Will the conclave electing a new Pope have an “Obama moment” and pick a Black Pope for the first time in history? Africans seem enamored to the idea especially as many Cardinals are openly pushing for a Pope of color. As Cardinals get into conclave to begin the process of picking the next God’s Messenger to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, intrigues, scandals, rumors and fears capable of impugning the credibility of the eventual new Pope have become the confetti on the lane being walked by the 115 Cardinal Electors, who constitute the conclave that has the theocratic right to elect the new Pope.
The church has suddenly found itself in uncharted waters owing to the fact that no Pope had resigned in over 600 years. But far from the feeling of sobriety expected to capture the spiritual aspect of the moment that the church is witnessing with the election of the new Pope, various reports on the inside happenings appeared to underscore the internal struggles at the Vatican, as prelates scramble to consolidate power and discredit their rivals in the aftermath of a troubled Papacy.
Some of the stories in the media stretched the high stake intrigue theory beyond bounds, alleging gay sex scandals in the Vatican which the retired Pope was unable to control. The recent explosion of bad press, which the Vatican has vehemently refuted, touch on some of the most vexing issues of Benedict’s nearly eight-year reign, also speak to Benedict’s own difficulties in governance. The media is awash with emerging fears rife enough to influence the vote and with it the direction of the Church. Cardinal electors must be less than 80 years old to participate in the conclave. The average age is 72.
Interestingly, Africa has eleven (11) Cardinals who are part of the conclave, including two Nigerians (Olubunmi Anthony Okogie and John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan). Others are Polycarp Pengo (Tanzania), Gabriel Zubeir Wako (Sudan), Wilfrid Fox Napier (South Africa), Theodore Adrien Sarr (Senegal), John Njue (Kenya), Robert Serah (Guinea), Peter Kodwo Apiah Turkson (Ghana), Antonios Naguib (Egypt) and Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Democratic Republic of Congo).
The appeal of a Black Pope is understandable as it seems to reflect the hope that the church at the top of the pyramid would finally reflect the demographic reality of the faith on the ground, since the growing majority of Catholics live in the Southern Hemisphere. A Black Pope would show that the church can embrace change – not necessarily by altering a particular doctrine but by changing the way it expresses and embodies the faith. In that sense, a Black Pope would be a substantive symbol, much the same way people saw Polish-born John Paul II in 1978, the first non-Italian pontiff in centuries and one who came from behind the Iron Curtain.
Within the last three decades, the center of gravity in World Christianity has moved from the West to the global South. There are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world, according to Vatican figures. More than 40% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America – but Africa has seen the biggest growth in Catholic congregations in recent years. When Pope Benedict visited Africa in 2009 there were an estimated 158 million Catholics. By 2025 there will be 230 million, comprising one sixth of the world’s Catholics. The world’s largest seminary is in Nigeria and Africa produces the largest percentage of the world’s new priests. Africa boasts 16 cardinals, of which Peter Turkson from Ghana is the frontrunner to succeed Benedict XVI.
For many Catholics, where a Pope comes from may not be as important as who the Pope is, but for most African Catholics the election of a Black African Pope will be a wonderful sign that African Catholicism has come of age, and they hope that such a Pope will address squarely the particular challenges facing Africans today and integrate African culture and socio-economic priorities into mainstream Catholicism.
The stage is therefore apparently set for the prospect of an African pope to be put to the test in the next conclave. Although indications have emerged that the world could settle for a black Pontiff, in reality, however, there are several factors militating against a Black Pope; the biggest one being a structural bias that will be very hard to overcome.
A Geographical Imbalance
The geographical divide in the conclave is instructive: Europe (60), Latin America (19), North America (14), Africa (11), Asia (10) and one Australian. They include diplomats, academics, intellectuals and theologians; hardliners, conservatives, ultra-conservatives, moderates, mavericks and many who simply defy categorization.
Simply put, the College of Cardinals has been gerrymandered to favor a European candidate. Europe has 24% of the world’s Catholics and a much lower rate of practice but claims 69% of all the Cardinals. Latin America, home to 42% of the world’s Catholics, has just 21% of the College of Cardinals (19 out of 115 electors). Similarly, Africa has 16% of the world’s Catholics and the fastest congregations growing rate, but just 12% of the cardinals. Even USA and Canadian Catholics are overrepresented: 8% of all Catholics reside in North America but they account for 16% of the cardinals.
The imbalance derives in part from history: The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, following St. Peter, the first Vicar of Rome, who tradition says was martyred there. The Bishop of Rome was elected by the people and priests of the city. Later, the election was held by Cardinals, who are given honorary positions in the Diocese of Rome or serve in the Vatican bureaucracy. Even now, numerous Italian dioceses and offices in the Roman Curia still automatically come with a red hat. And because Europe was the engine of Catholicism until the last century, a Bishop who’s appointed to one of its prominent dioceses also gets a Cardinal’s title. It’s a tradition that has always invited some criticism.
The “internationalization” of the College of Cardinals which began in the mid-20th century and continued at a slow but steady pace was halted by Pope Benedict XVI who made reviving Catholicism in Europe his top priority. Benedict made the College more European at the expense of the Global South. In the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict, just over 16% of the Cardinals were Italian; in the present conclave, 24% are Italian. But the obstacles to electing a non-European are more than just numerical.
An Insider’s Club
First, there’s the language barrier. Italian is the lingua franca of the Vatican and all members of the Roman Curia speak Italian while Cardinals from outside generally do not. The secretive world of the Vatican is hard enough to navigate but impossible, if you can’t even ask for directions. Secondly, except the North Americans, Cardinals from outside Europe usually don’t go to the Vatican much and have little chances to get acquainted with each other. They often know so little of their fellow candidates that they have been known to ask journalists for guidance.
And of course the Cardinals working at the Vatican tend to know everyone, and everyone knows them. So in retrospect, it was no surprise that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected since he was a familiar and trusted presence who had worked in the Curia for decades. This time, however, there are some factors that could scramble the usual calculus.
One is that a number of European and North American Cardinals have openly expressed support for a non-European Pope. Another thing is that history and recent events (especially last year’s infamous Vatileaks scandal) have shown that the Curia and the Italians in particular, are often more interested in tearing each other down than in supporting one of their own. That could lead to a possible compromise that would see them give the papacy to an African; probably Turkson of Ghana, who heads the Vatican’s Peace and Justice office, without actually deviating from the old playbook. But it is not clear whether it would make any difference to have a Pope with a black face if he turned out to be more Roman than Julius Caesar.
Huhuonline.com Editorial
