Cardinal Turkson to head Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
October 26, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI has named Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, to be the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The appointment-- announced on Saturday, October 24, on the final day of the African Synod-- confirms a rumor that had circulated in Rome for weeks.
Cardinal Turkson, who had gained international prominence this month as relator general for the African Synod, had reportedly resisted the appointment because he preferred to remain with his flock in Ghana, but ultimately acceded to the Pope's direct request.
As president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, he replaces Cardinal Renato Martino, who is retiring just short a month of his 77th birthday. Cardinal Martino had held the position since 2002; he had previously served 16 years as the Vatican representative to UN headquarters in New York. From 2006 until February 2009, he had held a joint appointment, combining his work at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace with added responsibility as president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants. (Archbishop Anthonio Veglio now heads the latter dicastery.) Cardinal Martino received his red hat from Pope John Paul II in October 2003.
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