What if it was Peter Turkson, the Ghanaian outsider? | EUROtoday

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IIt is simply over 9 am this Sunday, April 27, within the historic district of Jamestown, within the coronary heart of Accra. Under the sober arches of the cathedral, the devoted hear, collected, the homily of the day. The Ghanaian prelate invokes the power of the Catholic religion and cites Pope Francis, buried the day earlier than in Rome, at size. A heavy silence settles within the meeting when he requires praying for the 135 cardinals referred to as to satisfy from May 7 to the Vatican, within the Sistine Chapel. Among them, a reputation arouses a selected fervor in Ghana: that of Cardinal Peter Turkson. And for good cause: if Africa represents nearly 20 % of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, it has solely 12 % of voters within the conclave.

For many Catholic devoted from Ghana, Cardinal Peter Turkson is an emblem of nationwide satisfaction. At 76, the one who was archbishop of Cape Coast then prefect of a number of dicasteries in Rome right now concentrates the hopes of a continent too typically marginalized within the circles of religious energy. If he stated in 2010 that neither he nor the church was “ready” to see an African entry to the throne of Saint Peter, the wind appears to have turned.

Since the announcement of the dying of Pope Francis, on April 21, his title insistently returned alongside these of the Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah and the Congolese Fridolin Ambongo. “Africa deserves this recognition of the Catholic Church. If a South American pope could be elected, why not an African? Cardinal Turkson has all the qualities, ”says Maame Yeboah, a devoted from Accra.

In the sacred texts, it’s a must to return to the IIe century to discover a Pope of African origin: Victor Ierborn in North Africa. A distant precedent which, for some, reinforces the dream of a return of the pontifical seat on the black continent. Others, like Kwabena Abrokwa, mood this enthusiasm. “I admire Cardinal Turkson for his faith and outspokenness. But his past positions are likely to cost him voices. »»

A reformer witnessing the mutations of a continent

Popular membership at Cardinal Turkson also is due to its reputation as a reformer. In Accra as in Takoradi, the faithful praise his intellectual courage and his social vision. Former president of the pontifical council justice and peace, then prefect of the dicastery for the service of integral human development, the Ghanaian prelate was illustrated by his positions on the drifts of financial capitalism. In 2011, Turkson launched an appeal for the creation of a “global public authority” and a “world central bank” to govern financial institutions, which have become obsolete and often ineffective to fairly manage crises. His alarm cry was very precise and he advocated tax measures on financial transactions. He claimed that “the economic and financial crisis that the world then crossed each calls, individuals and peoples, to an in -depth examination of the cultural and moral principles and values ​​which found social coexistence”.

A commitment which, according to some observers, could cost him dearly in the cozy corridors of the Vatican. “As long as the powerful world finance hold the reins, a cardinal who spokes their system head -on, will have little chance of accessing the throne of Saint Peter,” analyzes Albert Kuzor, Ghanaian journalist. But, for others, this franchise is precisely what makes its strength.

Read too Camerlingue, papabili, conclave … the small lexicon of the Vatican “He is the man the church needs to face the challenges of our time,” said Jacob James O’Cloo, taxi driver in Accra. “Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson has the experience necessary to initiate the reforms that the Church urgently needs, especially in Africa. He will be able to respond to the rise of religious currents which advocate intolerance. He is a man of convictions, capable of infusing a wind of renewal. We need a daring pope. »»

Already in October 2011, Turkson, arresting the G7 or the IMF, called for the creation of a “global public authority” and a “World Central Bank” responsible for supervising a financial system deemed obsolete and unable to prevent speculative drifts. He pleaded for taxation on financial transactions and more ethical governance, believing that “the economic and financial crisis each calls for a deep examination of the principles and cultural and moral values ​​which found social life”.

On sensitive subjects – rights of LGBT people, abortion, death penalty -, the cardinal never hides. This freedom of tone, sometimes perceived as daring, earned it growing popularity with young generations. “It is true. He speaks for us, ”slips a pupil in theology met in Cape Coast. Very dedicated to the query of African refugees, he advocates a worthy and significant reception method to European closure insurance policies.

The dream of an African pope

Close to Pope FrancisCardinal Peter Turkson was one of many foremost artisans within the encyclical Laudato if ‘main textual content of the preach dedicated to the safeguard of the frequent home. For the Ghanaian, ecology can’t be dissociated from social justice. The combat in opposition to local weather change, he insists, additionally entails a reform of inequalities: “We can not defend the land with out defending probably the most weak”, he likes to recall.

A positioning that comforted its image as a reformer and global prelate, attentive to the cries of the planet as well as those of the poor. Laudato if in Africa finds a particular resonance in Africa: the continent is full of the effects of climate change – droughts, floods, deforestation – while it is among the least responsible. Encyclical echoes an ancestral African wisdom, based on the balance between man, nature and the community. By putting at the heart of her words the “clamor of the earth and that of the poor”, she joins deep concerns shared by many African cultures where the environment is perceived not as a resource to be exploited, but as an inheritance to transmit.

But, beyond speech, the prelate has often acted. A man of peace, he served as envoy of the Holy See in several mediation missions, notably in Côte d’Ivoire in 2011 and South Sudan in 2016. In Ghana, his role in the appeasement of the political climate during the 2008 elections remains in all memories. “The country, often quoted as an example for its democratic stability, was about to switch to a dead end pre -electoral crisis. His intervention was decisive. He is a man in love with peace. I am convinced that he will be able to put his talents as a mediator at the service of the resolution of other crises around the world, “stated Justin Addai, Cambiste in Denu, within the district of Ketu South, some 160 kilometers from Accra.


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A number of days earlier than the conclave, the hopes are intensifying. For Jessica Naa Bosomin, pupil at Accra Technical University, the election of an African pope could be “a double pride: that of finally having a black pope and the one he is Ghanaian”. “The fact that a Ghanaian is among the cardinals eligible for papacy is a real recognition for Africa. This brings us closer to the rest of the world. He has already been a candidate, he has experience and probably more qualifications than others. But basically, nothing depends on us. I am hopeful that he will cross all the stages of the process, ”says the younger lady. Ordained Cardinal in 2003 by John Paul II, Peter Turkson embodies for a lot of the synthesis between constancy to doctrine and the need to adapt to the realities of the world.

However, they know that all the things will probably be performed within the secret of the conclave, in accordance with typically unpredictable balances. But already the prayers go up from Ghana. And all dream of listening to, on the finish of the May 2025 conclave, these lengthy -awaited Latin phrases: ” Habemus Papam. “And whether or not it’s the title of the” son of San Liborio “which rises in white smoke.

Cardinal Peter Turkson in 5 key dates

1948. Birth in Wassaw Nsuta, in western Ghana, a carpenter father and a procuring mom. It comes from the Fanti ethnic group and grows in a modest Catholic household.

1992. Ordained archbishop of Cape Coast, Peter Turkson turns into the youngest bishop in Ghana. It subsequently marks its dedication to a church rooted in African realities.

2003. John Paul II Created Cardinal, a robust gesture to acknowledge his religious and mental affect. It turns into one of many faces of African Catholicism on the world scene.

2009. He is appointed president of the Pontifical Justice and Peace Council by Benoît XVI. In Rome, he pleads for an moral economic system, a honest interreligious dialogue and an Africa actress of his future.

2021. He leaves the administration of the Dicastery for full human growth, after making it a laboratory of social commitments of Pope Francis.

https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/conclave-pour-l-election-du-nouveau-pape-et-si-c-etait-peter-turkson-l-outsider-ghaneen-30-04-2025-2588605_3826.php