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Meet the man who could be the first black pope
By Samuel Burke, CNN
You don't have to be Catholic to care about who the next Pope will be.
The guessing game about who will replace Benedict XVI has begun, and near the top of many lists is Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana.
The Catholic Church is growing fastest in Africa and Asia, so many are wondering if the next Pope might come from outside Europe.
“It is certainly possible to have a Cardinal come from the Southern part of the globe,” Turkson told CNN’s Christaine Amanpour on Tuesday, citing the long history of the Church in Latin America and Cardinals from Africa and Asia now taking important leadership positions. “So the possibility that a candidate, or that any of the Cardinals, to be elected Pope can come from the southern part of the globe is very real.”
When Amanpour asked Turkson about the possibility of the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal spreading to Africa, he said it would unlikely be in the same proportion as it has in Europe.
“African traditional systems kind of protect or have protected its population against this tendency,” he said. “Because in several communities, in several cultures in Africa homosexuality or for that matter any affair between two sexes of the same kind are not countenanced in our society.”
According to the American Psychological Association, "homosexual men are not more likely to sexually abuse children than heterosexual men are."
Turkson acknowledged that many Catholic nuns have been driven out of the church because they are prevented from joining the top levels of the Church and becoming priests, but he defended the practice as part of Catholic tradition.
“If one does not have access to ordination is not discrimination,” he said, but rather “it is just how the church has understood this order of ministry to be.”
You can watch the interview with the possible papal contender in the video above.
READ MORE: Pope’s friend ‘not surprised’ by Benedict XVI’s decision
@camanpour on Twitter
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana responded to all the questions but he didn't say anything. This is a unique opportunity for the Catholic Church to send a message of change to the world. They better choose a priest willing to make the necessary changes now. If they don't do it now we might have to wait for another 30-40 years.
Jesus was "white." Mary was "white." All the popes were "white." It's a "WHITE" world out there. White, white, white. God is white. So, a black pope?? A Mexican, or Brit, or Indian, or......why be realistic? Why have the leader of the Catholic church (born in the east to semetic people) be anything else but white?? Santa is white. Snow fairy, tooth fairy, .....white soul, white heart.....white......because human beings are as stupid as rocks.
Actually, many scholars believe that Victor I was the first black pope, hailing from Africa. He was pope from 189-199 A.D.
Jesus and Mary were not "white". They were Jewish/Israelites. Olive skinned. Not white. Not black, but clearly not "white" in your mindless ramble. Song: Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world red and yellow black and white Jesus loves the little children of the world." Grow up!
Black people were Adam, Eve, and GOD.
Juan....Victor I was most likely not black as we understand it today. He was born in the Roman province of Africa (Leptis Magna). This is North Africa in the pre-Christian Roman Empire, not sub Saharan African. He was most likely olive in skin tone or even white as we know it today if he was descended from Romans or of a Romano-North African mix.
Sidb1980:
He was being sarcastic. There's a reason "white" is in quotes. Over your head.
Hate to burst your bubble.. but Jesus Mary and Joseph were not even close to being white... they are represented as white in our white centric world... but they were most likely dark skinned as per the region they came from. simple geography
I'd feel much more comfortable with someone of ALL colors elected! That's right: someone who's a little of everything! The Catholic church needs to also let women progress, ease up on birth control, or they're definitely done for. They, themselves, warped the bible...get back to basics, and honor ALL of humankind!
I realy like this one! I thing it's a time for somebody from outside the Europe.
Black Pope is never gonna happen. There would be riots in Rome. Maybe a hispanic but doubtful.
Ed, you are a racist.
The cardinals are too smart. They won't elect a black guy.
Stop with the race card everytime you open your mouth you yammering sphincter.
He is not necessarily a racist, he could be, but he may have information we do not have and be a realist. Sometimes the facts appear to be racist when they are just facts.
No, he is predicting the college of cardinals will make a racially motivated decision. Big difference.
God bless u John.
Theoretically it is possible, i doubt of the practical situation.However, we might see very soon....He just have to say "YES WE CAN".
Ed, you need to get out more. You couldn't be more wrong on this.
The same thing was said about a Black president in the USA. The world is changing my friend, get on board.
