Will a Nigerian Prefect succeed Pope John Paul II?

Cardinal Francis Arinze, the 72 year-old Prefect of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is seen by many as a credible candidate to the Pope John Paul II and could become the first African to rule the Holy See since the death of Gelasius I in 496 AD.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, the 72 year-old Prefect from Nigeria. A Black Pope would unify White, Black, Brown, Yellow and Red Christians to face the challenge before the Catholicism. While there are many challenges like abortion, divorce, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. The most mortal one, not just for Catholicism or for Christendom since the Crusades, but for the whole of humankind, is the challenge of Islamic terrorism. The next pope would have to address himself to this challenge.

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If elected Cardinal Francis Arinze would be Africa's first pope in more than 1 500 years since Pope Gelasius I, who led the church between 492 C.E. and 496 C.E. when early Christians were struggling to convert a pre-Christian Europe. The question is why a Black Pope now?

The answer is obvious to unify White, Black, Brown, Yellow and Red Christians and face the challenge before the Catholicism. While there are many challenges like abortion, divorce, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. The most mortal one not just for Catholicism or for Christendom, since the Crusades, but for the whole of humankind is the challenge of Islamic terrorism. The next pope would have to address himself to this challenge. He faces a situation in many respects similar to that faced by Pope Urban II, who had to launch the crusades to save Western civilization. To address this challenge a Black Pope could be a master- stroke. He would be a symbol for the unity amongst all Christians White, black, brown and Yellow and would consequently put up a united front against the Muslims.

More significantly the level of passion in a Pope from a background that is not traditionally associated with the Papacy would be much more than in a White Pope. Such an incumbent would have a desire to become acceptable in the eyes of his White flock, and to create legitimacy he would display that he is more royalist than the king. A charge normally made in the case of Condoleezza Rice would be made in the case of a Black Pope. It is assumed that a new convert would be far more energetic to further his cause, and this would work to meet the challenge faced by Christendom and the world at large. So a Black pope is expected to be more militant in combating Islamic terror, and especially since he comes from Nigeria, where the fault-lines of Muslim-Christian civilizations clash are sharpest as they are in Kashmir, Chechnya, Israel.

Had they wanted a white Pope, the cardinals could have chosen a Cardinal from say Ireland or Scandinavia, but they want a spread their wings beyond the White zone.

Most importantly if they wanted a colored pope, they could have selected one from South Africa or Fiji or an Afro-American from Latin America or the Hispanics in the USA. But if they elect one from Nigeria, the Holy See would be sending clear signals to the Muslims that the cardinals on the electoral college are addressing the challenge of Islamic Terrorism, as the electoral college in 1978 addressed the challenge of Communism by electing a Polish Cardinal to the papacy. History today could be repeating itself, and by electing a Black Cardinal from Nigeria, the Holy See would be making a political statement and to put it more bluntly picking up the gauntlet that was thrown by Islamic terrorism in launching the most spectacular attack on the Western world on 9/11.

The Nigerian cardinal is the fourth-ranking cardinal in the Vatican and the African with the best chance of succeeding Pope John Paul II. Once a year, in August, Cardinal Arinze leaves the marble halls of the Vatican, where for two decades he has been a senior officer of the Church, and returns to Eziowelle to stay in the parsonage and celebrate mass in the humble surroundings of Saint Edward's church.

Nigeria has the largest Roman Catholic population in Africa of about 20 million.

One-hundred-seventeen cardinals from around the world, including 11 from Africa, are to gather for a conclave at the Vatican before the end of the month to elect the new pope.

This election is going to be an interesting one and the results would have implication far beyond the simple election of an ecclesiastical head of the Catholic flock.

Photo and Story Credit: Jamaica Observer and Voice of America