Portuguese and Ghanaian cardinals comment on pope's resignation and succession

• published: 31 Jul 2015
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Lisbon 1. Mid of Christ statue at Tagus river 2. Christ statue at Tagus river and bridge 3. Close of river 4. Close of statue on top of "patriarchal house" 5. Wide of patriarchal house 6. Jose Policarpo, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon arriving at news conference 7. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Jose Policarpo, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon: "There are some talks about a Pope from Asia. I would like that, but there are not too many options, but just a few. That (a Pope from Asia) would be a sign for a region where the church is growing more every year. But those are difficult things to talk about right now. I think the criteria is "the person" (to be elected) and I think most of the cardinals will take that into account. What we have to identify is a person capable to lead the church and -according to that - a younger person would give some relief in the beginning of this millennium in the 21st century. I think we need a Pope with more physical energy and with more time to be able to stay and lead the church." 8. Tilt up of journalist taking notes 9. Close of Benedict XVI picture 10. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Jose Policarpo, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon: "I understand (why the Pope kept his resignation a secret). John Paul ll wanted to resign but they put so much pressure on him that he could not resist that pressure. That is why Benedict XVI has kept his decision until the last minute. It was best not to tell anybody about it and surprise everybody about the decision he had made." 11. Various of Policarpo leaving news conference Rome 12. Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson being interviewed 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Cardinal Peter Turkson, Papal contender: "In a way the church is always and has ever been ready for a non-European Pope, a Pope that can come from any part of the world." 14. Cutaway 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Cardinal Peter Turkson, Papal contender: "If we understand by 'head of the church" the Pope and his Curia - the body that helps the Pope - then we'd say there are quite a few people from there (the developing world). So although the majority is still Italian or European, we still have a pretty growing number of Africans, and people from Asia and Latin America, in the Roman Curia. So, if you want, at the helm of affairs in the church, gradually, we begin to see people from non-European, non-Italian backgrounds. If that's specifically the Pope himself, then I don't think we're too far away from that either." 16. Cutaway 17. SOUNDBITE (English) Cardinal Peter Turkson, Papal contender: "Being a Pope of the Church is not going to be an easy task. All the challenges - the effect of the problems of the past are still with the Church - we need to heal that, get out of it, and refashion our credibility, our relevance and a whole lot of things. So it's a tall agenda." 18. Wide of Turkson being interviewed STORYLINE Two Catholic cardinals thought to be leading contenders to become the next Pope both talked about the succession on Tuesday, the day after Pope Benedict announced his resignation. Both Portuguese Cardinal Jose Policarpo and Cardinal Peter Turkson, from Ghana, said they believed the Catholic church was ready for a non-European Pope. In Lisbon, Cardinal Policarpo, talked about the possibility of a Pope from Asia. "I would like that," he said. Cardinal Policarpo added that the new Pope should be younger, with more physical energy and with more time to lead the church in the 21st century. He also said that he understood Benedict XVI's decision to keep his resignation a secret as John Paul II had been put under a lot of pressure when he wanted to resign during his time as Pope. In Rome, Cardinal Turkson said the church was ready for its first leader from the developing world. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/28031a461b0a040ab911dc13ec7d0268 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork