[POPE Benedict XVI’s resignation has sparked calls for his successor to come from Africa, home to the world’s fastest-growing population and the front line of key issues facing the Roman Catholic Church. Around 15 per cent of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics live in Africa and the per centage has expanded significantly in recent years in comparison to other parts of the world. Much of the Catholic Church’s recent growth has come in the developing world, with the most rapid expansions in Africa and Southeast Asia. Names such as Ghana’s Peter Turkson and Nigerian John Onaiyekan have been mentioned as potential papal material, as has Francis Arinze, also from Nigeria and considered a possibility when Benedict was elected, but who is now 80. ]

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