Why It Doesn't Matter If The Next Pope Is Black

With Pope Benedict XVI officially quit today, there is a possibility that a 'first' black pope will become his successor.

If everyone looked a little further into the past, you'd actually find that if the next pope was a black pope, he wouldn't be the first one.

According to the Liber Pontificalis (a record of names of popes since the first pope, St. Peter), there have been three black popes:

• St Victor (186 - 198)
• St Miltiades (311 - 314)
• St Gelasius (492 - 496)

There is a possibility that there have been many more black popes, particularly because of the Moorish presence in Europe.

The enthusiasm about a possible black pope

A lot of people seem hopeful and enthusiastic about the prospect of having a first black pope in 1500 years. The pope will be leader of the most powerful Church in the world. So while I understand people's excitement, I really believe that we shouldn't put too much value in the importance of having a black pope...

I genuinely believe that a black pope wouldn't make a difference to people's lives in the African Diaspora.

The pope would still put the Catholic Church's agenda first, because remember, he is 'leader' of the Catholics, not of black people. The pope will solely focus on his job as the pope, not as a saviour for black people everywhere.

The other sad reality is that even when we have leadership positions and the potential to do great or good for ourselves, we don't. A great example of this is Kofi Annan as former United Nations Secretary General, who didn't do enough to prevent the Rwandan genocide.

Black leaders in any position, are always pressured to not solely improve their own communities in case of backlash, accusations of abusing their power to carry out their own agenda and not the one they've been assigned to or because of fear of no possible re-election.

A black pope is welcome, but we don't need it as validation of our ability to become leaders.