Chancellor of the Kumasi Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Felix Baffour Gyaewu, has dismissed concerns over the inability to elect an African pope in the just-ended papal election, describing such sentiments as misplaced and contrary to the universal nature of the Catholic Church.
This comes in the wake of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s election as the new pope, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, following the conclusion of a historic conclave in Vatican City.
In an interview on Channel One Newsroom on Thursday, May 8, Fr. Baffour Gyaewu refuted claims suggesting that the outcome of the conclave reflects a deliberate exclusion of African cardinals from the papacy.
Responding to questions about whether the African Church should feel disappointed by the result, he emphasised that the Catholic Church transcends geographical boundaries.
According to him, what matters most is not the origin of the pope, but the spiritual guidance he provides.
“The name ‘Catholic’ means universal, which means that the church is the people of God across the globe. The church is not only for Africans, the church is not only for Europeans, the church is not only for Americans.
“We are in need of someone after the heart of God to lead the church universal, which is the Catholic Church, and so whoever is chosen by the cardinals, aided by the Holy Spirit, after the heart to lead us is who we are looking for. We are not in search of someone from a particular continent.
“Whoever comes on that seat, we accept that fully,” he stated.
