Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson is a major ecclesiastical figure and the Roman Catholic Church’s first Ghanaian Priest Cardinal. He was appointed Archbishop of Cape Coast by Pope John Paul II before being elevated to cardinalship. In this position, he obtained his first Episcopal consecration. He was also the cardinal priest of San Liborio before Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to the papacy. Turkson began his career as a Sacred Scripture lecturer at St Teresa’s Seminary. He then moved on to Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute, where he acquired a licentiate in Sacred Scriptures. He was elected head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Ghana due to his extensive grasp of Biblical scriptures and theology. He was also the Chancellor of the Catholic University College in Ghana. Pope Benedict XVI named him president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace a few years ago (PCFP). Turkson has served on various Vatican committees throughout his career, including the Methodic Catholic Dialogue and the Pontifical Commission for Cultural Patrimony. Turkson had also proposed establishing a ‘global public authority and a ‘central world bank’ in an attempt to restructure the global financial system.
Childhood and Adolescence
Turkson was born in Wassaw Nsuta, a tiny mining town in Western Ghana, on October 11, 1948. He hailed from a poor home, and his parents had nine other children in addition to him. His father was a Roman Catholic and his mother was a Methodist.
In the little villages of Amisano and Pedu, he began his studies. He studied at St. Teresa’s Seminary in this city. Turkson went on to St. Anthony Hudson Seminary in Rensselaer, New York, to finish his theology degree.
This Seminary awarded him a Master of Theology degree. He finished a summer course at Albany University while continuing his studies. Archbishop John Amissah ordained him to the priesthood on July 20, 1975.
Turkson began his academic career as a lecturer at St. Teresa’s Minor Seminary in 1975. He continued his professorship while enrolling in the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. After earning a licentiate in Sacred Scripture, he returned to St. Teresa and became the Vice-Rector of St Peter’s Seminary. He also undertook some minor pastoral work in a nearby church during this time.
He started his Ph.D. studies in Sacred Studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 1987. He was unable to complete his thesis after being appointed Archbishop of Cape Coast.
Peter Tuekson’s Career
Pope John Paul II appointed him as Archbishop of Cape Coast on October 6, 1992.
Archbishop Dominic Kodwo Andoh ordained him to the episcopacy for the first time in 1993.
His brother bishops elected him to lead the Ghanaian Catholic Bishops’ Conference in 1997. He was one of the youngest bishops to be elected president at the time.
Turkson served on the University Council of Ghana from 2001 until 2006. He was also a member of the Central Development Commission’s board of directors during this time.
He served as treasurer of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar from 2007 to 2009. This conference is regarded as a continental body of bishops’ conferences that takes place in Africa. He was also elected president of the West African Episcopal Conferences during this time.
On October 24, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI named him President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He also joined the evangelizing of people’s congregation and the divine worship congregation in the same year. He was also a member of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Pontifical Council for Cultural Harmony.
He was elected to the Pontifical Council for Global Eucharistic Congress in 2010. In the same year, Pope Benedict appointed him to the Doctrine of Faith Congregation, owing to his enormous popularity. Turkson attends both the ordinary and plenary gatherings of these congregations and councils because he lives in Rome.
Cardinal Turkson was dispatched as a Vatican mediator in 2011 to find a diplomatic and nonviolent end to the Ivory Coast’s horrific conflict. In the same year, he proposed creating a new ‘global public authority and a ‘central world bank’ to oversee incompetent financial institutions and those lacking sufficient resources to deal with major monetary crises.
Turkson is the Cardinal-Priest of the Roman Catholic Church at the moment.
Peter’s Major Projects
Peter Turkson was named Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church on October 24, 2009. He was in charge of electing a new pope after the death or abdication of the previous pope as a cardinal. He was also in charge of establishing the Roman Curia and overseeing the church congregations.
Cardinal Turkson drafted a proposal for reforming the global financial system in response to the global economic crisis of 2008. Along with the Bishop, Mario Toso, he developed a 40-page proposal.
Achievements and Awards
Peter Turkson received the Ghanaian Republic’s ‘Order of Star,’ a national honor.
The Anomabo Traditional Area in Central Ghana awarded him the ‘Order of Rock.’
Personal History and Legacy
Turkson is a bachelor because he is a Cardinal.
His harsh and conservative views on the use of condoms and homosexuality have drawn criticism, despite his popularity for his talks and religious reforms.
Estimated Net worth
Peter is one of the wealthiest religious leaders and one of the most popular. Peter Turkson’s net worth is estimated to be $4 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
Peter Turkson is a multilingual individual. He is also fluent in French, German, Hebrew, and Italian, in addition to English and his mother tongue Fante.