Experts weigh in on whether the next Pope could be from Africa or Asia
Experts suggest it’s a definite possibility. See who is in the running and what it might mean to have a person of colour heading the Catholic Church.
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Barack Obama in the White House. Rishi Sunak in Downing Street. Meghan Markle in the British Royal Family.
The 21st century has seen people of colour claim positions of prestige in some of the world’s most powerful institutions.
So are we nearing the moment when the Catholic Church elects an African or Asian Pope?
Church commentators – and the bookies – suggest it’s a definite possibility, with Luis Antonio Tagle from The Philippines and Peter Turkson from Ghana considered strong contenders for the papacy.
So what would it mean, to have a person of colour heading the Catholic Church?
In important ways, it would mean nothing at all – on the basis that skin colour is irrelevant for any candidate for any job.
But the election of a Pope from the Third World, or the Global South as it is sometimes now called, could have ramifications both for the region that Pope comes from, and the Church as a whole.
“To have a black pope would revive the Christian faith in Africa and change people’s views of Africa, by showing that an African can hold this office,” Father Charles Yapi from the Ivory Coast told Reuters.
Africa is currently home to one in five of the world’s Catholics; Asia is home to one in nine. And as the continents with the fastest growing populations, those proportions are likely to grow.
Writing in The Times, Roger Boyes wrote that it was “more than a numbers game”.
Tipping Cardinal Turkson to become the first black Pope since the early centuries of the Church, Mr Boyes wrote: “an African pope could use his weight to insert the continent more firmly into the geopolitics of the day”.
Other commentators have suggested the political implications of climate change could impact the next papacy in unforeseen ways, perhaps boosting the case for a pontiff from one of the regions set to be most affected.
Michael McGirr, Mission Director with the Catholic charity Caritas, said cardinals from both Asia and Africa were a “diverse group” but “some of the more conservative cardinals over the last while have come from Africa”.
“Just because somebody comes from Africa, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to be progressive,” he said.
There are a number of cardinals from Asia who the conclave will likely consider seriously, Mr McGirr said.
One is Cardinal Charles Maung Bo from Myanmar, who has “a lot of credit for dealing with a difficult political situation”.
His conservative leanings and strong credibility on justice issues will appeal to some Cardinals, but his age – 78 – could work against him, Mr McGirr said.
“And there is a wonderful Cardinal in Tonga called Cardinal Mafi. He’s quite a young man, he’s 65, he’d be fantastic … but I don’t think he has the theological underpinning. But he’s great with people and very humble and accessible.”
One of the frontrunners mentioned is Cardinal Luis Tagle, the former Archbishop of Manila, but Mr McGirr is not so sure.
“He has a lot going for him, but he was the head of Caritas International and for some reason the Pope (Francis) sacked him. I think that means he’s unlikely to get the nod,” he said.
Originally published as Experts weigh in on whether the next Pope could be from Africa or Asia
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