Cardinal Peter Turkson, seen as a candidate to become the first pope of African origin in nearly 1,500 years, has submitted his resignation to the Vatican, people familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters on Saturday.
Turkson, 73, a Ghanaian, has served as one of Pope Francis’ top advisers on issues related to the climate emergency and social justice and is the only African to head a department at the Vatican. The Ghanaian leads the sector linked to the promotion of integral human development, structured for five years to deal with issues such as migration, peace and justice.
According to Vatican sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Francis has yet to comment on the resignation request. Another source told Reuters that Turkson, who in two years is old enough for bishops to compulsorily retire, was fed up with the Catholic Church’s infighting.
The cardinal’s departure would leave the Vatican with no African at the head of an important department. Cardinal Robert Sara of Guinea, who represented the continent at the Vatican alongside Turkson, retired earlier this year when he turned 75.
The Turkson-led department underwent an external review this year, at the request of the pope and headed by Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago. News of his likely resignation comes after two other department members have left in recent months, one due to retirement, the other for no clear reasons.
The Catholic Church had several popes born in North Africa early in its history. The latter, however, occupied the post in the 5th century. Even if Yurkson leaves his post at the Vatican, he could, until he turns 80, enter the name dispute to replace Francis after the pontiff dies or retires, according to the institution’s rules. .
According to information from the Italian blog Messainlatino, which published the information for the first time, the Ghanaian cardinal would remain in office until the next 31st.
One of the possible names to replace him, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA), is that of Italian Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, retired archbishop of Agrigento, a commune in the region of Sicily. Pope Francis met him during his first visit to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, a region where many immigrants from Africa land for Europe, in 2013, and invited him to move to Rome, even though he was not offered a position.
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