A social media user has claimed that Francis Arinze, a Roman Catholic cardinal, is the oldest and next possible candidate to be elected as the leader of the church following Pope Francis’s death.
The claim was also shared by different social media users on X and Facebook, as seen here.
As of the filing of this report, the post by @IgboHistoryFacts had received over 31k views, 125 reposts, 67 quotes, 824 likes, 38 bookmarks, and 236 comments.
“Cardinal Francis Arinze. Our hope! After the death of Pope Francis, Cardinal Arinze is the oldest in Vatican City and a hopeful candidate to become the next Roman Catholic Pope,” the post reads.
On Easter Monday, the head of the Catholic Church died at age 88, after a prolonged battle with bilateral pneumonia.
IS CARDINAL ARINZE THE NEXT IN LINE AFTER POPE FRANCIS?
Arinze was considered one of the leading contenders for the papacy in 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II.
Then aged 73, he was eligible to participate in the conclave and was seen as a strong candidate to succeed the late pontiff.
With the demise of Francis, the college of cardinals, currently consisting of 252 members, will see only the 135 cardinals under the age of 80 eligible to vote in the papal election.
The college of cardinals is a body of senior priests who support the pope in overseeing the affairs of the church, and they also vote during papal elections.
However, under the church’s current rules, Arinze, who is 92, no longer meets the eligibility criteria to take part in the election or be considered for the papacy.
A review by CableCheck of the official list of cardinal electors for the conclave confirms that Arinze is not included among those permitted to vote or be voted for.
We also observed that the accounts sharing the claims were either affiliated with or actively promoting the Igbo ethnic group.
VERDICT
The claim that Cardinal Arinze is the next possible candidate to be elected as Pope is false. He is not eligible to vote or be voted for due to the age restriction.
