- A matter of divine calling – Fr. Banjo
- Says the Pope is successor of St. Peter
Very Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Michael Banjo, Secretary General, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, has emphasised that the emergence of the next Pope is ultimately determined by God’s sovereignty, rather than human preference or geographical consideration. He highlighted the Papacy’s divine origin, noting that the Pope is a successor of St. Peter, who was personally called by Jesus Christ. Fr. Banjo recently shared his insights on Arise TV’s News Night, stressing that this apostolic succession is a fundamental aspect of the Church’s structure, and the Pope’s role is a continuation of Peter’s mission.
He said, “Then going back to this question of possibility of an African leader, yes, I have been following the trend and people have been talking about this. “What I would say is that people should not forget that this is a Church we are talking about, and positions like that, positions like mine, I’m a Priest, positions such as the bishopric, deacon, even among the laity, all these positions we refer to them as vocations.” The Secretary-General stressed that the position of the Pope is deeply rooted in vocation. In his words, “Vocation is coined from the Latin word, ‘Vocare’ which means ‘to call’.
You can decide you want to be a Priest, but if God has not called you to be a Priest, you will not be a Priest. So, the position of the Pope is also linked to what I’m talking about. “It is a vocation, it’s a calling, don’t forget that the person we are talking about, the Pope is a successor of St. Peter who was called by Jesus Christ, Peter did not choose himself. “And the same thing we must have at the back of our minds. So, whether it’s going to be an African candidate, whether it’s going to be somebody from Europe, Latin America, only God knows. God will call the person he deems most suitable for the position.”
