African frontrunner Cardinal Peter Turkson fails on second attempt to become Pope

Peter Appiah Turkson has failed in his second attempt to become a Pope

By Emmanuel Akyereko
(Managing Editor)

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson has failed in his bid to succeed Pope Francis as the next Pope of the Catholic Church as Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States of America has been elected as the new Pope.

This is the second time the 76-year-old Nsuta-born has failed to become the global leader of the mighty Catholic Church after failing in his first attempt in 2013.

Born in Chicago, the 69-year-old said, “Peace be with you,” and stressed on a message of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. He wore the traditional red cape of the papacy — a cape that Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013.

President of the United States of America Donald Trump has conveyed his congratulatory message to the new Pope who spent his career ministering in the South American country of Peru.

This is the first time an American has been voted to the Papacy in the church’s 2000-year history.

Pope Leo XIV spent years trumpeting criticism of President Trump’s policies on social media — with the Catholic Church’s first American leader taking particular aim at the Republican’s hard-line immigration stance.