Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast , Ghana has been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He succeeds Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, who goes on retirement.
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace promotes justice and peace in the world in accordance with the Gospel and the social teaching of the Catholic Church.
The announcement of Cardinal Turkson’s appointment was made this afterenoon by Rev. Fr. Federico Lombardi, Director of the Vatican Press Office during a Press Conference when Cardinal Turkson was about to present the propositions of the Synod of Africa to journalists accredited to the Holy See’s Press Office, in Rome.
Cardinal Turskon told the journalists that he acccepts the appointment with all humility and thanked the Holy Father for having offered him the opportunity to serve the Church in this capacity.
The new Presdient of the Justice and Peace Council was born on 11th October 1948 in Ghana . He was ordained a Priest on July 20, 1975. In 1992 he was appointed Archbishop of Cape Coast. The late Pope John Paul II made him a Cardinal on October 21, 2003. He took part in the April 2005 Conclave that saw the election of the present Pope- Benedict XVI.
With this appointment Cardinal Turkson will have to move to the Vatican .
Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast , Ghana has been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He succeeds Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, who goes on retirement.