Nigerians clamour for African Pope
Some Nigerians have taken to social media to agitate for an African to succeed the late Pope Francis.
Recall that Pope Francis died early Easter Monday at age 88 after 12 years of occupying the highest Roman Catholic Church position.
Since his death, some Nigerians have argued that Africa deserves the honour of replacing the late Pope.
A Facebook user, Tosin Dare wrote, “Time for an African, a Nigerian to become Pope.”
Steve Outlet wrote on Facebook, “If they refuse to give it to a Nigerian, we will force them or catholic will be without a pope. We are serious now!”
“Catholic is a political cum religious group. They can’t give blacks the coveted position,” Uchenna Ayogu said.
“Is it possible to pick an African as Catholic Pope? Because white people don’t believe in blacks,” Daramola Akinjide asked.
Kerry Damisah wrote, “I’ll be astonished if the world allows a negro to become Pope. That means justice and fairness have come to roost with mankind.”
Nissi Joe lamented, “They can never allow a black man to be the Pope, remember what happened to Arinze during the last Pope election or what? They are too biased.”
African Hub posted on X, “For the first time in centuries, world’s 1.3 billion Catholics may see a pope emerge from Africa that is traditionally underrepresented in Church’s highest office.
Your thoughts on this”
Cynical Publuis wrote, “It’s time for an African Pope.
I’ll tell you why.
“First, nowhere else on Earth is the Roman Catholic Church undergoing explosive growth like it currently is on the African continent.
“Second, while African masses sometimes include unique celebratory rites, nowhere else in Catholicism is the Catechism followed in such an orthodox manner.
“Third, it is the traditions and orthodoxies of the Roman Catholic Church that attract and save new people—not “relevant messages,” not gay marriage endorsements, not “Liberation Theology,” not hiding pedophilia scandals, not European churches being turned into mosques or museums, and not Woody Guthrie banjo music instead of hymns.
“I believe an African Pope would electrify Catholicism and the world in the same way selecting a Pope from behind the Iron Curtain did in the 1980s.”
In Africa, the leading candidate is Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, who came up as one of the favourites for the 2013 conclave that saw Pope Francis become the elected leader of the Catholic Church.
Based on the recent history of the Catholic Church, we can expect a new pope in approximately two to three weeks. After the death of a pope, the Vatican declares a period of mourning, which typically lasts nine days.