And regardless whether democrat or republican, our president has continued just as his predecessor (Bush). He has increased the war effort and continues to lose lives in Iraq and Afghanistan while increasing the debt of the nation. I will admit he has been more effective at increasing the debt than his predecessor. He has also lost more jobs than his predecessor. He does have a 52% approval rating probably from those receiving government handouts.
The Catholic Church NEVER did anything for women's rights so, why would they be fair to men of color? Here in the US, we gave women equal footing before electing a black president. Catholic Church is still in the dark ages.
karek40:
A recent Forbes article showed that Obama is the the lowest spender since Eisenhower. Check your facts before going on an unrelated diatribe.
Like they said a black president will never happen in the US
If I recall he was on the list the last time. Why not? What's the big deal? He would not be at this level if he didn't have the ability to lead the entire Catholic Church.
"Why not?"
Because it's the Catholic Church, one of the least progressive organizations in the entire world.
in your dreams
I doubt you could get Italians too bothered about who the Pope is– not these days.
Ed, I agree whole heartedly.It really does baffle me how Africans who gave the world a system of spirituality, science, architecture, reading, writing, and even monotheism could leave all of it and subscribe to something as low as Catholicism. It may be good for the Europeans, after all they created it. Not so much for the Africans. The fact that this man is even a cardinal is bad but for him to become Pope is a huge step backward for all of Africa
CNN, DO YOUR JOB & research your subject matter. You will find that there have been black popes in the past.
You're absolutely right, three black popes
No. There have been 3 "African" popes but no black popes.
I'm expecting a South American pope personally.
African and Black are interchangable apparently now a days. So not sure why you are saying there were no "black" popes.
Each of the three African popes was very North African, and off-white.
Off-white? What are you talking about? The consensus is that they were in fact black as we in the US would describe it today. They were elected prior to the understanding of racism as it is today but they were in fact, black. This CNN writer simply failed to include what is known historically either to make waves or just out of plain ignorance.
Africa is a country. Morocco and Egypt are in Africa. I worked with an Egyptian and he was as white as he can be and he was born in Alexandria Egypt. Morocco has a lot of whites and so does South Africa. So just because they say they are African does not mean that they are black. Actress Cheliz Theron (sp) was born in Africa, so you can say she is African.
Uh...Africa is not a "country". Africa is a continent. It has 54 countries.
The "consensus?"
Two of the three Popes were Berbers, and the third (Victor) was from Leptis Magna in modern-day Libya. The consensus AMONG BERBERS AND LIBYANS THEMSELVES is that they are not "black" (i.e. sub-saharan African) but rather Mediterranean peoples. The typical American on the street would not be able to differentiate them phenotypically from Turks, Sicilians, or Arabs.
We have no pictures of these men, so they might have been mulattos. So while they were sub-saharan black african, they likely had black parents/ grand parents, which causes alot of confusion for some...what is black today was not black yesterday or in other parts of the world.
Colorblind, Though a shame it is true. There has been Black Popes unfortunately.
cardinal luis tagle of the philippines a dynamic and humble with charismatic personality should be our next pope. holy spirit bless the philippines.
Tagle is far too young.
Are you for real? three black popes in the past?thats pretty interesting.
I m sure the next Pope will be H.E. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.
I Strongly Believe That It's Time An African Was Made A POPE. According To Cardinal Peter Turkson, The African Tradional/Religious Cultures, Abhor Some Certain Immoralities That Are Now The "In-Thing" In Europe. Besides, The Black/African Cardinals Have Lived Up To Their Divine Catholic Calling. Vatican, Please The Time For This Transformation Is Now. Our Lord Jesus Is Always The Lord. (Mike-Sisa: Nigeria).
Though it is theoritically possible to have a pope from outside Europe,many catholics faithfulls may have to do alot of waiting before that comes to fruition;but then again,who knows?
any color is ok dude as long as he his fammiliar with the preches and the religious beliefs it often wonders even on this age we sometimes are racist and look at the color code in the bar code era it just amazes how societies have evolved over the history the luv and hatred as carried forward to such an extent people have been seen to dominant and exterminate the inferior and the weaker ones as if they are some sort of aliens.... lets grow up... asap
According to the supposed prophecy of St Malachy, the next Pope could be Peter the Roman. I wonder who amongst the possible candidates fits this description.
