Cardinal Arinze could be first African pope

MANY Africans think it’s time for an African pope.

They say having a black at the top would anchor the Roman Catholic Church among the world’s poor - signalling the Vatican aims to lead the fight against inequality and disease, offering a hope of salvation in this world as well as the next.

And, they add, it would recognise that the Church is gravitating away from the ailing parishes and empty pews of Europe to focus on vibrant congregations to the south. Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria is among those mentioned most often around the Vatican as potential successors to John Paul II, although he is considered a long shot by most accounts, even among Africans.