• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
AFRIPOL

AFRIPOL

en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Mission Statement
  • Articles
  • Book Review
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze: the next Pope?

February 12, 2013 by Admin Leave a Comment

Written by Fraser Nelson

Cardinal Arinze Spectator

The first papal resignation since 1415 will throw the world’s attention on Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze, who is the bookies’ favourite to succeed Benedict XVI. Not so long ago, the candidates would all be Italians. Now, the odds on a pope from the third world are quite high. Europe now stands out as a secularist anomaly in a world where religion is strong and growing stronger, as we argue in this week’s Spectator.

There is an saying in the Vatican: young cardinals vote for old popes. This bodes will for the 80-year-old Cardinal Arinze, an Igbo Nigerian who spent 25 years in the Vatican. He was, once, the world’s youngest bishop. He is quite conservative, as the last two Popes were, and was seen as a runner last time. The liberal Cardinals will like the idea of a Pope from the developing world. The new rules mean a new Pope needs the votes of two-thirds of the Cardinals, so one faction cannot impose its will over another. Since no one expected Benedict’s resignation, it could well be that the Cardinals are not ready to come up with a long-term solution. Older popes are, historically, a form of compromise. Arinze himself can’t vote, having turned 80. There are only ten African electors left.

Coral and William Hill both have Arinze as favourite. A Hill spokesman said:-

“When we opened betting last time around, in 2005, Francis Arinze was our favourite. His odds did drift towards the date of the announcement when Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) became the favourite, but he remained in the top three. Also, when Ratzinger became pope, Arinze took over from him as cardinal bishop of Velletri-Segni (a Catholic diocese close to Rome) —— it could be that he’ll follow in his footsteps again.”

The bookies may well have it wrong: odds simply reflect the weight of money, and the market may not be very liquid. Most bets were placed before anyone thought a race was really likely. We are in uncharted territory – will the pope’s presence influence his successor? What will his role be? Indeed, what do we call him: Pontiff Emeritus? Ex-Benedict? And while Arinze was a runner in 2005 he retired a few years ago, hardly demonstrating an appetite for the far-greater demands of the papacy.

If a younger pope is called for there is another African option in the form of the young (by papal standards) Peter Turkson, a Ghanian. There are hints that he is Benedict’s favourite candidate: not so long ago the pope said that having a African pontiff (for the first time in 1500 years) would “send a splendid signal to the world” about the universality of the church.

But is this what Benedict wants? He has appointed surprisingly few Africans to the electoral college, as John L Allen pointed out last year. Allen had this to say:

In general, today’s nominations reinforce the dominance of the West in the College of Cardinals. Only three of the 18 new electors come from the developing world — one Brazilian, one Indian, and one from China (Hong Kong). In that sense, the College of Cardinals will continue to be unrepresentative of Catholic demography, given that two-thirds of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today live in the global south, a share projected to rise to three-quarters by mid-century.

Coral’s odds will probably change quickly, as money is placed. But right now, they are as follows:

Cardinal Francis Arinze 7/4 of Nigeria. Age 80.

Cardinal Peter Turkson 2/1 of Ghana, Age 64. Appointed by Benedict four years ago to become president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet 5/1 of Canada, Age 68

Archbishop Angelo Scola 8/1, an Italian philosopher. Aged 71.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga 10/1. A Honduran who was President of the Latin American Episcopal Conference. Age 70

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone 12/1, an Italian prelate. Aged 78

PS I should add that betting is a mug’s game. It all depends on the preferences of a tiny group of pension-age cardinals, who tend not to tell anyone what they’re thinking. But if anyone would know what they’re thinking, it’s Benedict. He may well have decided to stand down now (rather than die in office, as popes have done for the last few centuries) because he thinks the stars are aligning for his favoured candidate.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson is the editor of The Spectator. He is also a columnist with The Daily Telegraph, a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Social Justice and the Centre for Policy Studies.

Filed Under: Strategic Research & Analysis

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More to See

(video) Sentencing of Ike Ekweremadu, wife for organ harvesting

May 6, 2023 By AFRIPOL

Ike Ekweremadu: Organ-trafficking Nigerian politician and wife send to Prison

May 5, 2023 By AFRIPOL

RSS AllAfrica News: Latest

  • South Africa: High Court Blocks Zuma's Private Prosecution Bid
    [allAfrica] Cape Town -- The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg has set aside former president Jacob Zuma's bid to prosecute News24 journalist Karyn Maughan and prosecutor Billy Downer, News24 reports. This comes after Maughan and Downer made a legal challenge against the former president who alleged that Downer was responsible for leaking private medical information […]
  • Cameroon: Journalists Say Suspensions Are Sign of Government Crackdown
    [VOA] Yaounde -- Journalists in Cameroon say the government's indefinite shutdown of a radio station and suspension of four reporters is a sign of a growing crackdown on the country's news media. The government says it is trying to stop the spread of hate speech, while journalists say officials want to retaliate against criticism of […]
  • Malawi: Malawi Revokes Dubious Citizenship of Refugees Wanted Abroad
    [VOA] Blantyre -- Malawi's government has started revoking citizenship of refugees and asylum-seekers who they say obtained their status fraudulently.
  • Sudan: North Darfur's Kutum Has Fallen Into RSF Hands
    [Dabanga] Kutum -- Journalist and political analyst Abdelrahman El Ajab told Radio Dabanga that the town of Kutum in North Darfur has fallen under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Dozens died and people fear a civil war.
  • Algeria: UN Security Council to Welcome Five New Non-Permanent Members
    [UN News] Five countries have been elected as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council following a vote in the General Assembly on Tuesday.
  • Africa: Does Artificial Intelligence Need a Regulatory UN Watchdog?
    [IPS] United Nations -- The frighteningly rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have triggered the question: is there a UN role for monitoring and regulating it?

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Footer

Africa Political and Economic Strategic Center, AFRIPOL is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa. To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa.

Recent

  • Nigerian immigrant Yemi Mobolade breaks GOP stronghold and wins mayoral election in Colorado (video)
  • Why these African Americans cried upon their first visit to Africa (Ghana)
  • Tina Turner: “Africans are very lazy people” (1976)
  • I will never call Tinubu my president.- Pastor Tunde Bakare
  • LIVE! PETER OBI CHATS WITH NIGERIANS

Search

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States

Copyright © 2023 · AFRIPOL