Cardinal Peter Turkson

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson is a Ghanaian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 24 October 2009. Pope Francis has named him the first prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, which began operations on 1 January 2017.

Cardinal Turkson played an instrumental role in the formulation of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the landmark document that reflects upon humankind’s moral obligation to address the issue of Climate Change.

He previously served as Archbishop of Cape Coast. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John Paul II in 2003, and is widely regarded as papabile, that is, a likely candidate for election to the papacy.