Will the next Pope be from Africa?

The longest-serving Australian representative to the Vatican, former ambassador to the Holy?See Tim Fischer, says the Pope?s departure was not a surprise and paves the way for a modern form of corporate leadership.

?No, it was not [a surprise] because this Pope said in the middle of my posting in 2010, yes I can resign,? and in certain circumstances it would be my duty,? Mr Fischer said.

Mr Fischer said that the shy and academic Pope was an unlikely Pope in some ways.

?He was [a reluctant Pope], he was an unlikely contender, selected contented in that enclave in 2005, but he stepped up the plate in a lot of ways.?

Mr Fischer said that it now could open up a candidate from the developing world, where Catholicism has it?s most believers and that a new, more modern form of leadership might prevail.

?Here is a very conservative and traditional Pope, now giving the world a very modern departure, a resignation on a fixed date which he has chosen without pressure in accord with cannon law. I salute that because this is going to be a modern precedent for the rest of this century.?

PAVING WAY FOR NON-EUROPEAN POPE

The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to step down from the Papacy could pave the way for the first non-European to lead the Catholic Church in centuries.

Some of the contenders to take over from Pope Benedict include high profile Cardinals from Africa, South America and Asia.

Brian Lucas, General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, says you would have to go deep into the past to find the last non-European Pope.

?Certainly in the very early days of the church there were Popes form North Africa but I?d have to go back and check the history books,? he says.?

?It was many centuries before we had a non-Italian pope in Pope John Paul II," he says of Benedict's IVX Polish predecessor, who was elected in 1978.?

EUROPE 'NO LONGER CATHOLIC STRONGHOLD'

Father Lucas says the pool of candidates reflect the changing face of the Catholic Church.

?I think many people fail to realise the Catholic Church is not a euro-centric Church, it?s a universal church. There is great vibrancy and life in the church in Africa and also in Asia.?

Europe, he says, is no longer the stronghold of faith that it once was.

?It?s been the cradle of Christianity, but the secularity and consumerism of modern years, perhaps, has weakened the faith of many in that part of the world.?

Some of the names being cited by experts as leading contenders include Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, Canada?s Marc Ouellet and Francis Arinze from Nigeria.

Cardinal Turkson told the BBC that despite growing numbers of Catholics in the developing world, the selection of a Pope is not based on representation.??

?Although it might not be completely out of place to recognise and consider this, I would not put this as a criteria [for selecting a Pope].?

He rejected claims politics and lobbying could emerge among Cardinals following Pope Benedict?s announcement.

?I?m not sure anyone does aspire to become the next Pope.?

The Catholic Church has more than 1.1 billion followers globally, according to data published by the Pew Research Center in 2011. Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines have the highest Catholic populations.

Catholic Populations Worldwide Source: Pew Research?Center

Neil Ormerod, Professor of Theology at Australian Catholic University says despite a strong field of international candidates, the church could opt to follow tradition and elect a European leader.

He says Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan, would be considered an "outstanding" Pope within Italy.

"He's fairly closely associated with the [current] Pope, and with the previous Pope as well."

At 55, Manila Archibishop Lewis Tagle could be a surprise contender.

?He?s just been made a Cardinal so he?s probably a bit young, but he has impressed a lot of people,? says Ormerod.?

Archbishop Tagle is one of six Cardinals recently appointed by? Benedict - a move that had previously sparked concerns that the Pope might be preparing for the end of his leadership.

All six of the new appointments were from outside Europe.

Pope Benedict XVI announced he was stepping down as Pope in a surprise address to senior members of the Church in Rome on Monday.

"Having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine Ministry," he said.

Click here to view the full speech.

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Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1736226/Will-the-next-Pope-be-from-Africa

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