If the new pope chooses the name of "Peter," we're really going to have to hold our breaths, because it appears exceedingly likely that whoever he is, he will indeed move into Rome.
Agreed, his name itself doesn't have to be "Peter", but his Pope name that is chosen would need to be to fit St. Malachy's prophecy. As we can see from Benedict's. It is the other aspects of the prophecy that they try to fit the person too – Olive branch, Sun? Pope John Paul – regarding eclipses on specific events in his life. Some believe since Peter the Roman was not numbered there could be others between him and the current Pope.
CNN, you wish. Picking the Pope is not a "politically correct" process nor subject to "diversity mandates". Stay out of this.
What do you expect from CNN when one of their reporters questioned if the meteor that passed by us recently was a result of global warming.
EXACTLY!
"Stay out of this"
It's worth mentioning when it would be the first black pope in recent history, because the Catholic Church is historically rather fond of the status quo.
Not the first Black/African Pope: According to the Liber Pontificalis, three popes-Pope St Victor I (ca186-198), Pope St Miltiades (311-14), and Pope St Gelasius (492-496)-were Africans. The Liber Pontificalis is composed of a series of biographical entries, which record the dates and important facts for each pope. It is the oldest and most detailed chronicle dating from the Early Church. The Liber Pontificalis is dated from the sixth century. The record of names begins with St Peter. As the work progressed the entries became longer and more detailed. The Liber Pontificalis continued to be written until 1431.-http://www.nbccongress.org/black-catholics/african-popes.asp
2 of those popes were from North Africa Berber origin, and therefore not black. Victor is argued as possibly being black but images of him show him as being white and no one knows for sure.
Glad someone pointed this out!
The fact that we have news articles about "first black..." shows how racist society still is. If we don't want skin color to matter, then stop making it matter.
He might be the first pope to be lactose intolerant but there won't be headlines about that.
Well said!
Ignoring racism does not make it go away. Check your privilege.
I'm holding out for a Black, openly Gay, Buddhist Pope from Antarctica. Now that would shake things up a bit. Then I'd know GOD is real.
Love it!
This is the problem with the Catholic church extremist and traditionalist being placed in control. There's nothing wrong with following tradition but to say that nuns shouldn't be ordained as priest or shouldnt be allowed to serve God in a higher capacity is ridiculous. The church has to realize these are different times and some traditions are meant to be broken. Without a new perspective on the church nothing will change.
First let him prove that he's not a Muslim, then we can ask the Donald what he thinks.
We don't need another poppa flat-earther.
Fickle Obama voters would probably convert to Catholicism in droves.
It's funny because ignorance!
'Turkson acknowledged that many Catholic nuns have been driven out of the church because they are prevented from joining the top levels of the Church and becoming priests, but he defended the practice as part of Catholic tradition.'
Its also tradition that you stay in the job until you die so things change.
Yeah that'll go well in the Vatican. They'll elect an American (Dolan) before they'll elect a black.from Africa.
Hey CNN, do yourself a favor and hire a reporter who knows how to use Google.
There have already been 3 black popes: Pope St Victor I (ca186-198), Pope St Miltiades (311-14), and Pope St Gelasius (492-496).
Way to be as professional as a college newspaper that doesnt check its sources...
being from Africa does not make them black...especially North africa
there are not black ok
if you would look at painting of those popes..you would see, they are very much white
Born in Africa, but not black.
will never happen
What is your problem?
People thought that of a President in the US. What's the big deal? This guy wouldn't be a Cardinal if the Catholic Church didn't think he had the ability to lead. Look at these stats: There are a lot of primarily non-white nations with a lot of acknowledged Catholics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_by_country So as a whole, I don't see the entire Catholic church being against a non-white getting the job.
There's a big difference between being a black cardinal in Africa and being the black figurehead of the entire organization. Given the Church's recent track record I wouldn't expect much.
It's a shame that CNN does NOT do it's research before writing and posting articles of this nature. Sadly, the internet and ease of access to vast amounts of information has not made us smarter. There have, in fact, been 3 popes from Africa to-date.
