CARDINAL PETER TURKSON

The Ghanian Cardinal has been many's favourite

Published: March 13, 2013

Comment

: Pope Bennedict…added more Cardinals from Italy

Cardinals of the Catholic Church have failed to elect a new Pope on their first day in the Vatican conclave.

Black smoke rising from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel indicated that their first ballot vote had been inconclusive.
The election was prompted by the surprise abdication of Benedict XVI last month who threw in the towel amid various rumors ranging from ill-health to some pressure on him to address looming scandals in the church. It looked likely that an African Cardinal would be a frontrunner but as the weeks have gone by there is no clear frontrunner to take over from Pope Benedict as head of the Church.
The 115 cardinal-electors will vote four times daily until two-thirds can agree on a single candidate. The vote was the first held by the cardinals since they entered the conclave on Tuesday afternoon, and was not expected to produce a positive result.
Crowds who had braved rain and storms to watch the start of the conclave at St Peter’s Square cheered as the black smoke appeared.
The electors will now return to their hotel for the night and go back to the chapel on Wednesday morning to resume voting.
White smoke from the chimney signifies that a new pope has been chosen and black smoke signifies inconclusive vote.
Pope Benedict’s historically-unprecedented early resignation and the recent damage to the Church’s reputation which is beset by problems ranging from a worldwide scandal over child sex abuse to allegations of corruption makes the choice of the cardinal-electors especially hard to predict at this time.
Dean of the cardinals,Italian Angelo Sodano, called for unity in the Church saying “My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart,” Sodano said in his homily, receiving warm applause when he thanked “the beloved and venerable” Benedict XVI.
The cardinals will only emerge from their seclusion once they have chosen the 266th pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Church and it is yet to be seen whether history will be made by electing an African Pope.
Africa had, prior to the election of Pope Benedict XVI, come too close to test power through the cardinal from Nigeria. This time it still
had the potential of having the cardinal from Ghana take the reins of power on this most powerful church in the world, but then the outgoing Pope used his vested authority to nominate more Italian candidates to join the contest. Simultaneously, the one from USA who had also hoped to be considered will still be part of the rush for the seat. Meanwhile there are different types of robes designed with various sizes awaiting the right Pope to be picked so business may resume at the Vatican. It would however, be interesting to see an African Pope make world history.

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson is a Ghanaian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 24 October 2009. He had served as Archbishop of Cape Coast.

Born: October 11, 1948 (age 64)

Education: Pontifical Biblical Institute, St. Teresa's Seminary, St. Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary, Ghana