Eleven Votes.
They don’t care much about the color factor, but they do want to have the world listen to the voice of their continent, and they have 11 votes to do so. And in such a fluid and divided context is not a little thing. They are the symbol of a Christianity in constant growth, with a strong spiritual side, even though terribly threatened by religious sects and Islam. Benedict XVI was very moved by this African spirituality during his trips to Cameroon, Angola and Benin. Thanks to those visits and the attention that Ratzinger has given to Africa by encouraging local churches to keep in touch with each other and work as a team to overcome political and social pitfalls, escaping to multiple pressures, this group of cardinals who have a role to play in the conclave grew stronger and stronger. And this is a new element in comparison to the last election (in 2005). The African cardinals are together, not like the Latin Americans who are struggling to stay in tune nor the Asians. Only the North Americans (cardinals from United States, Canada, Mexico) will tend to play a joint action for electing a candidate both capable and willing to reform the Church, right in doctrine and good in communications.
Peter Turkson
Among the eleven African voters there are two curials, both with the right characteristics to be elected. The first is Peter Appiah Turkson from Ghana, 64 years old, former rector of a Catholic university and appointed in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI at the head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He speaks six languages, including Hebrew.
Robert Sarah
The second is a Guinean, born in a region with a mostly Muslim population. Robert Sarah is well known as a man of dialogue. University studies between Rome and Jerusalem (Biblical Sciences), polyglot, was named (again by Pope Ratzinger) at the head of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the department that manages the Church's charity, an emergency task force that carry out humanitarian relief operations following disasters, bringing relief to refugees. The last trip Sarah has done on behalf of the Pope was two weeks ago in Jordan, visiting the Syrians refugee camps. French cardinals might like him, but his fate is still unclear. In the African lobby there are also the Nigerian Olorunfemi, the Congolese Pasinya, the Nigerian Okogie, the Sudanese Wako, the South African Fox Napier, cardinal Sarr from Senegal, the Tanzanian Pengo, the Kenyan Njue, and the Egyptian Naguib. Almost all of them were named cardinal by Ratzinger, who shared with them the same vision and doctrinal conviction that the Church in Africa must work together, to be an irreplaceable point of reference. In front of fragile states, with corrupt administrations and explosive social situations, the churches are landmarks, rich in human resources, networks, sanitary works, newspapers, radio, and often Christian communities are the only realities that can bring a palliative to most glaring deficiencies.
Meetings
In recent days there have been several meetings between the African cardinals. Informal discussions, exchange of ideas, reflections on common projects but especially on the most urgent needs. The topic of new evangelization has emerged several times. They want a Pope with a broader vision, who’ll be able to compete with globalization and the mobility of populations that now tend to overcome borders. The universal Church is ready for a black pope, but maybe the rest of the world is not (as several cardinals have admitted so far). In any case, the Africans are gearing up. If it won’t be black, the next Pope will be someone who listen to black people a lot.
(Translated from Italian by Stella Prudente)
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