Catholic Church Pope: On Saturday (May 03, 2025), world leaders are gathering in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, so many Catholic are considering whether the church may soon choose its first black pope? Since the death of Francis on the day of Easter, a name in the Vatican is drawing attention, that is Ghana’s cardinal Peter Turkon.
In 2010, Turkson said that he is not ready to become a pope and may not be ready for the church. He had said, “I don’t want to be the first black pope. I think you will have to face difficult times.” But Africa is growing in the Catholic population. Of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, 20 percent now live on this continent, while the church is struggling to maintain followers in Europe, rapidly secular. Now some people believe that this is the right time for the first black pope.
Who is Peter Turkon?
76-year-old cardinal Peter Turkon grew up in a small town of Gold Coast under British rule. They have 10 siblings and they come at number four. His father worked in the mine and as a carpenter, while his mother used to sell vegetables in the market. Turkson did her studies at Ghana and Seminary in New York. He later studied Bible in Rome. Pope John Paul II made him the archbishop of Cape Coast in 1992 and in 2003 he became the first cardinal in the history of Ghana.
John Paul’s successor Benedict brought him to the Vatican in 2009 and made him the head of the Paramdharmapeeth Council for justice and peace. There he became one of the closest advisors of the Pope and started working on issues like climate change as well as economic justice. Turkson has experience to have strong connections with local circles in Ghana and lead the Vatican offices.
Although preparations are being made for the conference to be held by the church to choose its next Pope, but Turkson is not the only African name. Also, they will not be the first African who will become the Pope. Earlier, North Africa Pope Victor- First Church has been led during 189 to 199. Miles Patanden, a historian of Catholicism at the University of Oxford, said, “The feeling has developed that if the Pope wants to become a global officer, he will have to come from the global church.”
‘There is no talk about discrimination’
Some African Catholic also feel neglected. On the condition of anonymity, a Kangoli pastor told the French news agency AFP, “Even though it is not clear among our European brothers, discrimination is still a reality that we do not talk about often.” He said that the church has progressed, but that is why no African Pope is made in 1,500 years.
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