those already infected. Turkson had to apologise in 2012 after a high-profile blunder in which he showed a scare-mongering YouTube video about the rising rate of Muslims in the world during a synod of bishops. Regarding Africans' view of Catholicism, Turkson has suggested that the Evangelical movement has done a better job at converting because the Church has become too cerebral, while Evangelism appeals "to the heart, with lively music, lively prayer". "Sometimes we Africans make fun of how Europeans and Americans are such enthusiastic sports fans," Turkson said in 2012.
The Citizen
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Africans eye a pope from among their own
As the Catholic Church prepares for a new leader, is it finally time for its first black pope? Pope Francis flanked by Peter Turkson (R) salutes during the World Meeting of the Popular Movements in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on November 5, 2016. Picture: Vincenzo Pinto / AFP In 2010, Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson said he was not ready to become pope — and that the Catholic Church might not be either. 'I wouldn't want to be that first black pope. I think he'll have a rough time,' he said. Now, after the death of Pope Francis, the west African clergyman's name is buzzing around the Vatican. First black pope Turkson isn't the only potential African candidate as the Church prepares for a conclave to choose its next leader, and he wouldn't be the first pontiff from the continent: Pope Victor I, who reigned from 189-199, was from North Africa. But as Africa's share of the Catholic population booms — mirroring its growing share of the world population as the continent grows while Europe has greyed and secularised — renewed attention has turned to whether the Church is ready for its first black pope. 'There has been this sense which has built up that the pope, if he is going to be a global authority, needs to come from the global church,' said Miles Pattenden, a historian of Catholicism. Cardinals from Guinea, DR Congo Turkson was born into a humble family of 10 children and was Ghana's first clergyman to become a cardinal, in 2003. In 2008, he served as a mediator on a peace council following close elections that threatened to erupt into violence and has worked in the upper levels of the Vatican's bureaucracy. He has recently struck a more moderate tone on gay rights, pushing back against Ghanaian politicians who assert that same-sex practices aren't native to Africa. In 2023, he told the BBC that 'LGBT people may not be criminalised because they've committed no crime.' ALSO READ: Death of Pope Francis reignites debate on African spirituality That might be more palatable to some Church moderates than the rhetoric of Guinea's Robert Sarah, a traditionalist cardinal floated by conservatives who has compared abortion, 'Islamic fanaticism' and homosexuality to Nazi ideology. The Democratic Republic of Congo's Fridolin Ambongo, another cardinal in the mix, helped lead the push against blessing same-sex couples in Africa after Francis pushed the rest of the Church forward on the issue. But for all of Francis's moderating rhetoric, he kept in place many of the Church's conservative teachings, including against same-sex marriage and abortion. The tightrope he walked between rhetorical and actual reform might provide a path for African candidates who some critics worry are too conservative, said Cristina Traina, a religious studies professor at New York's Fordham University. Pattenden noted there was no reason to predict the next pope would necessarily follow Francis's liberal streak. 'Discrimination' against Africans? The papacy of Francis, an Argentine, marked a major break from the Church's Europe-heavy leadership. His drive to make the Vatican's hierarchy reflect its membership means that African cardinals now make up 12 percent of the voting members of the conclave, versus eight percent during the last election. 'It would be almost impossible to imagine the world accepting an African pope without this transition of Pope Francis having been from Argentina,' said Traina, even as Africa, which counts 20 percent of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, remains underrepresented in the conclave. One Congolese priest, wishing to remain anonymous, told AFP that while the Church has come a long way, there's a reason there hasn't been an African pope in 1,500 years. ALSO READ: Pope Francis was 'a spiritual leader who sought to unite humanity' – Ramaphosa 'Discrimination, even if it isn't obvious among our European brothers, is still a reality that we often don't talk about,' he said. Economic justice An African pope could bring a fresh perspective to some of the Church's current issues. Facing a priest shortage, some members of the Church in Africa have been vocal about re-examining the ban on married pastors, Traina said. Francis's message of social justice resonated firmly on a continent at the bottom of the global economic order and the front lines of climate change. Ambongo, who served as a top advisor to Francis, is working on how the Church should handle converts who come from polygamous marriages. 'It has always been on our lips, how we wish to have an African pope,' said Father Paul Maji, a priest in the Nigerian capital Abuja. 'It's God's turn' But, he added, he was not personally 'sentimental' about where the next pontiff came from — an opinion shared by Sylvain Badibanga, dean of the faculty of theology at the Catholic University of Congo. 'We shouldn't think 'it's our turn',' Badibanga said. 'It's God's turn.' Turkson eventually came to a similar conclusion. As his name circulated as a potential pontiff ahead of the 2013 conclave that ultimately chose Francis, he had warmed to the idea of becoming the first black pope — 'if it's the will of God.' NOW READ: Faith foes: Pope Francis's fight with the Catholic right
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The South African
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The South African
Next Pope could change everything [video]
Watch the full version of the ' Could the next Pope come from Africa?' article – in a minute. As the Catholic Church prepares to select a new leader following the death of Pope Francis, hopes are rising among African Catholics that the next pontiff could be the first Black pope in modern history. The growing prominence of African Catholicism – now accounting for approximately 20% of the global Catholic population – has sparked calls for representation at the highest level of the Church hierarchy. The African continent is currently the fastest-growing region for the Catholic Church, a trend that many believe should be reflected in the upcoming papal election. For the latest political news, bookmark The South African website's dedicated section for free-to-read content Among the prominent African cardinals drawing attention are Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson, Congo's Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, and Ivory Coast's Cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo. Cardinal Turkson, who has served in key Vatican roles and is known for his advocacy on social justice and environmental issues, has been considered a leading candidate in previous conclaves. Looking for quick updates? Watch News in a Minute videos on The South African's YouTube page for all the key stories you need to know! Catch all the latest videos on news, lifestyle, travel, sports and more – there's always something to watch! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky to stay connected and get your news on the go!