Pope St. Victor I was the first. He reigned from 186-197 A.D. as the 15th Pope; Pope St. Militiades was the second pontiff from Africa. He reigned from 311-314 A.D.; and Pope St. Gelasius I who reigned from 492-496 A.D. as the 49th Pope.
The article does not state that there has never been a pope from Africa.
It's a shame that your reading comprehension is so poor.
I don't care if the pope is white, black, or purple with orange polka dots. As long as he strongly supports the Catholic doctrines of traditional marriage and protection of unborn babies, I wouldn't care if he was the hunchback of Notre Dame.
I believe you have hit the nail on the head as to the real issue or question that Catholics need to be asking. Many bring up race, but the real question, as you point to, is will this person stick to the strong, traditional beliefs or will the next Pope be more open and flexible to the cultural changes in this world?
That is not what the Cardinal College will be considering when they pick a pope. They won't pick a cardinal from America because they think he'd be beholden to the President. Do you really think a group of people with thinking like that would pick a black guy from Africa?
Why do we care about this religious monarchy? It is a shameful historical relic.
Tell that to the nearly 1.2 billion Catholics.
How is the obsession with "blackness"... for Popes, Presidents, business people, quarterbacks, cabinet officers, members of congress, judges, and on and on... different from the racism that supposedly favored whites and against which every person with access to a microphone rails on a daily basis. The solution to racism is not more racism.
That's not how racism works.
Some of you are ill informed, don't confused the modern day Egyptians Arabs with the ancient black Egyptians who the bible and Roman and Greek historians talk about. The Arabs in Libya and Morocco and Egypt are 4th century invader not the true black Africans of those land.
Their have already been black popes like their are over a 100 black saints. Problem is the uninformed are still reading and believing what 17-18-19-20th century racist and explorer tell them. We have historical and eye witness accounts from historian who saw the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews.
http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/Jesus/Jesus.htm
Some of you are ill informed, don't confused the modern day Egyptians Arabs with the ancient black Egyptians who the bible and Roman and Greek historians talk about. The Arabs in Libya and Morocco and Egypt are 4th century invader not the true black Africans of those land.
Their have already been black popes like their are over a 100 black saints. Problem is the uninformed are still reading and believing what 17-18-19-20th century racist and explorer tell them. We have historical and eye witness accounts from historian who saw the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews.
St Clement
St Benedict
Pope Gregory
http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/Jesus/Jesus.htm
Let the will of God prevail....
EFE, you speak my mind. Let us all pray that God's will be done.
Who care where the head pedophile comes from.
Have you stopped diddling your children yet?
could this be the "Peter Romanus" the Peter of Rome that the Catholic prophet St.Malachy prophesied would come to the papcy as the 112th and FINAL pope (Pope.B. was the 111th) If so, his prophecy says that he will preside over the destruction of Rome during his tenure. then Malacy says "THE END" Nice day everyone!
Those Cardinals are mostly white. They probably will elect a white man. I am not a white man, I am an asian. I like to see a non-white person as a pope.
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Someone help me out here, what difference does it make what color the pope is as long as he leads the church in the way God intends for it to be run?! Who cares?!
Our Catholic church has been rocked by so many scandals it's ridiculous! People ridicule us because of the decisions of the people at "the top". I HATE that the pedophiles were not handled in the way they should have been. If they elect someone that will handle these issues accordingly, his COLOR doesn't matter!!
I'm a Hispanic Catholic Republican. I dislike the current president's policies on several different issues but his color has NOTHING to do with any of it. For me, at least, the same will go for the next pope.
Have a blessed Lenten season, folks.
"Who cares?!"
The people who pick who will be the next Pope care. They shouldn't, but they do.
Who created "black" "hispanic" .............."white"? Why was this black left to raise through all ranks?
Why was he ordained a priest in the first place?
Have a blessed Lenten Season.
Hello Peter the Roman......
damn, First we president.
Now we pope.
