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Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, is bookmakers’ favorite to become new pope
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. PHOTO/Max Rossi/Reuters
(Reuters) – Ghana’s Peter Turkson is the bookmakers’ favorite to replace Pope Benedict, putting a non-European in pole position to lead the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church for the first time in more than a millennium.
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power offered odds of 11/4 against for Turkson, meaning successful punters would win GB£11 (US$16.6) for every four staked, while Britain’s second largest bookmaker Ladbrokes offered odds of 5/2 against.
Turkson would be the first non-European to lead the Catholic church in more than a millennium if he is chosen to succeed Benedict. Italian Angelo Scola is second favorite according to Paddy Power at 3/1 against.
The new pope will inherit a Church scarred by Vatileaks and by child abuse scandals in Europe and the United States, both of which may have weighed on Benedict’s decision to decide he was too old and weak to continue the papacy.
The pope has two days left before he takes the historic step of becoming the first pontiff in some six centuries to step down instead of ruling for life.
Betting on the new pope earlier in February had ranked Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze and Canadian Marc Ouellet alongside Turkson in a three ‘cardinal’ race.
Some 115 cardinals will enter a closed-door conclave at the Vatican in March.
