ABIDJAN, April 5: The Western world is not yet ready for a black pope, a leading African cardinal said as millions of faithful ponder who might take over the leadership of the Catholic Church following the death of John Paul.

Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze is ranked among the potential successors to John Paul. The Catholic Church has not had an African Pope since Gelasius I in the fifth century.

“Psychologically and spiritually, the West isn’t ready to welcome a black pope,” said Ivory Coast’s Cardinal Bernard Agre, 79. “There is no exclusion to speak of but it is people’s mentality. It will take time for people to get used to that.

“(An African pope) would be quite a revolution but it would be a great challenge for the black pope, for the church and for the world’s media,” he said on Monday. Later this month, cardinals, almost all of the 117 eligible to vote hand-picked by John Paul, will elect his successor.—Reuters