Nigerian Cardinal eligible to participate in the election of new Pope

A Nigerian Cardinal Peter Okpaleke has qualified to be one of the College of Cardinals who will determine the emergence of late Pope Francis’s successor, following the death on Monday

Penpushing reports that Cardinals (senior members of the Catholic Church’s clergy) will gather at the Conclave (a College of Cardinals gathering) to elect a new Pope scheduled to hold between 15 and 20 days after the passing of the Pope.

The Catholic Broadcast Commission of Nigeria on Tuesday announced Cardinal Peter’s selection explaining why he is the country’s qualified choice, having not attain 80 years, which would have disqualified him from participating.

Penpushing further reports that presently Nigeria has four Cardinals which include Francis Cardinal Arinze (92), Anthony Cardinal Okogie (88), John Cardinal Onaiyekan (81) and Peter Cardinal Okpaleke (62).

The Cardinal, Peter Okpaleke who was born on March 1, 1963, in Amesi, Anambra State, Nigeria by this, is the only His Eminence, who will participate in the Conclave.

Penpushing also reports that he attended local schools, and in 1983 he entered the Bigard Memorial Major Seminary in Ikot-Ekpene and Enugu, where he studied philosophy and theology from 1983 to 1992.

The Catholic Church Cleric equally studied Canon Law in Rome at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Awka on August 22, 1990 and has been Bishop of Ekwulobia, Anambra State, since April 29, 2020.

Penpushing reports that Okpaleke, although rarely makes the news, as he leads a private life, while he was caught in protests when he was first appointed Bishop of Ahiara in 2012 and consecrated in 2013.

The July 2017 record showed how about 3000 Catholic priests joined by worshippers to protest his appointment, insisting on an Mbaise Bishop instead and they argued that Ahiara is in Mbaise, a predominantly Catholic region of Imo State and that Bishop Okpaleke was brought from neighbouring Anambra State.

Penpushing further reports that it is recalled that in reaction to their opposition, Pope Francis gave the defiant priests a 30-day ultimatum to write a letter apologising, promising obedience to authority and accepting the Bishop appointed for their diocese.

The Cardinal on February 19,2018, Okpaleke resigned as Bishop of Ahiara and on March 5,2020, just over two years after accepting his resignation as Bishop of Ahiara, Pope Francis appointed him as the Bishop of the Diocese of Ekwulobia, a newly created diocese in Anambra State.

Penpushing also reports that he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis on August 27, 2022, and for curious minds about his personal life, as is the rule in Roman Catholicism, priests do not marry or bear children, so this answers the question about his wife and children.

The priestly vow of celibacy and in the Roman Catholic Church, Priests of the Latin Rite are required to remain celibate, and this means they are not permitted to marry and are expected to abstain from sexual activity.

Penpushing reports that while celibacy is a requirement for priests in the Latin Rite, it is not universal across all Catholic rites, and the Church teaches that celibacy allows priests to devote themselves more fully to their ministry and the service of the Church.

The rule has it that s priest who breaks his vow of celibacy may face serious consequences, including suspension from ministry and even excommunication, however, as explained by the Catholic Broadcast Commission of Nigeria, the Church excuses Cardinals above 80 from voting out of concern for the Cardinals themselves.

“Selecting the Supreme Pontiff can be a significant burden of responsibility, and especially so when one is advanced in age. These Cardinals instead support the electors by helping to lead the People of God in prayer during the election’, the body states.

Penpushing further reports that this rules out Cardinal Okogie, the Lagos Catholic Archdiocese’s Archbishop emeritus, whom Pope John Paul declared a cardinal on October 21, 2003, and he is considered the most influential of the Nigerian Cardinals.

The Cardinal holds the title of Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria del Monte Carmelo a Mostacciano (Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel of Mostacciano) and was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.

Penpushing also reports that he was also one of the cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, which elected Pope Francis, and in addition to Cardinal Okpaleke, other Africans tipped with a chance of becoming the next Pope are Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, (76) Democratic Republic of Congo’s Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu(65), Archbishop of Kinshasa, and Ivory Coast’s Cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo (63).

The record has it that in 1970, Pope Paul VI limited the electors to cardinals under 80 in Ingravescentem aetatem (Advancing Age), and in 2013, when Pope Benedict XVI announced his plan to resign as Pope, he described his reasoning as Ingravescentem aetatem.

Penpushing reports that Pope Benedict XVI slightly amended the procedures Pope John Paul II established in Universi Dominici Gregis in 2007 and 2013, with this, a two-thirds supermajority vote is required to elect the new pope.

Meanwhile, the most recent papal conclave occurred in 2013, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis, succeeding the retiring Pope Benedict XVI.

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