‘Where Is The Black Pope?’ -Reno Omokri Slams Catholic Church, Questions Christian Leaderships

Social commentator and former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has reignited debate over racial inclusivity in global Christian leadership, urging the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion to reflect their diverse congregations by elevating non-European leaders to their highest offices.

In a strongly worded tweet on Friday, Omokri highlighted the absence of a non-Caucasian Pope in over a millennium, despite the majority of the Catholic Church’s followers now hailing from Africa, South America, and Asia.

“The vast majority of Catholics are not of European origin. They are of Black African, native South American, and Asian ancestry. Yet, we have not had a Pope of non-Caucasian origin in a thousand years,” he wrote.

Omokri referenced his ancestral ties to early Catholicism in Nigeria, noting that his forebear, Olu Oyenakpagha, reached out to the Vatican in 1652 seeking more priests—a letter that remains archived in the Vatican today.

He insisted his comments should not be misconstrued as an attack on the Church, but rather a plea for recognition and equality.

“Africa is my constituency, and Nigeria is my proud nationality, so I will say this to the Catholic Church: Please give Black Africans and Africans in the diaspora hope that they are not just ‘fetchers of water and hewers of wood in the House of God’,” he added, invoking the biblical passage from Joshua 9:23.

Omokri also questioned the credibility of oft-cited historical claims of African Popes—such as Pope Victor I, Miltiades, and Gelasius I—arguing that their origins, while North African, remain contested and remote, spanning over 1,500 years.

He warned that the continued dominance of European leadership in global Christianity risks reinforcing perceptions of exclusion and colonial-era hierarchies.

“A Black or Brown Pope would go a long way in clearing any doubts that the Catholic Church is not a European old boys’ club,” he said.

Turning to the Anglican Communion, Omokri queried why, despite Nigeria having more Anglicans than England, no non-White, non-British person has ever led the Church as Archbishop of Canterbury.

“These things matter,” he stated. “Are Black and Brown people condemned to be forever followers in these Euro-centric churches?”

He further noted that prominent African clergy such as Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze became Cardinals decades ago, well before some of their now-prominent Western counterparts, yet were never seriously considered for the papacy.

Omokri concluded by pointing to the rapid growth of indigenous Pentecostal movements such as the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) as evidence that African believers are increasingly seeking spiritual leadership and representation within organisations that value their identities.

“Some Black people are thinking that their tickets cannot take them far within those organisations and are, thus, voting with their feet,” he said.

Posted: at 9-05-2025 03:35 PM (10 hrs ago) | Addicted Hero

Do most of the black priests follow the creed of their calling? Some years ago, priests from Mbise rejected Bishop Okpaleke, because he is not from their area. Some Igbo priests in the US were soliciting for funds to buy cars, when they were set to return to Nigeria. Rumour has it that Cardinal Domnic Ekandem was married with three children. He who wants to come to equity must come with clean hands. 

Posted: at 9-05-2025 04:14 PM (9 hrs ago) | Gistmaniac

 

Posted: at 9-05-2025 10:23 PM (3 hrs ago) | Gistmaniac