Former top-ranking African in Vatican appointed chancellor for 2 academies

Pope Francis appointed Monday Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson new Chancellor of Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

73-year-old Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana was appointed by the Pope to head two Vatican institutions, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

The news was made public on Monday and Turkson will succeed Argentine Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo who has held these positions since 1998. The Pontifical Academies of Social Sciences and of Sciences have their headquarters inside the Vatican.

They state their mission as one to serve and "honour pure science wherever it may be found, ensure its freedom and encourage research for the progress of science."

Cardinal Turkson directed the Vatican office dedicated to migration issues, the environment and Covid-19 response up to last December. After an inspection of the dicastery he headed was ordered, and his resignation, speculations claimed he was being moved away. With this nomination, Turkson gets a new top Vatican position.

The Pontifical Academies of Social Sciences and of Sciences are supranational academies, part of the 10 Pontifical Academies operated by the Holy See.