Enough already with this progressiveness
The problem isn't discrimination, the problem is faulty interpretation of the scriptures. The RC Church uses church tradition as well as scripture as well as the Bible to determine it's doctrine and church practices. However, the culture that determined them was misogynistic and patriarchal. However, there are only a few church traditions that have recognized faulty exegesis and hermeneutics and allowed women to take their part in the church as leaders and ministers. I'm proud to be a minister in The Salvation Army that has recognized women in ministry from the beginning. Any woman can become a minister in our organization even up to the highest level. As a matter of fact our General (the international leader) is a Canadian woman, General Linda Bond, a coal miners daughter from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Since 1870's, women have been commissioned to the highest ranks. No other Christian organization or church can claim the same thing. We were way ahead of our time.
funny how st malachy in 1139 predicted the next pope be named peter. but what else did he predict? the end
Skin color or race aside, this Cardinal, at least from the way he conducted himself in this interview, is NOT papal material. He offered speculation instead of spiritually based responses steeped in the theology of the Church. He is not very charismatic nor does he seem particularly scholarly as most Cardinals, and indeed popes, are. Selecting him as pope might happen if the world at large was in charge of selection but I don't see that happening considering the manner in which popes are selected.
are u even a catholic you sound so ignorant
Actually he's right on the money.
Ghana, is a blessed nation.UN secretare General Kofi Annan was a Ghanaian, a lot of high ranking position is being held by Ghanaians, why worying.The next Pope is likely to be black from Ghana if only they are going to be fear in their election.
I think it be wonderful and in truth to man and Gods' beginnings of life on our planet. – an intelligent and truly spiritual servant to God and His Son Jesu Christi...
When you pray, do you expect God to judge your sincerity by the colour of your skin? Some 100,000 yrs ago my ancestors were black, then they moved to North Africa and turned white. Some 10,000 yrs ago they came back to "Sub Saharan Africa" and turned black again. So exactly what colour am I?
Where is "pastor" Phelps answer to having an African pope?
It should be a Filipino! Filipinos are all over the world and are very devout. Every Mass that I have been to in the Philippines has been standing room only.
I don't agreed with you sir,gdx that " i don't have be Catholic before am concern about who's the next pope and that the Catholic Church is growing fastest in Africa and Asia, so many are wondering if the next Pope might come from outside Europe". because spiritual isn't politics, but spiritual. the next pope is all about who God's want not about debate or election... Jesus Christ answer this way when the pharisees ask weather to pay tax. He said give what is for ceases to ceases and give what is for God to God.
I guess the true Evil Black Pope will be harder to find now. If you are not a conspiracy theorist pay no attention to what I am saying. The sheeple of the world will never understand how evil the REAL White Black Pope.
I guess this is just another excuse for the real Black Pope to hide. For the non-conspiracy theorist, dont pay attention to this post. It is not for sheeple. Lets just say the Real WHITE Black Pope is the Devil Incarnate.
The whole women ordination is NOT going to change, no pope can change that. It has been spoken as infallible doctrine. If you understood the theology behind the priesthood and the Trinity you might understand the why there will never be women priest. It is not discrimination it is just the way it is.
Saying "it is just the way it is" is the kind of thing that prevents it from ever changing.
The Church can do whatever it wants with its clergy, infallible doctrine or no.
Ain't involved. But wat's bad if black be a pope? It's their tym now. Goto US & see black in the White House doing his job.
It really does baffle me how Africans who gave the world a system of spirituality, science, architecture, reading, writing, and even monotheism could leave all of it and subscribe to something as low as Catholicism. It may be good for the Europeans, after all they created it. Not so much for the Africans. The fact that this man is even a cardinal is bad but for him to become Pope is a huge step backward for all of Africa.
Why doesn't CNN have the European candidates interviewed? Talk about reverse-racism.
can't tell if sarcasm or genuine idiocy
either way, bravo!
only a stupid ignorant american(the only group of ppl in the world) who will refer to AFRICA as a country. ONLY an American. No wonder you are a laughing stalk. get off your fat asses and couches eating potatoe chips and flipping thru channels of reality shows and stop letting cnn and fox educate you and your kids and future generation. Travel and learn something for change. Ignorance is the worse disease ever. Worse than cancer and aids combined.
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The Truth and Transparncy is what we need from the church. Mankind is willing to forgive. As for leadership, intense screening should be done to select the most suitable leader. The Lord be with us all.
Racism Patrol, the first civilisation were black (Egypt and so on).Now, white people has change this civilisation into white.That's all !
This debate, as well as the debate on the ordination of women, just seems fruitless. In my opinion it's only a matter of time til we have more equality in religion.
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